Ladies, we all have to admit we all love Elvis Presley and we all think he was one of the most handsome men on Earth. But before he became the King of Rock, he was born Elvis Aaron Presley on January 8th, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He did have a twin brother named Jesse, but sadly, he died as a stillborn. Elvis was raised by loving parents. His family had a little bit of money and they moved a lot. He was devoted to both of his parents, especially his wonderful christian mother, Gladys. Elvis Presley and his family went to the Assembly of God Church—that is where Elvis got a strong influence for gospel music. On Elvis Presley's 11th birthday, his mother bought him his first guitar. A few years later, he won a talent show at Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee. When he graduated high school, he worked so many jobs while working on his music career. His first demo record became known as Sun Studio. Then, Sam Phillips, a record label owner, took Elvis Presley under his wing to help him with his music career. Elvis finally began touring and got his first single called "That's All Right" in 1954.
The year is 1955. Elvis Presley signed a record deal with RCA Records with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis started off on a good start with his number one single called "Heartbreak Hotel" from his debut album Elvis Presley, and with his sexy, groovy dance moves, he signed a movie contract with Paramount Pictures. Soon enough, Elvis Presley was all over TV and radio. His movie, Love Me Tender, was a really big box hit, but then, Elvis Presley was drafted into the US military in 1957. In March, he was induced into the army. He went to serve in Germany for a year and a half. Shortly after leaving for Europe, his mother Gladys died. He was able to leave and return to Memphis to attend his mother's funeral. Right when he went back to Germany, he met a beautiful young lady named Priscilla Beaulieu. In 1960, he decided to leave the army and return to music full-time. He quickly hit the top charts with the soundtrack for GI Blues in 1961. He continued recording music and acting for things like Blue Hawaii, Girls! Girls! Girls, and Viva Las Vegas. Even though some of them were hits and misses, the soundtracks usually sold very well. Elvis Presley wanted to prove that he was still the "King of Rock & Roll" with his first TV special called 68 Comeback. Then Elvis and Priscilla wed in 1967 and had their daughter, Lisa Marie, the following year. But sadly, in the early 1970s, Elvis and his wife Priscilla divorced and Priscilla got full custody of their daughter, Lisa Marie. T
hat wasn't the only thing that Elvis Presley was going through. He was battling with a growing addiction to prescription drugs. Then he also battled with a weight problem, which caused him to be hospitalized for drug-related health problems. Through all the ups and downs, he stayed very popular in Las Vegas and on tour. He performed his very last concert in June 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana. After he was done performing, he returned home to his Memphis mansion called Graceland so he could get ready for another tour. But sadly he wouldn't be able to go on another tour again. Elvis Presley passed away of heart failure on August 16th, 1977 at the age of 42. The doctors discovered that the cause of death was related to his drug addiction health problems. Elvis Presley was buried on his Graceland property. He was buried by his mother Gladys and his father Vernon and he was also buried by his grandmother, Minnie Mae Hood Presley.
Even though Elvis Presley is no longer with us today, his music will always live forever. He has had hit songs after hit songs. Some of my favorite songs are "Jailhouse Rock," "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You," and any Christmas songs by him. We have a lot of people who impersonates Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, is keeping her father's legacy on by singing just like her father. Elvis Presley will always be the King of Rock & Roll. Rest in peace, Elvis!
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Rihanna
Rihanna is one the top pop/R&B artists in the world. Before she became a famous artist, she was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988 in St. Michael Parish, Barbados. She is oldest of three children of her parents Monica, who is an accountant. And her father Ronald, who is a warehouse supervisor. Rihanna's childhood wasn't always a walk in the park. Her father had struggled with drugs and alcohol, which hurt his marriage to Rihanna's mother. They divorced when Rihanna was a teenager. Throughout her childhood, Rihanna dealt with horrible headaches. She never told her friends or classmates at all about the headaches. She didn't want to be teased about it. When things became too much for Rihanna at home, she turned to music to help her with her troubles. When she came of teen years, her and two of her best friends formed a girl group and scored an audition with Evan Rodgers. He loved Rihanna and knew she had what it took to make it in the music business. It was like the other girls didn't even exist at all. So when Rihanna was 16 years old, she left Barbados to move in with Evan Rodgers and his wife to Connecticut to work on her demo. In 2005, Rihanna landed an audition for Def Jam Records, which Jay-Z is the president of now. She sang in front of Jay-Z and she was signed. A few months later, Rihanna released her first hit song "Pon De Replay," from her first debut album 'Music of the Sun.' Her song went to number two on the Billboards chart. Her first album went to number ten on the Billboards. Then, Rihanna released her second album called 'A Girl Like Me.' Two major hits came from the album. "SOS" and "Unfaithful" were her two major hits from that album. In 2007, Rihanna decided to change from teen pop star to sex symbol for her next album 'Good Girl Gone Bad.' Her most popular song from this album is "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z. "Umbrella" won Rihanna her first Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Other hits from the album were "Shut Up and Drive" and "Don't Stop the Music." The following year, Rihanna released 'Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded' with bigger hits like "Disturbia," "Take A Bow" and "Hate That I Love You." Just when you thought she was done making hits after hits, she released her album 'Rated R' with singles like "Hard" and "Rude Boy." Her album 'Loud' became commercially popular with the hit songs "What's My Name," "Only Girl (In the World)" and "S&M." Rihanna didn't just make hits, she collaborated with other artist like Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie"), Jay-Z ("Run This Town"), Kanye West ("All Of The Lights"), and Maroon 5 ("If I Never See Your Face Again"). In 2011, Rihanna released her sixth album 'Talk That Talk' with her hit song "We Found Love" with DJ Calvin Harris. The song won her a Grammy for Best Short Form for a music video. Rihanna did make a few headlines like she had an affair with Jay-Z. She laughed it out when she heard about it. She hit headlines again when she was assaulted by Chris Brown. Rihanna became a spokesperson for domestic violence. Rihanna did date a few good looking guys. Her and LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp did date for a while. But the couple went their separate ways. Her Grammy winning album 'Unapologetic' had number one hits like "Diamonds" and "Stay" featuring Mikky Ekko. This album was her first album to hit number one on the billboards. She worked with Coldplay on a song called "Princess of China." And she collaborated with Eminem again on a song called 'The Monster.' Around that time she decided to star in some movies like "Battleship" and "Home." In 2014, Rihanna changed from Def Jam Records to Jay-Z's Roc Nation Records. August 2015, Rihanna announced she was going to be key adviser for The Voice's Season nine. That same year she did a collaboration with Kanye West and Beatles singer Paul McCartney on "Four Five Seconds." Another hit song she made was "Bitch Better Have My Money." Then in 2016, she released a song called "Work" with fellow rapper Drake. That song is so catchy that it will stay in your head forever. Then Rihanna decided to do more acting. She was on the show Bates Motel. And she was also in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Now she is going to be in a movie with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway called Ocean's 8. A female spin off of "Ocean's Trilogy." Rihanna is a multi-talented singer and actress. Her song "Love On The Brain" is one of the best songs she ever sang ever. It's a really powerful song. That's another song that will get in your head quickly. You will sing it in your sleep. Rihanna will always be the Barbadian Princess of the world.
By Shante Hernandez6 years ago in Beat
Frankie's Song of the Week: Espresso - Sabrina Carpenter
A little something different from me while I deal with the strain of writers block. I thought I'd do a song of the week, because I have been surely annoying my neighbours and my friends with this absolute musical GEM. I am of course talking about Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter.
By Frankie Martinelli7 days ago in Beat
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