During the 1950s Elvis released a series of chart topping records and became the king of rock and roll. He staged only a limited number of concerts during the late 1950s and 60s and spent the majority of his time making films and writing movie soundtracks. In 1973, Presley staged the first concert broadcasted globally via satellite. It was titled Aloha from Hawaii and the concert was seen by around 1.5 billion people. In the 1950s Elvis relentless dance moves, dark black hair, sideburns, and deep voice made him an international sex symbol. Girls would go crazy at the sight of Elvis and swarm around him like no other previous performer.

五十年代貓王發行了一系列榜上有名的唱片，成為搖滾之王。五十年代晚期以及六十年代貓王登臺演唱的次數不多，他大部分時間都在拍攝電影、創作電影原聲。1973年，貓王舉辦了首個通過衛星全球播出的演唱會，題為《歡迎來到夏威夷》，約有15億觀眾觀看了這場演出。五十年代貓王那躁動不安的舞步，烏黑的頭發與鬢角，低沉的嗓音使他成了一個國際性感象征。女孩們一看見他就瘋狂地圍在他身邊，之前沒有哪位藝人能享受這種待遇。