Elvis Aron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley on January 8,1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was a twin, unfortunately his brother, Jessie Garon, was still born leaving Elvis an only child. Elvis was given the middle name Aron with only one ‘A’ so that he would always have a part of Jessie with him. In 1948 “The King” and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where Elvis graduated from Humes High School in 1953.
Elvis’musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, as well as 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 the summer of 1953, Presley paid $4 to record his first demo at Sun Studios which featured the songs “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartache Begins”.
The demo was heard by Sun Records founder Sam Phillips and his assistant Marion Keisker in 1954 and by 1956, Elvis was an international sensation.
At the Grand Ole Opry, Elvis performed well, however the show’s executive was unimpressed and suggested that he give up his music career. Since that time, musicians dream of a chance to perform on the stage that Elvis once did.
In 1954, Elvis was signed to Louisiana Hayride, a radio broadcast of live country music. Presley signed a one-year contract to perform on the show once a week, and the audience loved him. It was here that Elvis met Colonel Tom Parker, which helped the release and sale of his records. 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.
In September, at his first of three appearances on the Sullivan show, Presley drew an estimated 82.5% percent of the television audience, calculated at between 55-60 million viewers. At the same time, a Hollywood Studio negotiated a multi-picture seven-year contract that shifted Presley's focus from music to films. Under the terms of his contract, Presley earned a fee for performing plus a percentage of the profits on the films, most of which were huge moneymakers.
On December 20, 1957, at the peak of his career, Presley received his draft notice for two-year service with the United States Army. On March 24, 1958, he was inducted into the Army at the Memphis Draft Board. Presley received no special treatment, and was widely praised for neither avoiding the draft nor serving part time in easy domestic positions such as the Special Services.
Through out his career Elvis sold over one billion records worldwide, 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. He made 150 albums and singles, had 14 Grammy nominations and won four,and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Elvis Aron Presley died at Graceland August 16, 1977.
Best known for: “Hound Dog”, ‘Heartbreak Hotel”,”Suspisious Minds” and “Blue Suede Shoes”
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