Elvis was my personal/emotional start in music. I had been in church choir, heard all the "standards" by Sinatra, etc on the radio but he riveted me. Elvis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash made music personal to me. I was not yet a "teen" but was moved. The reaction against Little Richard, by a Des Moines dj, made me pay special attention to black performers (Thanks to Don Bell). This inspiration and the transition to Armstrong and Ellington took about 2 years.
I still really enjoy early Elvis and cringe as he "went off track" in the late '50s.