Media,s influence

In 1956 American teenagers were ready for the hip- wriggling gyrations which he became famous for and which earned him the name of Elvis the Pelvis. In Elvis they found the icon they were looking for and which identified with their own teenage rebellion. The fact that he created such a storm of protest by adults only added to his appeal with the American youth who were more defiant, disenchanted and less inhibited than the previous generation. During the Ed Sullivan show in 1956 he was televised only from the waist down to avoid the CBS Network being charged with obscene behaviour. However following his appearance on the show his record label simultaneously released 7 singles which each sold 100,000 copies. The Wall Street Journal recorded sales of Elvis merchandise as having reached 22milllion dollars in just six months. Two years later at the age of just 23 he had achieved 20 separate million selling singles.

Sam Phillips the head of the Sun Records label had been quoted as saying prior to having met Elvis “If I had a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a million dollars”. In Elvis he found what he was searching for. Elvis combined the sound of rhythm and blues and presented it to a new audience who were ready to accept and respect the genre and as a result he opened the door for black performers to gain international success.
The fact that Elvis’s music generated so much money and is still does so many years after his death is testament to musical merchandising and radio plays a significant role in this commercialisation but also to the rapid growth of Americas post war economy.