Jailhouse Rock: The Music Video

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Contributors: Andranick Tanguiane, Fred Lerdahl,

Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” is one of the most iconic music videos of all time. Here’s a look at the making of this classic.

The making of the Jailhouse Rock music video

On November 8th, 1957, Elvis Presley’s third movie, Jailhouse Rock, was released. The film featured several of Presley’s hit songs, including the title track. The Jailhouse Rock music video was filmed in one continuous shot and is considered one of the first real music videos.

The video was filmed in just two takes and took less than six minutes to shoot. It features Elvis singing and dancing in a jail cell with a group of inmates. The video is famous for its innovative camera work and editing, which was done by cutting out frames from the footage to create the illusion of different angles and shots.

The video was an instant hit and helped to propel Presley’s career even further. It has been referenced and parodied many times over the years, and it remains one of the most iconic music videos of all time.

The story behind the Jailhouse Rock song

Jailhouse Rock is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit for Elvis Presley. The song was released as a single on September 24, 1957, Presley’s birthday, and was one of the first songs to be released in both 78 rpm and 45 rpm versions at the same time. It went on to top the Billboard pop singles chart for seven weeks and became Presley’s second-best-selling single of all time.

The song tells the story of a man who is sent to prison for murder and is walls himself off from the outside world. He then meets a woman who helps him to see that there is more to life than just being in prison.

While the film Jailhouse Rock (1957) was a huge success, it was the title song that truly made an impact on popular culture. The music video for “Jailhouse Rock” was released in 1958 and is widely considered to be one of the first ever music videos. The three-minute video features Elvis Presley lip syncing to the song while performing a choreographed routine with a group of prisoners.

The video was an instant hit and helped to propel Presley’s career to new heights. It also had a lasting influence on popular culture, inspiring subsequent generations of artists to create their own music videos. Today, the Jailhouse Rock video is considered an iconic piece of Americana and has been inducted into the National Film Registry.

The legacy of Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock is more than just a great Elvis Presley song – it’s an iconic music video that helped launch the age of the rock and roll music video. The video, which was directed by noted film director Richard Lester, features Presley lip-syncing the song while performing with his band in a series of creative set pieces.

The video was an instant hit, and it quickly became one of the most popular songs on radio and TV. It also helped to cement Presley’s image as the ultimate rock and roll rebel. The video was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001, and it remains one of the most influential music videos of all time.

How the Jailhouse Rock music video changed the course of music videos

At the time, music videos were mostly used as a tool to promote songs and were not considered an art form in their own right. This all changed with the release of Jailhouse Rock. Directed by renowned film director Richard Lester, the video was a ground-breaking production that combined elements of cinema and dance.

The video tells the story of a young man who is sent to jail for a crime he did not commit. While in jail, he meets another inmate who introduces him to the world of rock and roll. The two men perform a dance routine that is so electrifying that it ultimately gets them both released from jail.

Jailhouse Rock was an instant hit with audiences and changed the way music videos were made forever. It paved the way for future directors to experiment with storytelling and visuals, and it firmly established the music video as its own distinct art form.

The Jailhouse Rock music video in context

The Jailhouse Rock music video is one of the most popular and recognizable videos of all time. It was directed by David Mallet and premiered on MTV on August 1, 1983. The video was filmed in black and white and featured Elvis Presley singing the song in a prison cell.

The video caused controversy when it was released due to its suggestive content. Some critics claimed that the video glorified violence and crime. Others argued that the video was a realistic portrayal of life in prison.

Despite the controversy, the Jailhouse Rock music video was a huge success. It helped to revive Elvis Presley’s career and cement his status as a pop culture icon. The video has been ranked as one of the greatest music videos of all time by multiple publications.

The lasting impact of the Jailhouse Rock music video

At the time of its release, the music video for Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” was revolutionary. It was the first music video to ever be made, and it changed the way that people consumed music. It also had a lasting impact on popular culture, influencing everything from fashion to dance.

The video was filmed in just two days, and it cost a mere $15,000 to make. But it made an indelible mark on the world of music videos, and it remains one of the most iconic videos of all time.

The video features Elvis Presley performing the song in a jail cell, intercut with footage of him dancing with inmates. The dance moves that Elvis Presley performs in the video are now known as “the jailhouse rock” and are still imitated by dancers today.

The video also had a significant impact on fashion. The tight black leather pants that Elvis Presley wears in the video were copied by many young men at the time, and they remain popular today.

The lasting impact of the “Jailhouse Rock” music video cannot be overstated. It changed the way that people consume music, influenced fashion and dance, and remains one of the most iconic videos of all time.

How the Jailhouse Rock music video revolutionized the music industry

In 1957, the music video for Elvis Presley’s song “Jailhouse Rock” was released, and it quickly became one of the most iconic music videos of all time. The video features Presley lip-syncing to the song while performing a choreographed dance routine with a group of inmates in a jail cell. The video was shot in just one day, and it went on to revolutionize the music industry.

Today, music videos are an essential part of the music industry, and they play a major role in promoting artists and their work. Many music videos are now big-budget productions that are carefully planned and choreographed. They often feature elaborate sets and special effects, and they are sometimes directed by well-known filmmakers.

The Jailhouse Rock video was groundbreaking in many ways, and it remains an iconic piece of popular culture. It is remembered as one of the first music videos ever made, and it set a new standard for what a music video could be.

The influence of Jailhouse Rock on future music videos

Jailhouse Rock is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, and Mickey Shaughnessy. The film centers on Presley’s character, Vince Everett, who is sent to prison for manslaughter after killing a man in a drunken brawl. While in prison, Everett witnesses a performance by a all-male rockabilly band, which inspires him to start his own band once he is released from prison.

The film’s title song “Jailhouse Rock” was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and sung by Presley. The song would go on to be one of Presley’s most iconic and popular songs, with its accompanying music video becoming one of the first ever made for a popular song. The video features Presley lip-syncing the song while performing choreographed dance moves with a group of inmates in a jail cell.

The Jailhouse Rock music video would go on to have a major influence on future music videos, inspiring many of the groundbreaking videos that would come out of MTV in the 1980s. The video’s use of creative camera angles, editing, and dance choreography would set the standard for future music videos and help make them into the popular art form that they are today.

The legacy of the Jailhouse Rock music video

Jailhouse Rock is a 1957 song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, recorded by Elvis Presley, and released as a single on September 24, 1957. The song was Presley’s seventeenth on the Billboard Top 100 chart, spending 27 weeks on the chart and peaking at number three. The song topped the UK Singles Chart in February 1958.

The legency of the Jailhouse Rock music video lies in it being one of the first popular music videos. The film Jailhouse Rock (1957) was Elvis Presley’s third motion picture and its eponymous soundtrack was recorded in just two days. It included “Jailhouse Rock” and “Treat Me Nice,” two songs which were released as singles and became huge hits; their combined sales totaled more than 4 million copies. The Jailhouse Rock music video was directed by former Warner Brothers cartoon director Richard Thorpe, who had previously directed Presley in his film debut Love Me Tender (1956).

The video features choreography by Ross Parker, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. It is notable for being one of the first popular music videos, as well as one of the first to feature choreographed dancing. Its influence can be seen in later videos such as those by Michael Jackson and Madonna.

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