名人轶事:Elvis Presley

By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: March 13, 2005

((THEME))

ANNCR:

Welcome to PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in VOA Special English. Today Rich

Kleinfeldt and Steve Ember tell about one of America’s most popular singers,

Elvis Presley.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

That song, “Hound Dog,” was one of Elvis Presley’s most popular records.

It sold five-million copies in Nineteen-Fifty-Six. Music industry experts say

more than one-thousand-million of Elvis’s recordings² have sold throughout

the world. He was a success in many different kinds of music --popular,

country, religious, and rhythm³ and blues⁴.

Elvis Presley won many awards from nations all over the world, yet he did not

record in any language other than English. He never performed outside the

United States, except for three shows in Canada. Yet, his recordings and

films have been, and are still, enjoyed by people all over the world.

VOICE TWO:

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in the southern town of Tupelo, Mississippi on

January eighth, Nineteen-Thirty-Five. His family was extremely poor. During

his childhood, he sang in church with his parents. He also listened to music

that influenced his later singing, including country, rhythm and blues, and

religious music. Elvis and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was

thirteen.

After high school, he had several jobs, including driving a truck. In

Nineteen-Fifty-Three, he made his first recording¹, of this song, “My

Happiness”:

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Elvis Presley recorded the song at the Memphis Recording Service. The story

is that he paid four dollars to make a recording for his mother. A woman who

worked at the public recording studio had another job with a local

independent record company called Sun Records. She made a second recording of

Elvis’s songs because she thought the owner of Sun Records should hear him

sing.

VOICE TWO:
The owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, had been looking for a white

performer who could sing black rhythm and blues. He suggested Elvis work with

a guitar player and a bass⁵ player. Several months later Mister⁶ Phillips

agreed to have the group make a record. It was released⁷ on July nineteenth,

Nineteen-Fifty-Four. One of the songs was “That’s All Right”:
(MUSIC)

The record sold well in Memphis, and was a played a lot on local radio

stations. To let others hear Elvis, Sam Phillips organized a series of

performances at country fairs in the area. One of the people who heard Elvis

perform at these shows was Colonel⁸ Tom Parker. Elvis signed an agreement that

Colonel Parker would organize his appearances.

One of Elvis’ first new recordings became a huge hit, and led to his many

appearances on television. It was “Heartbreak Hotel”:

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 rhythm   

n.韵律；节奏

参考例句：

• He has an ear for the rhythm of Irish speech.他对爱尔兰语的节奏很敏感。
• His poem has a pleasing rhythm.他的诗有和谐的韵律。

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

6 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

7 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

8 colonel   

n.(英国陆军、美国陆空军及海军陆战队)上校

参考例句：

• It's a pity we didn't mend our fences with the colonel.可惜我们还没有和上校先生调整好关系。
• An army major ranks between a captain and a colonel.陆军少校的军阶在上尉与中校之间。

9 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

11 tender   

adj.嫩的，柔软的；脆弱的，纤细的；温柔的

参考例句：

• At the tender age of seventeen I left home.早在十七岁的小小年纪，我就离开了家。
• We were sent to boarding school at a tender age.很小的时候我们就被送到了寄宿学校。

12 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。