Elvis Presley was one of the most successful American musicians of all time. He broke onto the national stage in the mid-1950s, and his career spanned decades across multiple genres—including a successful acting career playing the lead man in many Hollywood films. From his musical foundations of learning to sing in church, Elvis explored sounds in rockabilly and rhythm-and-blues. He transformed culture by swinging his hips on live television (which, before him, had been considered too vulgar to be allowed), and changed live music by introducing a more overt physicality. His magnetic charm, iconic style, and distinctive voice all made him a musical idol for a generation, and nearly 50 years after his death, he is still well-known, covered, played in film soundtracks, and endures as the standard against which all other rock stars are measured. Elvis is justifiably remembered as "the king of rock and roll."
Elvis's Memphis home, Graceland, continues today as an international tourist destination. His visiting fans can see his gold records, jeweled jumpsuits, and more. Elvis maintains a strong presence on all social media platforms despite dying decades before their existence, and biographical films are still being made about him.
You can learn more about Elvis's interesting life on our Gale in Context: Biography database. You can also explore his music and films on our streaming service hoopla, or in the items linked below.
“...the image is one thing and the human being is another...it’s very hard to live up to an image.”
- From the press conference before his record-breaking Madison Square Garden shows in New York City in 1972.
- Elvis's music
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(Paperback Songs). Melody line/lyric/chord arrangements of more than 100 of the King's biggest hits, including: All Shook Up * Any Day Now * Big Hunk O' Love * Blue Christmas * Blue Suede Shoes * Can't Help Falling in Love * Crying in the Chapel * Don't Be Cruel * For the Good Times * G.I Blues * Good Luck Charm * Heartbreak Hotel * Hound Dog * I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry * It's Now or Never * Jailhouse Rock * Little Sister * Love Me * Love Me Tender * My Way * Suspicious Minds * That's Alright * Unchained Melody * Viva Las Vegas * more.
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Disc 1. The original album. I just can't help believin' ; Twenty days and twenty nights ; How the web was woven ; Patch it up ; Mary in the morning ; You don't have to say you love me ; You've lost that lovin' feelin' ; I've lost you ; Just pretend ; Stranger in the crowd ; The next step is love ; Bridge over troubled water --The original singles. I've lost you ; The next step is love ; You don't have to say you love me ; Patch it up --The outtakes. How the web was woven (take 1) ; I've lost you (take 1) ; You don't have to say you love me (take 2) ; Patch it up (take 1) ; Bridge over troubled water (take 1). Disc 2, Hound dog --Heartbreak Hotel --Love me tender --You've lost that lovin' feelin' --Suspicious minds --Can't help falling in love.--and many moreImage
Disc 1. See see rider --Release me --Sweet Caroline --Runaway --The wonder of you --Polk salad Annie --Yesterday --Proud Mary --Walk a mile in my shoes --Let it be me --Bonus tracks. Don't cry Daddy --Kentucky rain --Long tall Sally --Rehearsal. The wonder of you. Disc 2. Blue suede shoes --Johnny B. Goode --All shook up --Are you lonesome tonight? --Hound dog --I can't stop loving you --My babe --Medley: Mystery train ; Tiger man --Words --In the ghetto --Suspicious minds --Can't help falling in love --Bonus tracks. I got a woman --Medley: Jailhouse rock ; Don't be cruel --Heartbreak Hotel --Baby, what you want me to do --Reconsider baby --Funny how time slips away.
- Movies starring Elvis
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Love Me Tender (1956).
After hearing his older brother (Richard Egan) has been killed in combat, a young Texas farmer (Presley) marries the man's sweetheart (Debra Paget). But his brother returns, sparking a bitter sibling rivalry and tragic confrontation with Union soldiers.
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Jailhouse Rock (1957).
Vince Everett is serving a one-year jail sentence for manslaughter. While in the big house, his cellmate, a former country singer, introduces him to the record business. Vince takes to it so well that he decides to become a singer when he gets out. However, he is quickly disillusioned by the record business. But with the help of a new friend, he decides to form his own label, and soon he becomes an overnight sensation. As he becomes a superstar, his desire for fame and money may cause him to forget the people who got him there.
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King Creole (1958).
A troubled youth's singing sets New Orleans rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it seems he will shake off his past and head for the top. But will a mobster and his man-trap moll snare him in a life of crime?
Double feature with G.I. Blues.
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G.I. Blues (1960.
Elvis adopts an on-screen persona he knows well in real life-a singin' G.I. in West Germany. Eager to open a stateside nightclub after his hitch in khakis, he takes part in a wager to raise the dough he needs.
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Blue Hawaii (1961).
After arriving back in Hawaii from the Army, Chad Gates defies his parents' wishes for him to work at the family business and instead goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend's agency.
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Kid Galahad (1962).
After completing his military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter and takes him under his wing.
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It Happened At the World's Fair (1963).
A couple of bush pilots find themselves grounded in Seattle at the annual World's Fair. One thing leads to another and they help an abandoned girl and make the acquaintance of a beautiful nurse.
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Fun In Acapulco (1963).
A yacht owner's spoiled daughter gets Mike fired, but a boy helps him get a job as singer at Acapulco Hilton etc. He upsets the lifeguard by taking his girl and 3 daily work hours. Mike's also seeing a woman bullfighter.
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Viva Las Vegas (1964).
Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix. At least, he will be ready to race once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough, but loses it when a pretty swimming pool manager takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both the race and the girl. His problems don't get any easier when rival Elmo Mancini, a fellow racer and womaniser, gets in the way.
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Roustabout (1964).
After a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.
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Girl Happy (1965).
A Chicago mobster, Big Frank, hires rock-and-roll singer Rusty Wells and his band to keep an eye on his daughter during Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Songs include "Do the clam," "Good news," "Puppet on a string," "Startin' tonight" and "Girl happy."
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Tickle Me (1965).
Lonnie Beale, a guitar-playing rodeo rider who ends up working at a dude ranch/spa for actresses and models, attracts all of them except the instructor, until he aids her in finding buried gold in a ghost town. Features nine songs, including "I'm yours" and "(Such an) Easy question."
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Frankie and Johnny (1966).
A riverboat gambler and his lady love should be deliriously happy cruising down the Mississippi, but he can't stay away from the gambling tables.
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Double Trouble (1967).
When crooner Guy Lambert wraps his London show and travels to Brussels, two beauties secretly follow. One is a lovestruck heiress, the other is an enigmatic temptress. Once in Brussels, Guy unwittingly becomes involved in stolen gems and dealing with trenchcoated detectives. It could all be too much for the unattached Guy.
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Clambake (1967).
After trading identities with a penniless water ski instructor, a millionaire matches his speedboat racing skills against his arch-rival to capture the heart of a no-nonsense girl determined to marry rich.
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Speedway (1968).
Poor bookkeeping saddles stock-car driver Steve Grayson with a huge bill for back taxes which hampers his ability to continue racing competitively.
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Live A Little, Love A Little (1968).
In his 28th film, Elvis Presley plays frazzled photographer and playboy Greg, who holds two simultaneous jobs--one for the publisher of a girlie magazine, another for an adman--while also contending with the kooky attentions of a beach beauty. Four songs, including "A little less conversation" and the "Edge of reality" dream sequence, add to the zippy fun.
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Charro! (1969).
Jess Wade is innocently accused of having stolen a cannon from the Mexican revolutionary forces. He tries to find the real culprits, a gang of criminals.
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The Trouble With Girls (1969).
Walter Hale is the manager of The Chautauqua, a 1927 traveling tent show, that is plagued by a multitude of difficulties and a murder when it comes to Radford Center, Iowa.
- Documentaries and Live Performances
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Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018).
This documentary film focuses on Elvis Presley the musical artist, taking the audience on a comprehensive creative journey from his childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions.
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Elvis: The Great Performances (2011).
Presents various musical performances by Elvis Presley and profiles his personal life with footage from home movies of family and friends.
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Elvis: That's the Way It Is (2007).
Features Elvis in rehearsal as well as in six Las Vegas concerts, along with interviews with fans.
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Elvis `56 (2020).
The definitive film about Elvis Presley in his breakthrough year: 1956. Full of performance clips from TV and public appearances, Elvis performs the songs that made him famous. Narrated by The Band's Levon Helm. Including iconic photos by the photographer who toured with Elvis that year (Al Wertheimer) who captured many intimate moments from this one year.
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Elvis On Tour (1972).
The spotlight turns on Elvis Presley ... the man and the legend ... the past and the present ... in this special presentation revealing the relationship between the star, the people close to him and his devoted concert fans. The King of Rock 'n' Roll was a legend at an age when most young people are trying to decide what to do with their lives. On the way to a permanent niche in history, the real story of his beginnings and rise were obscure. Now, for the first time, the original rocker shares a personal part of himself with the public. With a national concert tour as musical and visual backdrop, Presley's life crosses the screen, highlighted by the star's own recollections in this riveting study of a modern legend.
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Elvis: That's The Way It Is- Concert Film (2007).
On July 31, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley staged a triumphant return to the concert stage from which he had been absent for almost a decade. His series of concerts broke all box office records and completely reenergized the career of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. This feature-length concert film crosses the footlights, revealing the legendary singer as a man preparing for an emotional career comeback, the fans who traveled from all over the world for this history-making event ... and the electrifying live performance of the man who gave us rock 'n' roll.
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Elvis Thru The Years (2007).
This gripping, highly entertaining documentary offers an unparalleled behind-the-scenes look at the life of Elvis Presley. Using rare footage from his films, press conferences, outtakes, movie trailers, news clips, and comedy sketches, Elvis Thru the Years is a fitting commemoration of the man who became a legend!
- Books and movies about Elvis
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Elvis (2022). Starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler. Directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Elvis Presley rises to fame in the 1950s while maintaining a complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
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Priscilla (2024). Starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi. Directed by Sofia Coppola.
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a gentle best friend. Through Priscilla's eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla's long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame.
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Elvis (1979). Starring Kurt Russell. Directed by John Carpenter.
Portrayal of Elvis from his beginnings as a 35-dollar-a-week truck driver to one of the most popular music and film stars the world has ever seen.
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Elvis & Nixon (2016)). Starring Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey. Directed by Liza Johnson.
This comedy depicts the real-life 1970 meeting between rock star Elvis Presley and then-president Richard Nixon at the White House, which led to an iconic photo of the two men shaking hands. During the meeting, Elvis offers his services as an undercover agent in the war on drugs.
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Elvis: The Miniseries (2005). Starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Randy Quaid.
CBS' Elvis traces Elvis Presley's rise from being a humble, poor kid in early-'50s Memphis to being an isolated, prescription-drug-addicted superstar fearful of going on-stage for his 1968 comeback special. Along the way, he's torn between his devotion to his mama Gladys and the machinations of his stealthy manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker. Among Presley's hurdles: his R&B music and performance style prompts cries of obscenity from community leaders; he's drafted for the Army and decides to go; and he longs to become a serious movie star, although the Colonel has different ideas.
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Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider's Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business by Greg McDonald.
Colonel Tom Parker, often reviled in his time, led the strategy from the earliest days of Elvis's career. Together, they built the most legendary partnership in show business. For the first time, Colonel Parker's story is told by an insider, Greg McDonald, who worked under Parker for years. Never-before-heard stories of Parker's collaboration with Elvis reveal the man behind the legend and the strategies that made Elvis a commercial groundbreaker.
“I’ve never gotten over what they call stage fright. I go through it every show. I’m pretty concerned, I’m pretty much thinking about the show. I never get completely comfortable with it, and I don’t let the people around me get comfortable with it, in that I remind them that it’s a new crowd out there, it’s a new audience, and they haven’t seen us before. So it’s got to be like the first time we go on.”
- From a 1972 taped interview used in MGM’s documentary "Elvis on Tour"