Think about a singer so famous that millions of people still listen to his music every single day, even though he passed away nearly fifty years ago. That’s Elvis Presley, and people call him the “King of Rock and Roll.”
During his life, Elvis became one of the biggest stars on Earth. Today, his name is still written in the record books. Let’s take a fun look at how one man shook up the world and broke the biggest records in music history!
The Billion-Album King
The biggest record Elvis holds is for selling the most music. Elvis has sold over 1 billion records worldwide!
To understand how amazing this is, we have to look at how people have listened to music over the years. Long ago, people listened to music on heavy plastic discs called vinyl records. Later, they used cassette tapes and compact discs (CDs). Today, we listen to music on our phones and computers. Elvis is so popular that he sold massive amounts of music through each of these channels!
Ruling the Charts for Decades
Elvis did not just sell music; he ruled the music charts. The charts are like a scoreboard for the most popular songs.
In the United Kingdom, Elvis had 21 different songs reach the number-one spot. In total, his songs spent 80 weeks at the very top. That is over a year and a half of being the most popular singer in the country!
Even more amazing is how long his popularity lasted. In 2005 and 2006, some of his old songs from the 1950s were released again. Guess what happened? Millions of fans bought them, and songs like “Jailhouse Rock” and “Heartbreak Hotel” became number-one hits all over again, nearly fifty years after they first came out!
Why is Elvis the King? Records, Hits & Legacy
Space Satellites and Golden Awards
Elvis also made television history. On January 14, 1973, he performed a special concert called Aloha from Hawaii. It was the first full concert ever broadcast worldwide via satellite. Experts believe that between 1 and 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch Elvis sing in his famous white jumpsuit.
Because of all these fans, Elvis won an incredible number of awards. The RIAA, which tracks music sales in America, has given Elvis 299 official sales awards. In fact, during a special ceremony in 1992, they presented his family with 110 gold and platinum awards at once. No one had ever seen anything like it!
Even after Elvis passed away in 1977, his music did not stop. A show called Elvis: The Concert toured the world for years. It showed Elvis singing on giant screens while his real, live band played the instruments on stage.
From his first hit in the 1950s to kids streaming his songs today, Elvis Presley proved that great music never gets old. He truly was, and always will be, the King.