Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley, born January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, and dying on August 16, 1977, at his Graceland estate at age 42, was an American singer and actor. Called the "King of Rock and Roll," he is considered a major cultural figure of the 20th century. His stage presence—energetic and sexually charged—along with a blend of musical influences that crossed racial lines during a period of shifting race relations, led to both enormous popularity and early backlash. Presley’s family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13. His music career began in 1954 at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who aimed to introduce African-American music to a broader audience. Playing guitar with lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley helped create rockabilly—a fast, backbeat-driven mix of country and rhythm and blues. Drummer D. J. Fontana joined in 1955 to complete the classic quartet, and that same year, Colonel Tom Parker arranged for RCA Victor to buy Presley’s contract, managing him for the rest of his life. Presley’s first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel," came out in January 1956 and hit number one in the U.S. Within a year, RCA Victor had sold ten million of his singles. Through successful TV appearances and chart-topping hits, he became the leading figure of rock and roll, though his performance style and promotion of African-American music made him a perceived threat to the morals of white American youth. Presley made his film debut in November 1956 with *Love Me Tender*. After being drafted into the military in 1958, he returned to recording two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He performed few concerts in the 1960s, instead focusing, under Parker’s guidance, on Hollywood films and soundtrack albums—most of which critics panned. His famous movies include *Jailhouse Rock* (1957), *Blue Hawaii* (1961), and *Viva Las Vegas* (1964). In 1968, he returned to live performance with the NBC television special *Elvis*, which led to a long Las Vegas concert residency and highly profitable tours. In 1973, he gave the first solo-artist concert broadcast worldwide, *Aloha from Hawaii*. Years of substance abuse and poor diet severely damaged his health, leading to his death in August 1977. Presley is among the best-selling music artists ever, with an estimated 500 million records sold worldwide. He succeeded across genres like pop, country, rock and roll, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary, and gospel. He won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame posthumously. He holds records for the most RIAA-certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums on the Billboard 200, the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart, and the most number-one singles by any act on the UK Singles Chart. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. **Life and career**

**1935–1953: Early years**

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Love and Vernon Presley. His twin brother, Jesse Garon, was stillborn 35 minutes earlier. Presley was close to both parents, especially his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church, where he first found musical inspiration. Vernon worked odd jobs, and the family often relied on neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was convicted of altering a check and served eight months in jail. Presley started first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated in September 1941, where teachers considered him average. His first public performance was at a singing contest at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, when he was 10; he sang "Old Shep" and remembered placing fifth. A few months later, he got his first guitar for his birthday and took lessons from two uncles and a pastor at church. He later said, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it."

In September 1946, he entered Milam school for sixth grade. The next year, he began singing and playing guitar at school, often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music. He was a devoted fan of Mississippi Slim’s radio show. Slim’s younger brother, a classmate, described Presley as "crazy about music." Slim taught him chord techniques and, when Presley was 12, scheduled him for two on-air performances. He was too nervous to perform the first time but sang the following week. In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. At L. C. Humes High School, Presley got a C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher said he had no singing talent, he brought his guitar to class and sang "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me." He was usually too shy to perform openly and was sometimes bullied for being a "mama’s boy." In 1950, he began practicing guitar with neighbor Lee Denson.