Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977; middle name sometimes spelled Aron) was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King.Presley began his career in 1954 as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an uptempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and "white" sounds, made him popular—and controversial;—as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. Presley had a versatile voice and he had unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including rock and roll, gospel, blues, country, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame.In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his 31 movies, most of which were poorly reviewed but financially successful musicals. In 1968, he returned to live performances in a television special, which led t... more