Vocabulary:

to declare

mourning

unique

to be jammed with

to be surrounded by

to broadcast

feverish

to record

a record

to drive smb mad

disgusting

perverse

vulgar

to be divorced

to pay tribute

When Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, radio and television programs all over the world were interrupted to give the news of his death. President Carter was asked to declare a day of national mourning. Carter said: “Elvis Presley changed the face of American popular culture…He was unique and irreplaceable.” His funeral was attended by eighty thousand people. The streets were jammed with cars, and Elvis Presley movies were shown on television, and his records were played on the radio all day. In the year after his death, 100 million of Presley albums were sold.

Elvis Presley had never dreamt of becoming a singer. He came from a very poor family which moved from the small village of Tupelo in Mississippi to Memphis in search for employment.

Elvis never had music lessons, but he was surrounded by music from an early age. His parents were very religious, and Elvis regularly sang at church services. He left school in 1953 and got a job of a lorry driver.

In 1953 Elvis paid $4 and recorded two songs as a present for his mother’s birthday. This event, however, did not make him famous. In 1954 he performed a song of a black blues singer “That’s All Right, Mama” at the Sun Records Studio. That was a real turning point in his life. The record made him popular almost overnight. During the first day the song was broadcast several times on the radio. 20,000 copies were sold. People went crazy about its new and dynamic rhythm.

What was it that made an unknown nineteen-year old boy into a famous star? The answer lay not only in his expressive songs but also in his voice. Critics wrote that it was throaty, vibrating, feverish and as thick as syrup. That voice was a real revelation.

After Presley had recorded his second song “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, he became well-known. Soon he began to give concerts which were attended by crowds of screaming fans. On stage he was like a volcano and had a peculiar power to drive the audience mad. Young people went into ecstasies over his voice, his unique songs and his manners. Many older people found Presley disgusting, perverse and vulgar. The young, however, adored him. Presley involuntarily became a “rebel” who started a cultural and sexual revolution. He gave American youths a sense of identity and encouraged them to be more active and liberated.

In March 1958, Elvis had to join the army. When his hair was cut, thousands of women cried. He spent the next two years in Germany, where he met Priscilla Beaulieu, who became his wife eight years later on May 1, 1967.

When he left the army, he recorded many beautiful and moving ballads. His “Blue Christmas” won the hearts of all Americans. Since that time they began to call him the “King”. For twenty years Presley was number one on the world list of singers. He sold the highest number of records ever – over 500 million!

In 1972 his wife left him, and they were divorced in October 1973. He died of a heart attack at the age of 42. He had been working too hard and eating and drinking too much for several years. He left all his money to his only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. She became one of the richest people in the world when she was only nine years old.

The cult of Elvis Presley has lasted till today. As someone put it, old rockers never die; they live through their music. Presley’s mansion in Memphis is visited by half a million people every year. They pay tribute to the memory of one of the greatest world-class stars.

Everyone knew Elvis was the king of rock’n’roll. And everyone knows he will always be the king of rock’n’roll. Long live Elvis!

Text Two

«An Amazing Crime»