ABSTRACT
The second generation of classic rockers—Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers—forged to the forefront of rock and roll by 1957. Their particular brand of country-rooted rock and roll placed more of an emphasis on the guitar-oriented string band, the electric guitar instrumental solo, and a worldview that was almost exclusively focused on romance. Presley was a poor white kid from northeastern Mississippi who lived the American Dream. He became the King of Rock and Roll. Elvis's music went through three developmental periods in the forties and fifties. In early 1955, when Presley appeared in Lubbock, Buddy and Bob Dylan opened the show, and they became friends with rock's messiah. The "Sun Sound" found a receptive audience in Holly, and he went on what a friend once called "an Elvis kick". His vocal range fell from bluegrass-influenced nasal to Elvis-style crooning.
