The Life of Elvis Presley

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The Life of Elvis Presley
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The very early years of Elvis

• Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8th, 1935
  in in Tupelo, Mississippi.
• Father was Vernon Presley and mother Gladys Love
  Smith Presley
• Elvis was supposed to have a twin brother, but
  Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn, leaving him
  to grow up as an only child.

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The very early years of Elvis

• In 1941 Presley started school at the East Tupelo
  Consolidated Elementary School. There he was an
  outsider, he didnt have many friends and he was
  very shy.
• As a boy, Elvis enjoyed going off to town on
  Saturday afternoons to listen to local musicians,
  attend radio shows or hang out at theaters.
• In January 1945 his mother took him shopping for
  a birthday present at Tupelo Hardware. There she
  bought him his first guitar which was on sale for
  12.75.

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Early years cont

• Even at an early age, he was very much influenced
  by the Memphis blues music and the gospel music
  sung at his church. In the late 40s Elvis and
  his family moved to Memphis, which would remain
  his home until death.
• In 1953 he graduated from Humes High School,
  majoring in History, English, and Shop.
• On July 18, 1953 Elvis paid 3.25 to record the
  first of two double-sided demo acetates at Sun
  Studios on 706 Union Avenue, in Memphis,
  Tennessee

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Elviss Fame

• By the spring of 1956, Presley was fast becoming
  a national phenomenon.
• Teenagers came to his concerts in unprecedented
  numbers.
• Most of his concerts were sold out, and young
  girls were hospitalized from fainting when they
  saw him.
• Presley sang both hard driving rockabilly, rock
  and roll, dance songs, and ballads, laying a
  commercial foundation upon which other rock
  musicians would build their careers.

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Elviss Hit Songs Of The 50s

• SINGLES
• Heartbreak Hotel
• Hound Dog
• Don't Be Cruel
• Love Me Tender
• Blue Suede Shoes

• Albums
• 1 Elvis Presley
• 2 Elvis

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Elvis In The 50s

• Presley's first single for RCA "Heartbreak Hotel"
  quickly sold one million copies and within a year
  RCA would go on to sell ten million Presley
  singles.
• "Colonel" Tom Parker was Elviss promoter and
  agent. Parker's first major decision was to
  market Elvis on television. This made him even
  more popular.

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G.I Elvis

• On December 20, 1957, Elvis received his draft
  board notice for his mandatory service in the
  United States Army.
• He was worried that his absence in the public eye
  for 2 years, while serving in the Army, might end
  his career.
• On 24 March 1958 just after finishing up the
  pre-production of Elviss latest film King Creole
  , he joined his unit, 1st Battalion, US 32nd
  Armored Regiment and was posted to Ray Barracks,
  Friedberg, Germany.

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G.I Elvis

• After serving his duty in the military, he became
  more mature and lost his raw and rebellious edge.
  
• He gained respect from the elder people who
  didnt like him very much before he entered the
  Army.

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Hit Songs of The 60s

• SINGLES
• Stuck on You
• Fame and Fortune
• Are You Lonesome Tonight?
• Surrender,
• Little Sister

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Elvis In Film the 1960s

• Elvis admired the style of Marlon Brando, James
  Dean, and Tony Curtis and returned from the
  military eager to make a career as a movie star.
• Altogether, Presley had made 27 movies during the
  1960s, "which had grossed about 130 million, and
  he had sold a hundred million records, which had
  made him 150 million.

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Elviss Marriage to Priscilla

• Elvis married his long time girl friend Priscilla
  in May of 1967 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the
  Aladdin Hotel.
• Their only child, daughter Lisa Marie, was born
  almost exactly nine months later on February 1,
  1968.

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Late 1960s

• After seven years off the top of the charts,
  Elviss song "Suspicious Minds" hit number one on
  the Billboard music charts on November 1st, 1969.
• From 1969 to 1971 Elvis would dominate singles
  charts in many countries with a string of Top 20
  hits.
• Elvis was having trouble competing with record
  sales of artists such as The Beatles, The
  Rolling Stones, David Bowie and The Monkees.

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Listening No. 5

• Title Suspicious Minds
• Composer Mark James
• Artist Elvis Presley
• Genre Rock and Roll
• Period 20th Century (1969)

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His Final Years

• Between 1970 and 1977 Elvis gave 1,096 sold-out
  performances in Las Vegas and on tour. He was the
  first artist to have four shows in a row sold to
  capacity crowds at New York's Madison Square
  Garden, on June 9-11, 1972.
• Elvis and Priscilla separated in February of 1972
  and were divorced in October of 1973.
• Elvis made his last live concert appearance in
  Indianapolis at the Market Square Arena on June
  26, 1977.

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His Final Years

• On August 16, 1977, at his Graceland mansion in
  Memphis, Tennessee, Presley was found lying on
  the floor of his bedroom's bathroom by his
  fiancée.
• He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where
  at 330 P.M. doctors pronounced him dead.
• Elvis was originally buried at Forest Hill
  Cemetery in Memphis next to his mother. After an
  attempted theft of the body, his remains and his
  mother's remains were moved to Graceland to the
  "meditation gardens."

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Grace Land