Elvis Aaron Presley, in the humblest of circumstances, was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

      Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

     He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 149 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.

     His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977.

1935 - 1957

April 25, 1912
     Gladys Love Smith is born.

April 10, 1916
     Vernon Elvis Presley is born.

June, 1933
     Gladys Smith and Vernon Presley are married.

January 8, 1935
     In Tupelo, Mississippi, shortly before dawn, in a two-room house built by her husband and her brother-in-law, Gladys Presley gives birth to identical twin sons. The first, Jessie Garon, is born dead. The second, Elvis Aaron, is born alive and healthy. Elvis would be their only child.

1935 - 1948
     Elvis grows up within a close-knit, working class family, consisting of his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who all live near one another in Tupelo. There is little money, but Vernon and Gladys do their best to provide for their son, who is the center of their lives. They move from one house to another in Tupelo. Elvis attends the Assembly of God Church with his family, and the music and preaching register deeply. Other influences are black bluesmen in the neighborhood and country music radio programs enjoyed by his family.

1945
     Ten-year-old Elvis stands on a chair at a microphone and sings "Old Shep" in a youth talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, held in Tupelo. The talent show is broadcast over WELO Radio. Second prize is $5.00 and free admission to all the rides at the fair.

1946
     Elvis’ parents cannot afford a bicycle that Elvis wants, so Gladys talks him into accepting a guitar instead. Elvis' first guitar costs $12.95 and is purchased at the Tupelo Hardware Company. The bicycle would have to wait until Christmas of 1947.

Late 1948
     Elvis plays his guitar and sings "Leaf on a Tree" for his Milam Junior High class in Tupelo as a farewell. Elvis and his parents pack their belongings in a trunk strapped to the roof of their 1939 Plymouth and move to Memphis, Tennessee in search of a better life economically. Other members of the Presley and Smith clan would follow.

1948-1953
     Elvis and his parents live in public housing or low rent homes in the poor neighborhoods of north Memphis. Life continues to be hard. Vernon and Gladys go from job to job and Elvis attends L.C. Humes High School. Elvis works at various jobs to help support himself and his parents. The Presley-Smith clan remains close-knit, and Elvis and his family attend the Assembly of God Church. The teenage Elvis continues to be known for singing with his guitar. He buys his clothes on Beale Street and he absorbs the black blues and gospel he hears there. He’s also a regular audience member at the all-night white, and black, gospel sings that are held downtown. He wears his hair long (compared to the day’s standards) and slick, and lets his sideburns grow. He’s really different from the other kids, a good-natured misfit.

     While at Humes High, Elvis nervously sings with his guitar at a student talent show. Much to his own amazement, he gets more applause than anyone else and wins, then performs an encore. The acceptance feels good.

1935 - 1957

June 3, 1953
     Elvis graduates from Humes High School.

1953
     Elvis works at Parker Machinists Shop right after graduation. That summer he drops by The Memphis Recording Service, home of the Sun label and makes a demo acetate of "My Happiness" and "That’s When Your Heartaches Begin" for a cost of about $4.00. (The studio came to be known as Sun Studio though never officially named that until many years later. For simplicity this text uses the name Sun Studio.) The studio owner isn’t in, so his assistant, Marion Keisker handles the session. Elvis wants to see what his voice sounds like on a record and he has aspirations to become a professional singer. He takes the acetate home, and reportedly gives it to his mother as a much-belated extra birthday present. By the fall, he is working at Precision Tool Company, and soon changes jobs again, going to work for Crown Electric Company. At Crown, he does various jobs, including driving a delivery truck. He also goes to night school and studies to be an electrician.

January, 1954
     Elvis makes another demo acetate at Sun. Sam Phillips, the owner, is in this time and, like Marion Keisker, is intrigued by this unusual looking and sounding young man.

Summer 1954
     At Marion Keisker’s suggestion, Sam Phillips calls Elvis into the studio to try singing a song Sam hopes to put out on record. The song is "Without You" and Elvis does not sing it to Sam’s satisfaction. Sam asks Elvis what he can sing, and Elvis runs through a number of popular tunes. Sam is impressed enough to team Elvis up with local musicians Scotty Moore (guitar) and Bill Black (bass) to see if they, together, can come up with something worthwhile. Nothing really clicks until July 5, when after a tedious session, Elvis and the guys break into a sped-up version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." This song, backed with Blue Moon of Kentucky becomes the first of five singles Elvis will release on the Sun label. Elvis, Scotty, and Bill start performing together, with Scotty acting as the group’s manager. Elvis continues to work at Crown Electric as the group starts to play small clubs and other smalltime gigs locally and throughout the South, enjoying moderate success with the records and personal appearances. Elvis’ one appearance on the Grand Ole Opry doesn’t go over particularly well, with one of the Opry officials reportedly suggesting that Elvis go back to driving a truck. The Opry is very important at this time. This is a painful disappointment in Elvis' early career.

     Elvis, Scotty, and Bill continue to record and to travel.

October 16, 1954
     They appear for the first time on the Louisiana Hayride, a live Saturday night country music radio show originating in Shreveport, Louisiana, broadcast over KWKH Radio. The show is the Grand Ole Opry's chief competitor, carried by 190 stations in thirteen states. This leads to regular appearances on the Hayride and, in November, Elvis signs a one-year contract for fifty-two Saturday night appearances. This is a great break, but as Elvis’ popularity grows, his commitment to the Hayride prevents him from traveling much outside the South to further his career on a larger scale. During Elvis' association with the Hayride he meets “Colonel” Tom Parker, a promoter and manager connected with various acts, and connected with the Louisiana Hayride. Parker is also the manager for country star, Hank Snow. A previous Parker client is country star Eddy Arnold.

1935 - 1957

January 1955
     Elvis signs a contract with Bob Neal, who becomes his manager.

1955
     Elvis, Scotty, and Bill continue touring on their own and in package shows with various country stars, including package tours of artists from the Hayride. Colonel Parker is involved. This includes touring with Hank Snow. The regular Hayride appearances continue. Drummer D.J. Fontana joins Elvis’ band. In the spring, Elvis fails to be accepted on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, a network television show. As always, Elvis’ live appearances have special appeal for the teenagers, especially the females. His unusual style, sexy moves, and good looks start to cause more and more excitement wherever he plays. Sometimes the crowds break through the barricades in near-riot behavior. Elvis gains more and more popularity and begins to receive national attention. Colonel Parker becomes more involved in Elvis’ career.

August 15, 1955
     Elvis signs a management contract with Hank Snow Attractions, which is owned equally by Snow and Colonel Tom Parker. Bob Neal remains involved as an advisor. Colonel Parker is to be Elvis’ exclusive manager from this time on, and Snow is soon no longer connected to Elvis.

November 20, 1955
     Elvis signs his first contract with RCA Records. Colonel Parker negotiates the sale of Elvis’ Sun contract to RCA, which includes his five Sun singles and his unreleased Sun material. The price is an unprecedented $40,000, with a $5,000 bonus for Elvis. RCA soon re-releases the five Sun singles on the RCA label. At the same time Elvis signs a contract with Hill and Range Publishing Company, which is to set up a separate firm called Elvis Presley Music, Inc. Elvis will share with Hill and Range the publishing ownership of songs bought by Hill and Range for him to record. Elvis is the hottest new star in the music business.

January 10, 1956
     Two days after his twenty-first birthday, Elvis has his first recording session for RCA, held at their studio in Nashville. Among the songs laid to tape during this session is "Heartbreak Hotel."

     The Jordanaires, a gospel quartet and popular country back-up group, begin working with Elvis in the studio during the first few RCA sessions and soon begin touring with him. They will also appear with him in several films and remain his main back-up group until the late sixties.

1935 - 1957

August 1956
     Elvis begins shooting his first movie, Love Me Tender on loan-out from Paramount to Twentieth Century Fox. It is originally titled The Reno Brothers, but is re-titled before its release to capitalize on Elvis’ sure-to-be-a-hit single from the soundtrack.

September 9, 1956

     Elvis makes the first of three appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, the top television program of the era. Elvis attracts the highest ratings ever for any television variety show. Character actor Charles Laughton hosts in place of Sullivan, who is recuperating from a car accident.

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September 26, 1956
     Elvis Presley Day is proclaimed in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis’ parents join him as he returns to the town of his birth as a big star. He performs two shows at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, the same fair at which he had performed at age 10. This time there are a hundred National Guardsmen surrounding the stage to control the crowds of excited fans.

     By this time, souvenir merchandising using Elvis’ name, image, and likeness has become a big part of the Elvis phenomenon. Licensees will soon be producing as many as thirty different products including hats, T-shirts, jeans, kerchiefs, sneakers, shirts, blouses, belts, purses, billfolds, wallets, charm bracelets, necklaces, magazines, gloves, bookends, a statue, lipstick, cologne, stuffed hound dogs, stationery, sweaters, crockery, and more. Elvis and the Colonel are to blaze new trails in the area of celebrity merchandising. This is to be forever a part of the marketing of Elvis Presley, feeding a never-ending demand.

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October 28, 1956
     Elvis makes his second of three appearances on Ed Sullivan.

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November 16, 1956
     Elvis’ first movie, Love Me Tender premieres at the Paramount Theater in New York City, opening nationwide in the days following. It becomes a smash hit, and the critics’ reviews aren’t bad for his acting in this melodrama, which is set in the American South of the 1800’s Civil War era. The film has Elvis performing several songs, of course.

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1935 - 1957

December 31, 1956
     The front page of The Wall Street Journal reports that in the past few months Elvis merchandise has grossed $22 million in sales.

     Elvis ends the pivotal year of his career, when regional popularity gave way to unprecedented national and international fame. The year of 1956 has seen the beginning of Elvis souvenir merchandising, the beginning of a successful movie career, huge record sales (five number one singles on the pop chart, two number one albums on the pop chart, and other hits), history-making television appearances, record-breaking personal appearances and more.

     Elvis has become the primary symbol of the new youth culture in America. He has also become one of society’s most controversial figures. His unique blending of white country and gospel music, black R&B and gospel, white pop music, his particular brand of charisma and talent, and the resulting success and controversy, have helped him greatly to begin, without premeditation, a cycle of change in music and pop culture and the mores of American society. Nothing will ever be the same for Elvis Presley or for the world.

January 6, 1957
     Elvis makes his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town Show. It is for this appearance that Elvis is seen only from the waist up. It’s funny that after all of his television appearances the previous year, such censorship comes at this time. It is particularly amusing that this guideline remains in place during Elvis’ performance of the gospel standard, Peace in the Valley, one of five songs he performs on this Sullivan appearance. Ed Sullivan himself helps diffuse some of the controversy surrounding Elvis when he comes out on stage to thank Elvis and tells the studio audience and millions of American television viewers that “this is a decent, fine boy” and what a delight he has been to work with when appearing on the show. Ed Sullivan is the most influential person on television audiences and one of the most powerful people in the television industry at the time.

     Personal appearances, recording sessions, record releases, controversy, and publicity continue.

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January, 1957
     Elvis begins production of his second movie, Loving You.

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February 3, 1957
     The New York Times runs a story entitled, "Presley Records a Craze in Soviet Union." Elvis records are not legally available in the Soviet Union. The article tells of bootleg recordings being cut on discarded X-ray plates and being sold in Leningrad on the black market for fifty rubles (about twelve and a half dollars) each, a lot of money at the time.

March 1957
     Elvis buys Graceland Mansion for himself, his parents, and his paternal grandmother to live in. It will be ready for them to move into in early April.

April , 1957
     While touring with his show, Elvis performs outside the United States for the first time when he appears in Canada: two shows in Toronto on April 2 and two shows in Ottawa on April 3.

May, 1957
     Elvis begins work on his third motion picture, Jailhouse Rock for MGM.

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July 9, 1957
     Elvis' second motion picture, Loving You, premieres and quickly reaches the top ten at the box office. Hit records include the title song and the classic smash "Teddy Bear".

     Traveling, touring, record releases, and personal appearances continue.

August 31, 1957
     Elvis performs in Vancouver. This is the third Canadian city he has performed in, and marks the last time he will perform in concert outside the United States.

September 27, 1957
     Elvis returns once more to the town of his birth to perform. This time it is a benefit for the proposed Elvis Presley Youth Recreation Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. The grounds include Elvis’ birthplace home. He will donate regularly to the center for the rest of his life. (The center is still used by the general community today. The birthplace home is open for tours, and there is a small museum and a memorial chapel.)

October 17, 1957
     Jailhouse Rock, Elvis’ third motion picture, premieres in Memphis, opening nationally in November and quickly going to the top five at the box office. The title song is a smash hit. Years later, this film will be considered one of Elvis’ best acting performances, surpassed only by King Creole, which is to follow in 1958. Jailhouse Rock will come to be considered the ultimate classic of all “rock opera” movies, and the "Jailhouse Rock" production number in the film is to be recognized as the grandfather of pop/rock music videos, a music format to become widely popular by the 1980’s.

November 10, 11 1957
     Elvis performs shows in Hawaii for the first time.

December, 1957
     Elvis and family enjoy their first Christmas at Graceland and Elvis officially receives his draft notice, a day he has known would be coming soon.

1958 to 1965

Late January- Early March, 1958
     Elvis films and records for his fourth motion picture, King Creole.

March 15, 1958
     Elvis performs two shows in Memphis. These are to be his last stage performances until after his army release in 1960.

March 24, 1958
     Elvis Presley is inducted into the U.S. Army at the Memphis Draft Board and is assigned serial number 53310761.

March 25, 1958
     Elvis gets his famous G.I. haircut at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

March 29, 1958
     Private Presley arrives at Fort Hood, Texas for basic training and is stationed there for six months. His parents soon move to a temporary home near the base.

June 10, 1958
     After basic training, while on his first leave, Elvis has a recording session, his last until 1960.

July, 1958
     King Creole, Elvis’ fourth motion picture opens nationally and the reviews are the best he will ever have for his acting. Its impressive list of co-stars and supporting cast includes Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger and Vic Morrow. It becomes a top five film at the box office. This Michael (Casablanca) Curtiz-directed movie, set in New Orleans and based upon the Harold Robbins novel, "A Stone for Danny Fisher," will come to be regarded as Elvis’ finest film, his greatest acting performance, and proof positive of his potential to have become a respected serious actor, though the realization of this desire will remain forever out of his grasp.

August, 1958
     Gladys Presley becomes ill and returns to Memphis to be hospitalized with acute hepatitis. Elvis is granted emergency leave and arrives in Memphis on the afternoon of August 12th. He visits her that night, and the next day and night. A few hours after Elvis goes home to Graceland to rest, she dies in the early hours of August 14 at age 46. Her body lies in state at Graceland that afternoon. Services are at the Memphis Funeral Home on the 15th, with the Blackwood Brothers singing "Precious Memories" and "Rock of Ages," two of Gladys Presley’s favorite hymns. She is laid to rest at Forest Hill Cemetery, a few miles down the road from Graceland. Elvis is devastated.

August 25, 1958
     Elvis reports back to Fort Hood.

September/October 1958
     September 19, Elvis boards a troop train to New York, later boards the USS. Randall and sails to Germany, arriving on October 1. He will be stationed in Friedberg for 18 months, maintaining an off-base residence in Bad Nauheim, shared with his father and grandmother, and some friends from Memphis. He finds the fans in Europe to be as enthusiastic as those in America.

January 8, 1959
     Elvis is interviewed off-camera via trans-Atlantic telephone by Dick Clark on his American Bandstand show on ABC-TV. The show commemorates the star’s twenty-fourth birthday. (Elvis never performed on American Bandstand.)

     On a two-week leave, Elvis visits Munich, then goes clubbing in Paris, which includes a visit to the Lido.

     Colonel Parker continues to keep Elvis’ career alive with promotions and hit record releases.

November 1959
     Captain Joseph Beaulieu is transferred from Texas to Weisbaden Air Force Base near Friedberg, accompanied by his wife and children, including his fourteen-and-a-half- year-old stepdaughter, Priscilla Ann. (Priscilla is the only child from Ann Beaulieu’s marriage to her first husband, James Wagner, a Navy pilot who was killed in a plane crash when Priscilla was an infant.) Through a mutual friend, Priscilla is invited to a party at Elvis’ home soon after her arrival in Germany. They meet, and the rest is history.

1958 - 1965

January 20, 1960
     Elvis is promoted to Sergeant.

March 1960
     Elvis leaves Germany on March 1, arriving in New Jersey the next day for a press conference, and is officially discharged from active duty on March 5, 1960. He boards a train for Memphis, arriving on March 7. Press and crowds of fans are everywhere for this historic series of events. He holds a press conference at Graceland in his father’s office behind the mansion on March 8.

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     He has served his country just like any other GI, with no special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him. These two years away from his career have been a time to mature. He has also worried constantly that his lengthy absence might have damaged his career progress. But, he has yet to see his greatest stardom.

Late March, 1960
     Elvis has his first post-army recording session. Some of the recording work is for the album Elvis is Back!, which will hit number two on the Billboard pop chart. (Sessions will continue in early April.) On March 21 he receives his first degree black belt in karate, an interest he developed while in the army. On March 26 he tapes a special "Welcome Home, Elvis" edition of Frank Sinatra’s ABC-TV variety show, for which he is paid $125,000, a record sum for a variety show appearance at the time.

Late April, 1960
     Elvis begins filming and recording for his first post-army movie, his fifth film, "GI Blues" for Paramount, the first of nine to be produced (not consecutively) by Hal Wallis. "GI Blues" co-stars dancer/actress Juliet Prowse.

May 8, 1960
     ABC airs Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Home, Elvis edition of his variety show, which attracts a 41.5% share of the national television audience.

July 3, 1960
     Vernon Presley marries divorcee and mother of three sons, Davada (Dee) Stanley, an American whom he met Germany, where she had been stationed with her military husband. They live at Graceland briefly, then move to a home nearby.

August/September 1960
     Elvis records and films for his sixth movie, Flaming Star, a drama with limited music. Elvis plays the son of a white father and a Native American mother, torn between the two cultures in the 1800's. The film co-stars Barbara Eden.

October, 1960
     The soundtrack album for GI Blues enters the Billboard album chart and soon goes to number one. It remains number one for ten weeks and stays on the chart for 111 weeks. It is to be the most successful album of Elvis’ entire career on the Billboard charts. (In terms of total record sales over time, it is uncertain which album stands as the most successful.)

November 1960
     Elvis begins recording and filming for his seventh film, Wild in the Country, which will be completed in January. GI Blues opens nationally to warm reviews and big box office sales and is among the fifteen top-grossing films of the year. It is a light comedy melodrama with lots of singing by Elvis, who is seen in uniform for most of the movie.

Late December, 1960
     Flaming Star opens nationally to warm reviews, but unlike GI Blues, this dramatic film with little singing does not set the box office on fire. However, Elvis earns recognition from a tribal council for his positive portrayal of a Native American in this racially charged drama. The film is banned in South Africa due to its interracial theme.

February 25, 1961
     Elvis appears in Memphis at a luncheon in his honor, and numerous recent awards Elvis has received are shown to the press and others attending. A press conference follows. Then, Elvis performs one afternoon show and one evening show at Ellis Auditorium to benefit around thirty-eight Memphis-area charities. Other than the Sinatra television show, these shows are, so far, Elvis’ only live performances since his army discharge. “Elvis Presley Day” is proclaimed by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington. Every year after this, Elvis donates money to a list of Memphis-area charities, eventually reaching fifty or more, usually around Christmas time. Within a few years, to show their appreciation the city gives him a massive plaque listing fifty charities.

For rest of Biography and other details visit www.elvis.com .