Elvis Aron Presley, born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935, could well claim to be the 20th century's most famous entertainer. His combination of white country and Western music with black rhythm and blues gave the 50s teenage generation music they could identify with.
But like so many 20th century idols, Presley was becoming a victim of the fame he had attracted. Under pressure from his domineering manager, Colonel Tom Parker, he embarked on a series of comparatively mediocre films. By the 1970s, Presley was reduced to singing tearful ballads in night clubs in Las Vegas. Presley died in 1977 at his home in Memphis, which had been the center of his musical world for most of his short life. He had been destroyed by drink, fast food and fast living.
To this day, Presley's home is a shrine to his memory, a measure of the impact he had on his contemporaries. Each year, thousands of sightseers visit the Presley Museum in Tennessee to get a closer view of what it was like to be the undisputed idol of so many people for so many years.
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