Elvis Presley

The single most influential figure in the birth of rock and roll, and still the best-selling solo recording artist in history. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1935 and raised in Memphis, Elvis Presley walked into Sam Phillips's Sun Records in 1954 and fused country, gospel, and rhythm and blues into something the world had never quite heard, then carried it onto television and film until he was the most famous entertainer alive. From the Sun sessions through Elvis Presley, Elvis Is Back!, From Elvis in Memphis, and the gospel records he loved most, he redrew what a popular singer could be and what a record could do to an audience.

His 1968 television special, now known as the '68 Comeback Special, restored him after years in Hollywood and produced some of the most electric footage of his career; his 1970s Las Vegas and touring years turned him into an American institution before his death at Graceland on August 16, 1977, at just 42. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, holds more RIAA-certified sales than any other solo act, and remains, nearly half a century on, the reference point every rock and roll performer is still measured against.