It is interesting to see how opinions and values change over time. On June 5, 1956, Elvis Presley rose to national fame with his controversial performance of "Hound Dog" on the Milton Berle show. After singing it up tempo, he then began a slower version. His exaggerated, straight-legged shuffle around the microphone stand would create controversy as would his vigorous leg shaking and hip thrusts in time to the beat.

Presley's "gyrations" would create a storm of media comment. The next day's national press, commonly used such words as "vulgar" and "obscene" because of the strong sexual content perceived in his act. Television critics across the country slammed the performance for its "appalling lack of musicality," "vulgarity" and "animalism".

The New York Times wrote of his talent the day after his appearance on the Berle show: "Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. His specialty is rhythm songs which he renders in an undistinguished whine; his phrasing, if it can be called that consists of the stereotyped variations that go with a beginners aria in the bathtub. ...He is a rock and roll variation on one of the most standard acts in show business: the virtuoso of the hootchy-kootchy. His one specialty is an accented movement of the body that heretofore has primarily identified with the repertoire of the blonde bombshells of the burlesque runway".

After his appearance on the Milton Berle show, Presley would appear three times on the Ed Sullivan show. The final broadcast would feature camera shots of the singer only from the waist up. At the end of Presley's final performance on the show, Sullivan declared that Presley "is a real decent, fine boy" and that they never had "a pleasanter experience" on the show.

Cosmopolitan wrote in December of 1956 about Elvis: "It isn't enough to say that Elvis is kind to his parents, sends money home, and is the same unspoiled kid he was before all the commotion began. That still isn't a free ticket to behave like a sex maniac in public."

Of course we know the rest of the story. Presley came back from society's fear of Rock and Roll to become "The King" and a cultural icon. Presley is reported to have sold over one billion single records and albums, which makes him the biggest-selling solo artist of all time. As of 2007, over a quarter century after his death, Presley still holds the top spot for best-selling solo artist in U.S. history (according to the RIAA.) Presley has had 149 top 100 singles in the United States. He has had 30 songs reach the top of the charts.

Elvis Presley is the only performer to have been inducted into four music "Halls of Fame":the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. His face has adorned a United States postage stamp and his former home, now a museum, Graceland, has been declared a national historic landmark

In the late 1960s, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein remarked: "Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution... the 60's comes from it."

In 2002, 46 years after the critical review of Presley's controversial "Hound Dog" performance on the Milton Berle show , The New York Times wrote: "For those too young to have experienced Elvis Presley in his prime, today’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of his death must seem peculiar. All the talentless impersonators and appalling black velvet paintings on display can make him seem little more than a perverse and distant memory. But before Elvis was camp, he was its opposite: a genuine cultural force... Elvis’s breakthroughs are under appreciated because in this rock-and-roll age, his hard-rocking music and sultry style have triumphed so completely."

Even thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley has just made another comeback. Forbes.com is reporting that Elvis Presley regained the top spot on its list of the highest-earning deceased celebrities. Elvis had ruled the list of thirteen deceased legends until last year. Elvis had estimated earnings of $49 million to regain the top spot in the year ending last month.

Time changes the values and opinions of people in society. Talent that was considered vulgar and "hootchy-kootchy" in 1956 can be described as a "genuine cultural force" forty six years later. However, Elvis Presley's incredible popularity has remained a constant in America for more than the last fifty years.

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