Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ˜n' Roll. Whenever anyone thinks about this pop culture icon, that's the first thing that comes into their mind. The first time I heard of Elvis was when I was about 4 years old because my dad would always read me the book Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley. Other than that, for as long as I can remember, everyone has been telling me that Elvis was, and still is, the king of rock ˜n' roll and I wanted to know why. So, I'm going to talk about Elvis and how he changed music forever. I'm also going to talk about how Elvis started out by being a bad influence to becoming a worldwide icon. Before I start talking about Elvis and how he changed rock and roll, I'm going to introduce you a little bit to Elvis. Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. Elvis was born into a poor family. He had a twin brother who died at birth. Elvis married Pricilla when he was 30 years old and they had a daughter, Lisa Marie. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977 because of a drug overdose. Rock ˜n' roll originated in the 1950's. Originally, rock ˜n' roll was a mix between African American rhythm and blues (r & b). Rock ˜n' roll was first performed by black artists such as Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Rock ˜n' roll wasn't worldwide because the big radio stations were owned by white Americans so they wouldn't play "black music . How Elvis Presley heard of rock wasn't like how most people heard of it. Elvis' family was very poor so he couldn't afford his own records so, instead, he listened to his neighbors' music. Elvis was introduced to gospel music by his mother. Every Sunday, she brought him church hopping and they would listen to the gospel music of the south. Elvis' love of music came from church hopping with his mother. He claims that gospel music had a big influence on his music later on. Elvis is the king of rock ˜n' roll not because he invented rock ˜n' roll but because of how he changed it and popularized it. Some people say Elvis changed rock ˜n' roll by bringing the blues to it. Other people say that Elvis added a little bit of country to rock ˜n' roll, but I say he added a little bit of both. What do you think? Elvis Presley popularized rock ˜n' roll, like I said earlier. A few reasons why he did so are because of his style and dance moves; they were something different. He was rebellious and that's what most teens wanted. Another reason is because he was white because, back then, no one wanted to listen to black singers, which I think is ridiculous but it was a different ti