自从艾维斯·普莱斯利涉足美国乐坛，世界文化史便换上一副新面貌。人们经常将他的形象与五六十年代的摇滚风潮相联系起来。他是一位在乐坛上极为举足轻重的人物，常被人们称为“摇滚之王”，或者简称“猫王”。
　　艾维斯·普莱斯利1935年1月8日出生于密西西比州图珀洛市。艾维斯的孪生兄弟杰西一出世就夭折，因此他的父母在将他抚养成人的过程中极尽小心。艾维斯出生于一个普通家庭，他的幼年是在贫困中度过的。
　　他的演唱天赋并非突如其来，他自幼就有一副好嗓子。艾维斯13岁时， 他一家迁到田纳西州孟菲斯市。在那儿，他完成了高中学业。为了养活自己和协助父亲，艾维斯当了卡车司机。后来，他希望能获得一份电工的工作，但是命运为艾维斯作了其它的安排。艾维斯花4美元到太阳唱片公司为他母亲录制了一张两首曲子的唱片，以此作为母亲的生日礼物。这两首曲子先被太阳唱片公司的老板萨姆·菲利普斯听到了。当时萨姆·菲利普斯正在寻觅一个拥有黑人歌手演唱风格的白人，听了艾维斯的歌后，他相信自己找到了要找的人。萨姆和艾维斯签了约，一位新的超级明星就此诞生。
　　 接着，在1955年，普莱斯利与RCA Victor唱片公司签署了一份唱片契约，该公司许诺帮助将艾维斯·普莱斯利从一位地方明星变成国家级明星。如协议承诺的那样，艾维斯频频在报纸、电视和海报上露脸，俨然音乐界的未来巨星。
　　1956年，艾维斯在密尔顿·伯利演唱会上的成名曲《伤心旅店》成功地将他塑造成一位顶级明星，“猫王热潮”开始席卷整个美国。
　　艾维斯成为万千歌迷朋友心中的白马王子。在接下来的7年中，从1956年到1963年，艾维斯是唯一一位在票房和流行音乐排行榜中独占鳌头的超级明星。艾维斯创造了历史，他的众多唱片整整一年高居榜首。他的所有专辑都有几百万张的销量，并且都是炙手可热。艾维斯被誉为“摇滚”新流派的缔造者；这为他赢得了流行音乐史上的中心位置。
　　 1958年，艾维斯响应美国军队的号召，应征入伍，成为驻扎德国的一名吉普车与货车驾驶员。他在美国军队中服役差不多两年。在此期间，他邂逅了当时年仅14岁的普里西拉·伯利欧，二人后来在1967年结为夫妇。
　　即使艾维斯服役期间没有出新唱片或进行表演，他还是深受欢迎。1960年他退役归来后，不再进行演唱表演，而是专心于拍电影。
　　艾维斯主演了几部非常成功的热门电影。1968年，女儿莉萨·玛丽出世后，他重新回到乐坛。艾维斯再次与他的旧乐队携手合作，并且再次表明了他的魅力依然没有消退。
　　几年之后，艾维斯与普里西拉离了婚。艾维斯计划着在孟菲斯的“优雅园”为他母亲筑建一座房子。到了这一时期，他的生活方式彻底发生了变化。他变成一个瘾君子，并且患了妄想症，总是害怕自己将会被抢劫，为此他开始练习空手道。
　　1977年8月16日，猫王逝世，终年42岁。官方诊断的死因为服毒过量导致心力衰竭。
　　艾维斯·普莱斯利有100张唱片上了音乐排行榜，其中18张高居榜首。终其一生，他主演的影片大约有31部，所有影片都取得巨大成功。
　　


　　The Legend of The King
　　
　　World culture has not been the same since Elvis Presley left his 1)mark on American music. He is the image most often 2)associated with the rock and roll movement of the 50’s and 60’s. He is such an important figure that he is often referred to as “The King of Rock and Roll” or simply “The King”
　　Elvis Presley was born on 8 January 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother, Jesse, died at birth, so Elvis?parents brought him up with an 3)intensive care. As he was born in an average family, Elvis spent his childhood in 4)poverty.
　　His talent for singing did not come as a surprise, he had a good voice right from his childhood. When he was 13 years old, the Presley family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. It was here that he completed his 5)graduation from high school. To support himself and his father, Elvis took a job as a truck driver. Later, he hoped to get a job as an electrical 6)repairman, but 7)destiny had something else in store for Elvis. A disc containing two 8)ballads that Elvis recorded at Sun Studio (for four dollars) to give to his mother as a birthday gift, was first heard by Sun Studio’s 9)president Sam Phillips. At that time, Sam was 10)in search of a white man who could match the singing style of a Black singer, and after listening to Elvis, he was sure that he had found the man he wanted. Sam signed Elvis, and a new 11)superstar was born.
　　Further, in 1955, Presley signed a recording contract with RCA Victor, who promised to help 12)transform Elvis Presley from a local star into a national level star. As promised, Elvis was shown in newspapers, television appearances, and photographs where he was 13)hailed as the next superstar of the music world.
　　


　　In 1956, his first performance of“Heartbreak Hotel”on The Milton Berle Show successfully put Elvis on the top list of superstars and the 14)nationwide “Elvis 15)Craze”began.
　　Elvis became the Prince who ruled hearts of his millions of friends. For the next seven years from 1956 to 1963, Elvis was the only superstar who ruled both the box office and pop-music charts. Elvis made history, many of his records were on the top position for about a whole year. All of his albums sold millions and were all huge hits. Elvis is 16)credited with creating a new musical 17)genre “Rock-n-Roll” this gave him a central place in the history of pop music.
　　In the year 1958, Elvis 18)responded to the call from US Army and served as a jeep and truck driver in Germany. He served in the US Army for about two years. During this time, Elvis met fourteen-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, whom he married in 1967.
　　Elvis remained popular even when he was notrecording and performing. When he returned from military service in 1960, he quit 19)performing in concerts and 20)concentrated on making movies.
　　After starring in several very successful hit movies, Elvis returned to the world of music after the birth of his daughter, Lisa Marie in 1968. Elvis once again started working with his old band and proved that the old magic was still there.
　　After a couple of years, Elvis and Priscilla got divorced. Elvis planned to build a Memphis estate for his mother at Graceland. By this time, his lifestyle had completely changed. He became a drug 21)addict and he also became 22)paranoid and had developed a fear that he would be robbed, for which he had started practicing 23)Karate.
　　On August 16 1977, the “King of Rock-n-Roll”died at the age of 42. The official 24)verdict was heart failure resulting from a drug 25)overdose.
　　Elvis Presley had more than 100 records on the billboard charts, out of which about 18 records assumed the number one position. During his lifetime, he 26)starred in about 31 movies; all of them were huge successes.