Overview of Achievements

Record Sales
It is estimated that Elvis Presley has sold over one billion record units worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history. In America alone, Elvis has had 150 different albums and singles that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with more certifications expected as research into his past record sales continues and as current sales go on. Research is also underway to document his record sales achievements in other countries. It is estimated that 40% of Elvis' total record sales have been outside the United States.

International Acclaim
Elvis Presley’s trophy room at Graceland is filled with gold and platinum records and awards of all kinds from around the world. Some of the countries represented are: Norway, Yugoslavia, Japan, Australia, South Africa, England, Sweden, Germany, France, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

It is interesting to note that, except for a handful of movie soundtrack songs, Elvis did not record in other languages, and, except for five shows in three Canadian cities in 1957, he did not perform in concert outside the United States. Still, his recordings and films enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, popularity all over the globe, and he is known throughout the world by his first name.

Record Chart Statistics
Elvis has had no less than 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America. Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were in the top ten, and 18 went to number one. His number one singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one. He has also had over 90 charted albums with ten of them reaching number one. These figures are only for the pop charts, and only in America. He was also a leading artist in the American country, R&B, and gospel fields, and his chart success in other countries was substantial.

Historic Television Guest Appearances
In 1956, Elvis made his network television debut with the first of his six appearances on Stage Show, a weekly variety program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. He followed these with two appearances on The Milton Berle Show, the second of which included a performance of Hound Dog that was so provocative (for that time, anyway) that it caused a national scandal. Elvis next appeared on The Steve Allen Show, with Allen mocking the sensation of the Berle appearance by having Elvis dress in a tuxedo, eliminate his usual physical gyrations, and sing Hound Dog to a Basset Hound. Ed Sullivan had once said he would never have the controversial singer on his top-rated show, but that was before the week that Elvis’ appearance on Steve Allen had surpassed Sullivan’s ratings. Sullivan paid Elvis $50,000 to make three appearances on his show, which was, at the time, more money than any performer had ever been paid to appear on a network variety program. When Elvis made his third Sullivan appearance in January of 1957, Ed Sullivan surprised Elvis by telling him on camera that his show had never had a better experience with a name act, and said “I wanted to say to Elvis and the country that this is a real decent, fine boy.” It was on this very same Sullivan appearance that Elvis was shown on camera from the waist up only, one of early television history’s most memorable moments. Elvis’ next network television appearance was in 1960, when Frank Sinatra gave his variety show a “Welcome Home, Elvis” theme to herald Elvis’ return from the army. Elvis was paid $125,000 to appear - again, making history.

The Silver Screen
Elvis starred in 31 feature films as an actor and two theatrically released concert documentary films, all of which enjoyed financial success. For a number of years he was one of Hollywood’s top box office draws and one of its highest-paid actors. His two most critically acclaimed films, Jailhouse Rock (1957) and King Creole (1958) have become classics of their era. His movies and concert films enjoy a healthy life today in television syndication and home video sales and rentals. Some of his top-selling music came from his movies. Eleven of his movie soundtrack albums went to the top ten, and of those, four went to number one. The soundtrack for G.I. Blues (1960), was number one on the Billboard Top 100 album chart for 10 weeks and remained on the chart for 111 weeks. The album from Blue Hawaii was number one for 20 weeks and was on the chart for 79 weeks.

Television Specials
Elvis Presley’s three network television specials - Elvis (1968) , Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite (1973), and Elvis in Concert (1977) - stand among the most highly rated specials of their time. His 1968 special, Elvis , is one of the most critically acclaimed music specials of all time. His 1973 special, Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite , was seen in 40 countries by 1 billion to 1.5 billion people and made television history. It was seen on television in more American homes than man’s first walk on the moon.

The Concert Stage
When Elvis returned to the live stage after the success of his 1968 television special and the wrap-up of his Hollywood movie contract obligations, he opened at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in the summer of 1969 for a 4-week, 57-show engagement that broke all existing Las Vegas attendance records. He returned to the International a few months later in early 1970, during the slow winter season in Vegas, and broke his own attendance record. Right after that came a record-breaking six-show engagement at the Astrodome in Houston, where Elvis played to a total of 207,494 people. Elvis took his elaborate live show on the road in the latter part of 1970 for his first concert tour since 1957. Throughout the 1970’s Elvis toured America, breaking box office records right and left, and continued to play an engagement or two per year in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Among the outstanding highlights of this period was in 1972, when Elvis performed four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. During his “concert years” from 1969 to 1977, Elvis gave nearly 1,100 concert performances.

Grammy Awards
Elvis received 14 Grammy nominations from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). His three wins were for gospel recordings - the album How Great Thou Art (1967), the album He Touched Me (1972) and his live Memphis concert recording of the song How Great Thou Art (1974). In 1971, NARAS also recognized him with their Lifetime Achievement Award (known then as the Bing Crosby Award in honor of its first recipient). Elvis was 36 years old at the time.

Six of Elvis' recordings, all of them his original studio masters, have been inducted into the NARAS Hall of Fame: Hound Dog (1956 recording, inducted 1988), Heartbreak Hotel (1956 recording, inducted 1995), That's All Right (1954 recording, inducted 1998), Suspicious Minds (1969 recording, inducted 1999), Don't Be Cruel (1956 recording, inducted 2002) and Are You Lonesome Tonight (1960 recording, inducted 2007). The Recording Academy's national trustees established the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Many inductees are recordings that were created and released before the 1958 inception of NARAS and the Grammy Awards.

One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation
The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees) named Elvis One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 in a ceremony on January 16, 1971, one of Elvis’ proudest moments. This award has been given since 1938 and has honored men of achievement in all areas of endeavor - sports, government, science, medicine, entertainment, etc. It recognizes outstanding personal achievement and the exemplification of the opportunities available in the free enterprise system, along with patriotism, humanitarianism, and community service. (In the 1980's, eligibility was opened to women as well as men, and the award has since been presented to the year's Ten Outstanding Young Americans.)

Charitable Endeavors
Elvis Presley was famous for giving away Cadillacs, cash and jewelry, often on the spur of the moment. But, the true depth and breadth of his generosity and community involvement is not so widely known.

In 1961, Elvis gave a benefit concert at Bloch Arena in Hawaii that raised over $65,000 toward the building of the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. The resulting publicity gave new life to the fund-raising effort, which had, by then, lost its momentum. The memorial opened a year later.

Audience tickets for his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii television special and its pre-broadcast rehearsal show carried no price, as each audience member was asked to pay whatever he or she could. The performances and concert merchandise sales were a benefit raising $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii.

Each year, for many years, Elvis gave $1,000 or more to each of fifty Memphis-area charities, but also continually made many other charitable donations in Memphis and around the country.

Most of Elvis’ philanthropic endeavors received no publicity at all. Throughout his adult life, for friends, for family, and for total strangers, he quietly paid hospital bills, bought homes, supported families, paid off debts, and much more.

Elvis' legacy of generosity continues through the work of the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, which is the philanthropic branch of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and the creator of the Elvis Presley Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Memphis. The tradition of giving also continues through the work of the Elvis fan clubs worldwide, most of which are heavily involved in charitable endeavors in Elvis' memory.

Graceland Mansion
Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home and refuge for twenty years, is one of the most visited homes in America today, now attracting over 600,000 visitors annually. It is also the most famous home in America after the White House. In 1991, Graceland Mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2006, Graceland was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Elvis Stamp
In 1992, the U.S. Postal Service announced that Elvis’ image would be used for a commemorative postage stamp. The Postal Service narrowed the artwork choices down to two images - one of Elvis in the 1950’s as a sizzling young rocker, and one of him as a still-svelte concert superstar in his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii special. In an unprecedented move, the USPS put the decision to the American people and distributed ballots coast to coast. Over 1.2 million votes were cast, and the image of the young rocker won. The stamp was released on January 8, 1993, with extravagant first day of issue ceremonies at Graceland. The Elvis stamp is the most widely publicized stamp issue in the history of the U.S. Postal Service, and it is the top selling commemorative postage stamp of all time. The USPS printed 500 million of them, three times the usual print run for a commemorative stamp. Several countries outside the USA also have issued Elvis stamps over the years.

Special Posthumous Honors
The 1984 W.C. Handy Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis recognized Elvis for "keeping the blues alive in his music - rock and roll." The Academy of Country Music's first Golden Hat Award presented in 1984 recognized Elvis' influence on country music. In 1986, Elvis was among the first group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1987, Elvis was honored with the first posthumous presentation of the Award of Merit by the American Music Awards, 1987. In 1998, Elvis received the Country Music Association's highest honor, induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2001, Elvis was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame. With that honor, Elvis is the only person, so far, to become a member of all three of these halls of fame - Rock and Roll, Country and Gospel.

Generations of Fans
Currently, there are over 625 active Elvis fan clubs worldwide. Elvis' popularity is at an all-time high, and his legacy continues to reach new audiences. Half of Graceland's visitorship is age 35 and under.

A New Concert Career
On August 16, 1997, Elvis, via video, starred in an extravagant concert production entitled Elvis in Concert '97 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, accompanied live on stage by over thirty of his former bandmates and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. The show played before a capacity crowd of fans who had come to Memphis from around the world to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Elvis' death. Elvis broke the Mid-South Coliseum's all-time record dollar figure for box office sales. This concert was the prototype for the 1998/99 touring production Elvis - The Concert. By being the first performer ever to headline a live concert tour while no longer living, Elvis made history again. The March 1998 tour included a three-show smash engagement at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The August 1998 tour included the excitement of Elvis' "return" to the Las Vegas Hilton with an eight-show engagement. The January/ February 1999 European tour opened with a sell-out at London's Wembley Arena and, in effect, marked Elvis' first-ever concerts outside of North America. The show continues to tour periodically.

Elvis Presley

Biography

Elvis Aaron Presley, in the humblest of circumstances, was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.

His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977.

Protect an Ipod and Tame Its Unruly Cord at the Same Time

A new protective case from Digital Lifestyle Outfitters has a spool on the back that takes up slack in the cord when headphones are worn.

Types of musical instrument for woodwinds

Piccolo

The piccolo is a type of transverse flute that is pitched an octave above the concert (or standard) flute. It has a range of nearly three octaves and reaches the highest pitches of a modern orchestra. It is usually used for special effects in orchestras but is more widely used in concert and marching bands. It is played in the same manner as a flute would be played.
History: The piccolo was originally made out of wood and was featured in man prominent composers' works. One of the earliest pieces to use the piccolo was Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. However, the most familiar use of the piccolo is in the end of John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Flute

The flute is the instrument that serves as the soprano voice in most bands, orchestras, and woodwind groups. Most flutes are made of metal and consist chiefly of a tube with a mouthpiece near one end. The musician holds the flute horizontally and blows across an oval shaped hole in the mouthpiece. At the same time, the musician presses levers on the flute, called keys. The keys, when depressed and released, open and close tone holes on the flute to produce different notes. The concert flute, which is tuned in the key of C, is the most popular flute and has a three octave range. Other members of the flute family include the piccolo, the alto flute, and the bass flute.

English Horn

The English Horn is part of the oboe family. It is also called an alto oboe because it is tuned one-fifth lower in pitch than an oboe. Its shape is similar to that of an oboe and is often played by the third oboe player in an orchestra.

Oboe

The oboe is the smallest and highest pitched double reed instrument. It has a cylindrical wooden body with keys along the length of its body. The oboe has a range of about three octaves but is extremely difficult to play. The oboe requires alot of air to play, and the musician must learn proper breathing techniques.

Clarinet

The clarinet, a member of the woodwind family, usually consists of a long tube with a mouthpiece at one end and a bell-shaped opening at the other end. Usually made of wood, the clarinet has tone holes that are covered by small metal levers. To create sound, the musician blows on a flat cane reed that is attatched to the mouthpiece. As the reed vibrates, a full, rich tone is produced. By pushing the keys to close and open the tone holes on the instrument, the pitches of the tone can be changed. Clarinets are manufactured in four keys; the most common band instrument is the B-flat clarinet. This clarinet has a range of about three-and-one-half octaves.

Bassoon

The bassoon is a double reed instrument. It is made up of about eight feet of cylidrical wood tubing. There are four joints in the bassoon: the bass joint, the tenor join, the double joint, and the bell joint. The bell joint is slightly flared and is attactched at the bottom to the bass joint. This is set in turn to the tenor joint which is then set into the double joint. The double reed mouthpiece is attached to a crook in the tenor joint. The bassoon usually has about ten key controlled holes on the body as well has eight finger holes. The musician plays the basson by putting his or her lips on the double reed, blowing through the instrument, and changing fingerings on the keys and holes to create different tones.

Saxophone

The saxophone is a member of the reed-sounded wind instruments. In its construction, it combines the single reed and mouthpiece of the clarinet, a metal body, and a widened version of the conical bore of the oboe. Most saxophones are curved at the bottom so they resemble the bass clarinet. A few, however, such as the soprano saxophone, are straight and look very similar to a clarinet. The saxophone body contains twenty openings that are covered by keys. These keys can be opened or closed in groups by the musician by depressing and releasing six studs, or finger plates. Two additional holes are located on the body of the instrument to produce notes an octave above or below the normal range of the instrument. The most common saxophones, the soprano, the alto, and the tenor, have a range of about two and a half octaves.

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical instrument. The expression, however, is reserved generally for items that have a specific musical purpose. The academic study of musical instruments is called organology.

Types of musical instruments

Instruments are often divided by the way in which they generate sound:

Voice, that is, the human voice, is an instrument in its own right. A singer generates sounds when airflow from the lungs sets the vocal cords into oscillation. The fundamental frequency is controlled by the tension of the vocal cords and the tone quality by the formation of the vocal tract; a wide range of sounds can be created.

String instruments generate a sound when the string is plucked, strummed, slapped, etc. The frequency of the wave generated (and therefore the note produced) usually depends on the length of the vibrating portion of the string, its linear density (mass per unit length of string), the tension of each string and the point at which the string is excited; the tone quality varies with the construction of the resonating cavity. Examples: guitars, violins and sitars. Electric string instruments generate sound by a pickup placed under strings. The electric guitar and the electric bass are the most famous examples, but there is a wide variety of new instruments, because the electro-magnetic amplification generates new possibilities. Other Examples: 3rd bridge overtone koto, electric baritone, electric cymbalom.
Wind instruments generate a sound when a column of air is made to vibrate inside them. The frequency of the wave generated is related to the length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument, while the tone quality of the sound generated is affected by the construction of the instrument and method of tone production. The group is typically subdivided into :
Woodwind instruments, such as the clarinet, saxophone and flute,
Brass instruments, such as the trumpet, trombone and French horn.
Percussion instruments create sound when struck. The shape and material of the part of the instrument to be struck and the shape of the resonating cavity, if any, determine the sound of the instrument. Examples: drums, bells and cymbals.
Lamellophones create a sound by the plucking of lamellas made from different materials (metal, raphia etc.). These Instruments are tunable, so they do not belong to the idiophones. An example is the Mbira.
Electronic instruments generate sound through electronic means. They often mimic other instruments in their design, particularly keyboards, drums and guitars. Examples: synthesizers and theremins.
Keyboard instruments are any instruments that are played with a musical keyboard. Every key generates one or more sounds; most keyboard instruments have extra means (pedals for a piano, stops for an organ) to manipulate these sounds. They may produce sound by wind being fanned (organ) or pumped (accordion), vibrating strings either hammered (piano) or plucked (harpsichord), by electronic means (synthesizer) or in some other way. Sometimes, instruments that do not usually have a keyboard, such as the Glockenspiel, are fitted with one. Though they have no moving parts and are struck by mallets held in the player's hands, they possess the same physical arrangement of keys and produce soundwaves in a similar manner.
Friction instruments are any instrument that use friction to create sound. For example the Glass harmonica or the turntable.
Many alternate divisions and further subdivisions of instruments exist. To learn about specific instruments, consult the list of musical instruments or list of archaic musical instruments.

The Red Zune

After rolling out in brown, black, and white, iPod rival now comes in pink and red as well, hoping an array of colors will help dent iPod's dominance.

Just eight months since its inception, Microsoft's Zune is all red in the face. The Seattle-based software giant rolled out a red version of its Zune portable media player today, hoping that an array of colors will help dent the dominance of the iPod.

The new red version joins the brown, black, and white colors with which the device initially rolled out last November, as well as the pink edition unveiled in April. The Red Zune will be available exclusively at the Target store at Amazon.com starting June 10.

According to first-quarter data from NPD Group, Zune currently stands fourth among all MP3 players with a 3 percent share of the market, trailing SanDisk and Creative, which hold 9 and 4 percent of the market, respectively. Apple's iPod, meanwhile, holds a commanding 73 percent of the total market. The Zune fares slightly better among hard drive-based MP3 players with 10 percent of the market.

Microsoft is hoping that the Zune's wireless capabilities--users can wirelessly share songs and other content for a limited time--will be a distinguishing factor for MP3 player buyers. The $249 Zune, which comes with a 30GB storage capacity, also boasts a 3-inch video screen. In May, Microsoft unveiled a Halo 3-branded Zune, which will be available exclusively at GameStop starting June 15.

Sony unveils latest Walkman Flash MP3 players

Sony has confirmed the debut of its latest Flash-based E-series Walkman music players, announcing this morning that the multi-coloured line-up for 512MB, 1GB and 2GB devices will ship across Europe at the end of the month.


The manufacturer touted the devices' fast charge time: three hours' playback capacity after just three minutes connected to a power source, be it AC adaptor or a computer hooked up via the player's built in USB connector. Sony claimed the players can operate for 28 hours on a full charge, though that's for ATRAC 3-encoded songs - MP3s yield 27 hours' operation.

The 25g, 7.9cm-long gadget has a five-band equaliser, single-line OLED screen and, on the 1GB and 2GB models, an optional FM tuner. Consumers can choose from pink, violet, blue, silver, black and lime green versions, too, all of which come bundled with Sony's SonicStage 3.4 software.