History Of Rock Teaching Resources: Elvis Presley

Here are a few interesting you tube videos and teaching ideas about Elvis Presley that may be useful to you in teaching about the History of Rock and Roll.

Hound Dog On the Ed Sullivan Show
“Appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show Sept. 9, 1956, Elvis sent shock waves through a repressed nation with his soulful singing, wild hip gyrations and raw energy, attracting a record-breaking TV audience of more than 60 million people”

Love Me Tender
“By 1956-57, Elvis had become a national star and teen idol. He sang in prime time television shows,debuted on popular local radio stations and performed with unprecedented riot-filled success. His first movie called Love Me Tender made a million dollars within three days of being launched.”

Jailhouse Rock
This video footage gives you an idea why Elvis was nicknamed “Elvis the Pelvis”

Heartbreak Hotel
This is just one of Elvis’s “gold” singles in the year 1956-57. This song sold in excess of $1million dollars in sales within just a few months.

Documentary
This is a promo video, but meets all the needs for teachers wanting to show some footage of Elvis throughout his lifetime. It’s short, professional and captures the essence of Elvis in his live performances complete with the screaming girls in the background.

Discussion Questions:

Do you know the reason why Elvis was filmed only from his waist up in his early television performances?

Why do you think Elvis became so popular?

Why do you think Elvis is called “The King Of Rock and Roll”?

Try This:
Write a list of Elvis’s songs on individual pieces of paper. Take turns choosing a piece of paper and acting out the song titles in a game of charades. The class could be divided into teams and awarded points for working out the song title being acted out by their team mate.

If you’ve got some ideas, more discussion questions or feedback relating to teaching about Elvis, please feel free to leave them in the comment box below. It would be great to get a more complete list of footage and resources together here to help benefit all.