In 1956 Elvis Presley released his self-titled debut studio album which included such hits as “Blue Suede Shoes” and became the first rock&roll record ever to top the Billboard charts. Add in a series of TV appearances watched by just about anyone with a set, and Elvis Presley became a national sensation at age 21.
That August LIFE magazine published a big story on the Elvis Presley phenomenon, and it talked about much more than the music. It was about the young women who screamed at his every gyration, the young men doing their best to look like him, and the adults who wanted to stop the hip-swiveling, blues-influenced Presley from corrupting the youth of America.
While it was undoubtedly good to be The King, the crown also inevitably became a burden. In 1977 Elvis died an early death at age 42, and that may explain why of all the photos that LIFE staff photographer Robert W. Kelley shot for that 1956 story, the one that resonates the most today is the lone picture that hit a somber note.
Kelley’s photos from 1956 show the full glory of Elvis on stage. But Kelley also captured one quiet moment of Elvis backstage, with his head bent over and his hand leaning on a wall. That shot happens to be the most popular image of Elvis Presley in the LIFE print store.
In LIFE’s report the magazine talked about how Elvis Presley seemed to be unleashing something deeper in his audience than the other pop music stars who had come before him:
Up to a point the country can withstand the impact of Elvis Presley as a familiar and acceptable phenomenon. Wherever the lean, 21-year-old Tennessean goes to howl out his combination of hillbilly and rock and roll, he is beset by teenage girls yelling for him. They dote on his sideburns and pegged pants, cherish cups of water dipped from his swimming pool, covet strands of his hair, boycott disc jockeys who dislike his records (they have sold some six million copies). All this the country has seen before with Ray, Sinatra and all the way back to Rudy Vallee.
But with Elvis Presley the daffiness has been deeply disturbing to civic leaders, clergymen, some parents. He does not just bounce to accent his heavy beat. He uses a bump and grind routine usually seen only in burlesque. His young audiences, unexposed to such goings-on, do not just shout their approval. They get set off by shock waves of hysteria, going into frenzies of screeching and wailing, ending up in tears.
People have plenty of opinions about Elvis today, but there is no doubt that his arrival in 1956 marked a before-and-after moment for popular music. Here, LIFE.com presents photos of Elvis—several of which never ran in LIFE magazine—at the thrilling beginning of the King’s remarkable journey.
Elvis Presley in Florida, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
In Jacksonville, fans yelled their heads off at Presley’s performance.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Presley was on the mind of Baptist preacher Robert Gray.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Presley fans in Florida, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A 13-year-old, Steve Shad, imitated Presley’s moves in a Jacksonville record shop.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Presley promoter in Jacksonville was the side-burned drummer and disk jockey Scotty Ferguson.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Barber Joe Governale in Jacksonville gave Ronny Turner, 16, the duck-tail cut Elvis favored, leaving a rich overhang of hair in back of head.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
An antidote to Elvis was a church social at Murray Hill Methodist church two nights after Presley left. Before this dance, the group heard Presley denounced in a sermon on ”Hot Rods, Reefers and Rock ‘n Roll.”
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Civic leaders met with a Jacksonville judge to discuss ways of “curbing” Elvis Presley’s influence on local teens.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Teenagers in Trinity Baptist church, led by Revered Gray, prayed for the salvation of the soul of Elvis Presley.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Fans lined up outside a Florida theater before an Elvis concert, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Elvis Presley in Florida, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
For each of Presley’s six shows in two days in Jacksonville, 2,200 teenagers turned up. A line of uniformed cops and shore patrol seated in the orchestra pit kept the audience from storming over the footlights when Elvis sang his closing number, ‘Hound Dog.’
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Andrea June Stephens came to Jacksonville from Atlanta, Ga., after writing a prizewinning letter on why she would like to meet Elvis. Promised a dinner date with Elvis, she got instead a cheeseburger in a Jacksonville diner.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Elvis Presley in Florida, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Elvis Presley in Florida, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Elvis Presley in Florida, 1956.
Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Life Magazine, August 27, 1956
LIFE’s feature on the Elvis Presley phenomenon, August 27, 1956
Life Magazine, August 27, 1956
Life Magazine, August 27, 1956
Life Magazine, August 27, 1956
