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    Elvis Presley

    Part of Up Close

    Author Wilborn Hampton
    Ebook
    Penguin Young Readers | Puffin Books
    On sale Jul 03, 2008 | 208 Pages | 9781440639128
    Grade 7 & Up
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    Discover the incredible life and enduring legacy of Elvis Presley in this captivating Up Close biography series about twentieth-century America.

    Meet the King of rock and roll.

    Elvis Presley made a sound that was all his own, a sound so different that it ushered in a new kind of music—rock and roll. From the time he was a boy in East Tupelo, Mississippi, he absorbed the music around him: gospel, honky-tonk, country, and rhythm and blues. Elvis combined all of these sounds and created a music that crossed racial and cultural divides.

    Kids all over America went wild for Elvis and his electrifying rock and roll. His rockabilly style and way of moving his legs and hips onstage scandalized some, but everyone from Hollywood to the army seemed to want a piece of this dynamic performer. At heart, Elvis was a shy and polite man and the demands of fame began to take a toll. While his dependences on prescription drugs cut short his life, Elvis’s influence on music and popular culture endures to this day.
    Wilborn Hampton has been an editor and book and theater critic for the New York Times. He is also the award-winning author of Up Close: Elvis Presley (Viking) and Kennedy Assassinated!. He lives in New York City. View titles by Wilborn Hampton

    About

    Discover the incredible life and enduring legacy of Elvis Presley in this captivating Up Close biography series about twentieth-century America.

    Meet the King of rock and roll.

    Elvis Presley made a sound that was all his own, a sound so different that it ushered in a new kind of music—rock and roll. From the time he was a boy in East Tupelo, Mississippi, he absorbed the music around him: gospel, honky-tonk, country, and rhythm and blues. Elvis combined all of these sounds and created a music that crossed racial and cultural divides.

    Kids all over America went wild for Elvis and his electrifying rock and roll. His rockabilly style and way of moving his legs and hips onstage scandalized some, but everyone from Hollywood to the army seemed to want a piece of this dynamic performer. At heart, Elvis was a shy and polite man and the demands of fame began to take a toll. While his dependences on prescription drugs cut short his life, Elvis’s influence on music and popular culture endures to this day.

    Author

    Wilborn Hampton has been an editor and book and theater critic for the New York Times. He is also the award-winning author of Up Close: Elvis Presley (Viking) and Kennedy Assassinated!. He lives in New York City. View titles by Wilborn Hampton

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