Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977; middle name 
sometimes written Aron) was an American singer, musician and actor. 
A cultural icon, he is commonly referred to by his first name, and as 
the "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or "The King".

In 1954, Presley began his career 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. He recorded songs in 
the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and 
"Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile 
voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, 
including gospel, blues, ballads and pop. To date, he has been 
inducted into four music halls of fame.

In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his thirty-one movies 
mainly poorly reviewed, but financially successful, musicals. 
In 1968, he returned with acclaim to live music in a television 
special, and thereafter performed across the U.S., notably in 
Las Vegas. Throughout his career, he set records for concert 
attendance, television ratings and recordings sales. He is one of 
the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of 
popular music. Health problems, drug dependency and other factors 
led to his premature death at age 42.