Passion or Profession: Actor

Period: 1935–1977

Presley grew up singing with his church’s gospel choir, and when he got older he applied some of the styles he had learned there to his own music. He was discovered by a local producer as a teen and began working with manager “Colonel” Tom Parker. Even as a young singer, his unique synthesis of sounds signaled the beginning of a new type of music that would be called rock ’n’ roll. He went on to create a huge musical sensation, star in more than 30 movies and multiple TV specials, and receive the title “King of Rock ’n’ Roll.” He died at age 42 of a drug overdose.