Elvis Presley is remembered most as a pop singer and performer. With his unique characteristics of manners on the stage, he ushered in a new era in the history of American music. It is no difficult task to list his uniqueness, for example, his special sound, exaggerating motions, and most important of all is the eye-catching shaking of his hip, which has long been regarded as a novel breakthrough in music styles and popular cultures.
The latest news from the VOA reveals that there is a special cultural and musical feast on display in the Washington, D.C. It must be the first time that you’ve ever heard of its name, newseum of Elvis Presley. Yep, there is no misspelling here. And it seems to the creators that the word “newsume” is a self-explanatory title, a neologism from the two words “news” and “museum”. Up to now, can you visualize what a newseum is supposed to be like in your mind? The things on display are not some antiques of centuries of years old; instead, they are different explanations, responses and attitudes towards the Hillbilly Cat and his musical career then and there.
There is a proverb which goes “everything has a hard beginning”, so is the case in the debut of the Hillbilly Cat. People’s attitudes towards new stuff are always changeable. For instance, when sexy costumes were designed in the old times, the creative designers got an earful from the public. But what has happened to date? The design is all the rage. Miscellaneous series of products such as Cosplay Costumes, Mascot Costumes, and etc are all steady outflow onto the female garment market. Similarly, Presley not accepted by the public and even became the target of criticism at the initial stage of his career. However, step by step, he brought his style of music and dancing into maturity and gained his laurels in the end. Now our society is so all-inclusive that it is no surprise to see a lady walking in the street with typical half length black latex catsuit or listen to the thunderous rock and roll at midnight.
Doubtless to say, Elvis Presley is a music genius, which might be reflected in his composition of his unique music genre. Long before in the musical realm, there used to be a well-established dichotomy: country music versus rhythm and blues music. The former has long been practice among white people, and the latter among blacks. Elvis’s achievement lies in his combination of the music genres and bring along a brand new one, rock and roll, a new style that is to become famous and popular worldwide.
