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Elvis Presley’s ‘Jailhouse Rock’ Finally Makes Grammy Hall Of Fame

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:04 PST, Dec 17, 2016

Elvis Presley has posthumously won a place in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Along with Elvis, country legends like The Everly Brothers, Merle Haggard, and Bonnie Raitt have been recognized by the Recording Academy for their contribution to music, and each of the musicians’ hit songs will be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Elvis’s iconic “Jailhouse Rock” has been chosen as the song to make its way into the Grammy Hall of Fame because of the enormous popularity it gained at the time of its release. Moreover, the Recording Academy believes that Elvis’s song will add value to their diverse collection of popular songs that can be truly considered as gems. According to Taste of Country, Neil Portnow, the President of the Recording Academy, spoke about how Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock” proves to be culturally significant.

“The Grammy Hall of Fame represents all genres of music. Memorable and inspiring, these recordings are proudly added to our growing catalog and are an integral part of our musical, social and cultural history.”

The song was featured in 1957’s Jailhouse Rock, arguably Elvis’s most popular movie, and topped several of Billboard’s charts. The music video shows Elvis Presley singing the song along with a group of male prisoners while being imprisoned in jail.

Elvis’s on-screen persona made him instantly famous, and he earned his reputation as the King of Rock and Roll. The movie’s plot depicts the challenges faced by Elvis’s character after he transforms himself from a convict to a singing sensation after learning music from a fellow inmate.

Previously, Rolling Stone magazine had placed Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock” amongst the Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and it has also been placed in Rock and Roll’s Hall of Fame for being amongst the 500 songs that helped to shape the history of Rock and Roll.

Elvis’s honor by the Recording Academy comes at a time when The Wonder of You, his recent compilation album, is gaining popularity among fans around the world. The compilation has Elvis’s vocal recordings accompanied by music provided by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

In other news, Joe Esposito, Elvis Presley’s tour manager and close confidant who has also authored a number of books on Elvis’s life, died on November 23. Joe, who was Elvis’s road manager for almost 20 years, first met the legendary singer in 1959 when they were both serving in the United States Army in West Germany.

Elvis and Esposito hit if off immediately and became good friends. Elvis was highly impressed with his detail-oriented and meticulous approach, and he soon hired Esposito as his personal assistant who was sometimes referred to as “Elvis’s alarm clock.”

According to the New York Times, Joe Esposito had earlier spoken about how he used to closely accompany the King of Rock and Roll like his shadow.

“When you worked for Elvis it wasn’t eight hours a day or 10 hours a day. It was 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because we did everything together. We went on vacations together. We traveled together.”

Joe Esposito was so close to Elvis Presley that he was one of the two best men at Elvis Presley’s wedding to Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967. In fact, Esposito was the lead member of the “Memphis Mafia,” a term coined to indicate the close group of friends who were affiliated with Elvis.

Being a close friend of Elvis, Esposito was also with the legendary singer’s family when tragedy struck after Elvis’s premature death at 42-years-old. According to the New York Daily News, Joe Esposito was not only the person who broke the news of Elvis’s death to Priscilla herself but also one of the first people to rush to the scene after Elvis was found dead in his bathroom.

Esposito reportedly tried his best to resuscitate Elvis, but his attempts ultimately proved fruitless.

[Featured Image by Keystone/Getty Images]

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