On November 1955, Elvis Presley officially became RCA Victor’s newest single under the management of Colonel Tom Parker. Presley’s first RCA Victor single, Heartbreak Hotel, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. His self-titled debut album was released on March 23 and became the first rock and roll album to top the Billboard chart, a position it held for 10 weeks.
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| Elvis Presley poses for a portrait holding a guitar, 1956. |
With a series of chart-topping records and successful network television appearances, from Milton Berle Show to Steve Allen Show and Ed Sullivan Show, Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll; though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound of African Americans led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of the White American youth.
Accompanying Presley’s rise to fame, a cultural shift was taking place that he both helped inspire and came to symbolize. The audience response at Presley’s live shows also became increasingly fevered. Elvis, Presley’s second RCA Victor album, was released in October and quickly rose to number one on the billboard.
In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. One of his most famous films, Jailhouse Rock, was released in 1957. Presley was drafted into the United States Army at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas on March 24, 1958.
Take a look back at the King in the 1950s through these 30 fantastic photos:
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| Elvis Presley performing on stage, 1955. |
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| Elvis Presley, 1955. |
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| Elvis Presley performing, 1956. |
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| Elvis Presley, 1956. |
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