Initial Reading
Read the following text as quickly as you can in order to understand the theme of the text. Then complete the exercises that follow.
[1] Almost everyone knows that Elvis Presley was a famous singer, but many people don’t fully understand what he contributed to popular music to earn his widespread fame. Elvis combined different types of music to form a style called rockabilly, which became one of the key sounds in rock’n’roll. That this integration of musical styles took place just prior to the civil rights movement, prefiguring social integration, makes this moment in pop culture history seem momentous.
[2] On January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Aron Presley was born a half hour after his stillborn twin brother, Jesse Garon. While a young boy in Tupelo, Elvis learned to play the guitar from relatives,and then he fell under the influence of country-western singer Mississippi Slim.
[3] It wasn’t until his family moved to Memphis that Elvis’s real musical education began. The diversity of music on Memphis’s radio stations exposed Elvis to a variety of genres, which eventually influenced his music. Memphis also developed into the center for white gospel music during the 1950s, so the fourpart harmonies of the gospel quartets who regularly visited the city became another influence on the teenage Elvis. In addition, the city’s Beale Street district was home to the clubs and joints where African American musicians played blues and rhythm and blues. All these Southern-based musical genres inspired Elvis’s early singing style, which turned out to be a true fusion of sounds.
[4] Elvis wasn’t the first to sing in a rock’n’roll style, so he can’t be credited with inventing it. But, his version of this new music became widely popular during the mid-1950s. He spread rock’n’roll music across the country, making it popular to a wide audience, especially teenagers. In that regard, he was a true innovator.
[5] Elvis also yielded a strong influence on youth culture. During the 1950s, teenagers had begun to think of themselves as being different from their parents’ generation. Because of the economic prosperity of the period, teens enjoyed a disposable income that they could spend on themselves instead of contributing toward family survival. With that money they dressed themselves in fashion marketed to their age group, went to movies that featured stars of their generation, and listened to music that appealed to them. So it wasn’t a surprise when Presley’s rock’n’roll music, his hairstyle, and his fashion sense became a part of this new culture for teenagers.
[6] Later in his career, Presley changed his musical style and his personal look to keep up with the times and gain popularity among older audiences. He became a movie star during the 1960s and then returned to live musical performances during the 1970s. Even after his death, his popularity remains strong among a wide variety of people. This wide popularity, as well as his important role in American musical history, makes him a cultural icon.
New Words
stillborn /
stɪlbɔːn/ adj. 死产的
diversity /daɪ
vɜːsəti/ n. 多样性；多样化
genre /
ʒɒnrə/ n. (文学、艺术、电影或音乐的)体裁，类型
gospel /
ɡɒspl/ n. 福音
harmony /
hɑːməni/ n. 和声
quartet /kwɔː
tet/ n. 四重奏(曲)
blues /bluːz/ n. 布鲁斯音乐，蓝调
rhythm /
rɪðəm/ n. 节奏；韵律
inspire /ɪn
spaɪə(r)/ vt. 激励；鼓舞；赋予灵感
Phrases and Expressions
turn out（to be）原来是；结果是；证明是
Related Information
1. Elvis Presley：埃尔维斯·普雷斯利，绰号“猫王”，美国摇滚歌手及演员。他是20世纪美国流行音乐中最重要的人物。“猫王”这个绰号是狂热的美国南方歌迷为他取的昵称，原意为“来自乡村的野猫”。
2. civil rights movement：非裔美国人民权运动，是美国民权运动的一部分，于20世纪50年代兴起，直至20世纪70年代，是美国黑人为争取与白人同等的地位而发起的群众性斗争运动。1954年美国联邦最高法院判定教育委员会种族隔离的学校违法；1955年阿拉巴马州蒙哥马利市，黑人公民以全面罢乘来反对公车上的黑白隔离措施；1963年华盛顿的林肯纪念堂广场聚集二十五万名群众反种族隔离。美国民权运动领袖马丁·路德·金发表了著名的演说《我有一个梦想》。运动在1968年反越战时达到最高峰，虽然同年马丁·路德·金和罗伯特·弗朗西斯·肯尼迪遭到刺杀，但运动成功促使南方废除了实行一个世纪的种族隔离。
3. Mississippi：密西西比州，位于美国南部，密西西比河东岸，南临墨西哥湾，北接田纳西州，东接亚拉巴马州，西邻路易斯安那州和阿肯色州。
4. Memphis：孟菲斯，是美国田纳西州谢尔比县的一座城市，也是谢尔比县县治，是田纳西州最大的城市。
5. Blues：蓝调，是一种基于五声音阶的声乐和乐器音乐，它的特点是其特殊的和声。蓝调起源于过去美国黑人奴隶的赞美歌、劳动歌曲、叫喊和圣歌。蓝调对后来美国和西方流行音乐有非常大的影响，拉格泰姆、爵士乐、蓝草、节奏蓝调、摇滚乐、乡村音乐和普通的流行歌曲，甚至现代的古典音乐中都含有蓝调的因素或者是从蓝调发展而来的。
6. Rhythm and Blues：常被人称为R＆B，译作“节奏怨曲”或“节奏布鲁斯”，是融合了爵士乐、福音音乐和蓝调音乐的音乐形式。这个音乐术语由美国告示牌杂志（Billboard）于20世纪40年代末所提出。它衍生了多种不同音乐类型，如大众熟悉的Rock’n’Roll，Disco和Rap。