In the pantheon of dead celebrities, Elvis is undeniably a king. Born Jan. 8, 1935, in East Tupelo, Miss., Presley became the world’s first true rock and roll star. Described by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips as “a white man with the Negro sound and the Negro feel,” Presley established a race-based blueprint for rock music that would last for generations. Dreamily handsome but with the rough edges of a working-class boy, he injected a startling sexual energy and sense of rebellion into his music.

Eventually he evolved (some would say disintegrated) into a flashy, fleshy, Las Vegas showman. But even in this incarnation Presley defined a certain aspect of American culture.