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4
Follow – up
Work in groups. Develop the points or comment on the statements.
1. Forest Gump’s family and educational background.
2. His mother is a nationalistic person.
3. Forest Gump is physically handicapped
4. « Elvis Presley» is not for children’s eyes.
5. « … must be hard-being a king.»
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was born in 1935, in Mississippi. His family was poor. They moved to
Memphis Tennessee in search of better opportunities. What influenced Elvis and his
music? First, there was his mother Gladys. For his eleventh birthday, Elvis wanted a
rifle. Gladys convinced him to get a guitar. Then there were the revivals, or religious
meetings he went to. Elvis was influenced by the gospel music and by the way the
preachers stirred up the crowds’ emotions. Finally, there was Memphis. Memphis was a
center for blues music and had a radio station that played gospel, blues, and rhythm-
and-blues. Elvis often listened to his station. He became a truck driver. One day in
1954, he stopped in at the Memphis Recording Studio and, just for fun, recorded a song.
The studio head heard the song and immediately recognized Elvis’s potential. He called
Elvis back for a real recording session. Elvis was an instant hit on the radio and soon
went on tour. Again success came more from spontaneity than from deliberate plans. As
Elvis said, « Everybody was hollerin
,
and I didn’t know what they were hollerin
,
at…
When I came offstage my manager told me they were hollerin
,
because I was wiggling
my legs… I did a little more, and the more I did the louder it went» . Teenagers loved
Elvis and rock and roll. The music critics of the time, however, were unimpressed. They
found Elvis « unspeakably untalented and vulgar» with « no discernible singing ability.»
But most criticism of Elvis and rock and roll had little to do with music. Typical
headlines read:
DOES ROCK AND ROLL CAUSE DELINQUENCY?
TEENAGE MUSIC CRASE HAS PARENTS WORRIED.
Elvis and rock and roll were blamed for the nation’s problems. The music was called
« atheistic» , « criminal» and « a threat to democracy» . Yet his popularity only grew.
Elvis’s career was interrupted in the late 1950s, when he went into the army. When he
came out, he turned to acting. Most of his films were not very good, but they were
financially successful. In 1968 Elvis returned to live performances. But to many people
these performances were like a bad imitation of his former self. Elvis also had problems
in his personal life, as well as problems with his weight and with drugs. Elvis died in
1977, at age 42. The Beatles replaced Elvis in the early 1960s as the most important
figures in rock. When asked about Elvis John Lennon said, « Before Elvis there was
nothing.» Elvis’s mystique lives on. Each year thousands of fans visit his mansion in
4
Follow – up
Work in groups. Develop the points or comment on the statements.
1. Forest Gump’s family and educational background.
2. His mother is a nationalistic person.
3. Forest Gump is physically handicapped
4. «Elvis Presley» is not for children’s eyes.
5. « … must be hard-being a king.»
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was born in 1935, in Mississippi. His family was poor. They moved to
Memphis Tennessee in search of better opportunities. What influenced Elvis and his
music? First, there was his mother Gladys. For his eleventh birthday, Elvis wanted a
rifle. Gladys convinced him to get a guitar. Then there were the revivals, or religious
meetings he went to. Elvis was influenced by the gospel music and by the way the
preachers stirred up the crowds’ emotions. Finally, there was Memphis. Memphis was a
center for blues music and had a radio station that played gospel, blues, and rhythm-
and-blues. Elvis often listened to his station. He became a truck driver. One day in
1954, he stopped in at the Memphis Recording Studio and, just for fun, recorded a song.
The studio head heard the song and immediately recognized Elvis’s potential. He called
Elvis back for a real recording session. Elvis was an instant hit on the radio and soon
went on tour. Again success came more from spontaneity than from deliberate plans. As
Elvis said, «Everybody was hollerin, and I didn’t know what they were hollerin, at…
When I came offstage my manager told me they were hollerin, because I was wiggling
my legs…I did a little more, and the more I did the louder it went». Teenagers loved
Elvis and rock and roll. The music critics of the time, however, were unimpressed. They
found Elvis «unspeakably untalented and vulgar» with «no discernible singing ability.»
But most criticism of Elvis and rock and roll had little to do with music. Typical
headlines read:
DOES ROCK AND ROLL CAUSE DELINQUENCY?
TEENAGE MUSIC CRASE HAS PARENTS WORRIED.
Elvis and rock and roll were blamed for the nation’s problems. The music was called
«atheistic», «criminal» and «a threat to democracy». Yet his popularity only grew.
Elvis’s career was interrupted in the late 1950s, when he went into the army. When he
came out, he turned to acting. Most of his films were not very good, but they were
financially successful. In 1968 Elvis returned to live performances. But to many people
these performances were like a bad imitation of his former self. Elvis also had problems
in his personal life, as well as problems with his weight and with drugs. Elvis died in
1977, at age 42. The Beatles replaced Elvis in the early 1960s as the most important
figures in rock. When asked about Elvis John Lennon said, «Before Elvis there was
nothing.» Elvis’s mystique lives on. Each year thousands of fans visit his mansion in
