Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage the singer for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, made him enormously popularโand controversial.
In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate, just 42 years of age.
Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, blues, and gospel, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. He won three competitive Grammys, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.
Steamroller Blues
Elvis Presley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm 'bout to roll all over you
I'm a steamroller baby
I'm 'bout to roll all over you
I'm gonna inject your soul
With some sweet rock 'n' roll
I'm a cement mixer
I'm a cement mixer
A churning urn of burning funk
I'm a demolition derby
A hefty hunk, steaming junk
I'm a steamroller baby
I'm 'bout to roll all over you
I'm a steamroller baby
I'm 'bout to roll all over you
I'm gonna inject your soul
With some sweet rock 'n' roll
And shoot you full of rhythm and blues
I'm a napalm bomb
Guaranteed to blow your mind
I'm a napalm bomb
Guaranteed to blow your mind
If I can't have your love now baby
There won't be nothing left behind
In Elvis Presley's song "Steamroller Blues," the singer portrays himself as a force to be reckoned with - a steamroller, a cement mixer, a demolition derby, and a napalm bomb. Through these lyrics, he exudes confidence in his ability to inject listeners' souls with rock 'n' roll, shoot them full of rhythm and blues, and blow their minds. The metaphorical language used in these lyrics suggests that the singer is powerful, unstoppable, and larger than life.
The imagery of a steamroller underscores the singer's domination over the listener. The metaphor of injecting the soul with rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues suggests that the singer's music is a potent elixir that can revive and invigorate the soul. The mention of the napalm bomb not only emphasizes the singer's power but also suggests that his music is explosive and transformative. Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of energy, dynamism, and passion, and assert the singer's ability to capture the hearts and minds of his audience.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a steamroller baby
He is powerful and ready to crush his opponent
I'm 'bout to roll all over you
He is going to dominate and destroy his competition
I'm gonna inject your soul
With some sweet rock 'n' roll
He will infuse his music into the listener's soul and they will love it
I'm a cement mixer
A churning urn of burning funk
He is like a cement mixer, mixing together different styles and creating burning funk music
I'm a demolition derby
A hefty hunk, steaming junk
He is like a demolition derby car, a hefty hunk of steaming junk ready to destroy everything in its path
And shoot you full of rhythm and blues
He will fill the listener's soul with rock and blues
I'm a napalm bomb
Guaranteed to blow your mind
He is like a napalm bomb, powerful and guaranteed to blow the listener's mind
If I can't have your love now baby
There won't be nothing left behind
If he can't have the love of the person he desires, everything else will be meaningless and empty
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: James Taylor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aBeatleFan4ever
@justiceforall6412 wrote this: "The greatest and most original artist in history. Eighteen number one hits! No one has ever achieved that! RIP Elvis.
Elvis had 18 #1 hits on the US Billboard singles chart over a 14 year period (1956-1969).
Mariah Carey has had 19 #1 hits on the US Billboard chart over a 19 year period (1990-2008).
The Beatles had 20 #1 hits on the US Billboard chart over a 7 year period (1964-1970).
Paul McCartney has had 9 #1 hits on the Billboard chart as a performer after the Beatles broke up (1971-1983)
Which gives him a total of 29 #1 hits on the Billboard chart as a performer over a 20 year period (1964-1983).
McCartney has had 32 #1 hits on the Billboard chart as a writer.
McCartney has had 33 #1 hits in the UK as a writer.
@ronmangano9094
There is no one today that can even come close to a live performance of this magnitude.
@DianeNorman-fh6gq
Absolute Truth!
@kozmicjulio
Truth
@sebastianmiranda7250
It was the time too. Queen was great but this was the first viral live concert show
@Elvis_throwback
2 billion people watched this concert with a population of around 3.5 billion and this was 1973 so it would be harder to watch ๐king
@coreyferguson401
NO ONE.
@bradsmith9411
I'm a 51 year old dude. Straight as an arrow. And I'm just gonna say... this is fire.
@oliviancollins2879
It is. I watch it several times daily. He truly felt his music.
@moviebuff1941
God damn, heโs so handsome.
@mattconnor8677
James Taylor wrote it, Elvis owned it.