Elvis Presley Biography. Comprehensive history of Elvis
Presley's dynamic life |
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In this comprehensive Elvis
Presley biography, you will find a complete history of
Elvis Presley'sdynamic life story from his humble beginnings
through his rise to stardom and purchase of
Graceland.
It is a fascinating journey which has earned Elvis his still
undefeated title of the "King of Rock 'N Roll".
Elvis Presley Biography
 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 Presley’s 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.
Elvis Presley starred in
31 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 131 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 42 at his Memphis home, Graceland, on
August 16, 1977.
Overview of Elvis Presley's Achievements
Record Sales
It is estimated that Elvis Presley has sold over one billion
record units worldwide, more than anyone in record industry
history. In America alone, Elvis has had 141 different albums
and singles that have been certified gold, platinum or
multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), with more certifications expected as research into his
past record sales continues and as current sales go on. Research
is also underway to document his record sales achievements in
other countries. It is estimated that 40% of Elvis' total record
sales have been outside the United States.
International Acclaim
Elvis Presley’s trophy room at Graceland is filled with gold and
platinum records and awards of all kinds from around the world.
Some of the countries represented are: Norway, Yugoslavia,
Japan, Australia, South Africa, England, Sweden, Germany,
France, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It is
interesting to note that, except for a handful of movie
soundtrack songs, Elvis did not record in other languages, and,
except for five shows in three Canadian cities in 1957, he did
not perform in concert outside the United States. Still, his
recordings and films enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, popularity
all over the globe,
and he is known throughout the world by his
first name.
Record Chart Statistics
Elvis Presley has had no less than 149 songs to appear on
Billboard’s
Hot 100 Pop Chart
in America. Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were in the
top ten, and 18 went to number one. His number one singles spent
a total of 80 weeks at number one. He has also had over 90
charted albums with ten of them reaching number one. These
figures are only for the pop charts, and only in America. He was
also a leading artist in the American country, R&B, and gospel
fields, and his chart success in other countries was
substantial.
Historic Television Guest Appearances
In 1956, Elvis made his network television debut with the first
of his six appearances on Stage Show, a weekly variety program
hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. He followed these with two
appearances on The
Milton
Berle Show, the second of which included a performance
of Hound Dog that was so provocative (for that time, anyway)
that it caused a national scandal. Elvis next appeared on The
Steve Allen Show, with Allen mocking the sensation of the Berle
appearance by having Elvis dress in a tuxedo, eliminate his
usual physical gyrations, and sing Hound Dog to a Basset Hound.
Ed Sullivan had once
said he would never have the controversial singer on his
top-rated show, but that was before the week that Elvis’
appearance on Steve Allen had surpassed Sullivan’s ratings.
Sullivan paid Elvis
$50,000 to make three appearances on his show, which
was, at the time, more money than any performer had ever been
paid to appear on a network variety program. When Elvis made his
third Sullivan appearance in January of 1957, Ed Sullivan
surprised Elvis by telling him on camera that his show had never
had a better experience with a name act, and said “I wanted to
say to Elvis and the country that this is a real decent, fine
boy.” It was on this very same Sullivan appearance that Elvis
was shown on camera from the waist up only, one of early
television history’s most memorable moments. Elvis’ next network
television appearance was in 1960, when Frank Sinatra gave his
variety show a “Welcome Home, Elvis” theme to herald Elvis’
return from the army. Elvis was paid $125,000 to appear - again,
making history.
The Silver Screen
Elvis Presley starred in
31 feature films as an actor
and two theatrically released concert documentary films, all of
which enjoyed financial success. For a number of years he was
one of Hollywood’s top box office draws and one of its
highest-paid actors. His two most critically acclaimed films,
Jailhouse Rock (1957) and King Creole (1958) have become
classics of their era. His movies and concert films enjoy a
healthy life today in television syndication and home video
sales and rentals. Some of his top-selling music came from his
movies. Eleven of his movie soundtrack albums went to the top
ten, and of those, four went to number one. The soundtrack for
G.I. Blues (1960), was number one on the Billboard Top 100 album
chart for 10 weeks and remained on the chart for 111 weeks. The
album from Blue Hawaii was number one for 20 weeks and was on
the chart for 79 weeks.
Television Specials
Elvis Presley’s three network
television specials
- Elvis (1968) , Elvis:
Aloha from Hawaii,
via Satellite (1973), and Elvis in Concert (1977) - stand among
the most highly rated specials of their time. His 1968 special,
Elvis , is one of the most critically acclaimed music specials
of all time. His 1973 special, Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii, via
Satellite , was seen in 40 countries by 1 billion to 1.5 billion
people and made television history. It was seen on television in
more American homes than man’s first walk on the moon.
 The Concert Stage
When Elvis returned to the live stage after the success of his
1968 television special and the wrap-up of his Hollywood movie
contract obligations, he opened at the International Hotel in
Las Vegas in the summer of 1969 for a 4-week, 57-show engagement
that broke all existing Las Vegas attendance records. He
returned to the International a few months later in early 1970,
during the slow winter season in Vegas, and broke his own
attendance record. Right after that came a record-breaking
six-show engagement at the Astrodome in Houston, where Elvis
played to a total of 207,494 people.
Elvis took his elaborate live show on the road in the latter
part of 1970 for his first concert tour since 1957. Throughout
the 1970’s Elvis toured America, breaking box office records
right and left, and continued to play an engagement or two per
year in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Among the outstanding
highlights of this period was in 1972, when Elvis performed four
sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. During his “concert
years” from 1969 to 1977, Elvis gave nearly 1,100 concert
performances.
Elvis Presley's Grammy Awards
Elvis received 14 Grammy nominations from the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). His three wins were for
gospel recordings - the album How Great Thou Art (1967), the
album He Touched Me (1972) and his live Memphis concert
recording of the song How Great Thou Art (1974). In 1971, NARAS
also recognized him with their Lifetime Achievement Award (known
then as the Bing Crosby Award ...in honor of its first
recipient). Elvis was 36 years old at the time. Five of Elvis'
recordings have been inducted into the NARAS Hall of Fame - his
original 1956 recordings of Hound Dog (inducted 1988) and
Heartbreak Hotel (inducted 1995), his original 1954 recording of
That's All Right (inducted 1998), his original 1969 recording of
Suspicious Minds (inducted 1999), and his original 1956
recording of Don't Be Cruel (inducted 2002). The Hall of Fame
recognizes "early recordings of lasting, qualitative or
historical significance," with many inductees being recordings
that were created and released before the 1958 inception of
NARAS and the Grammy Awards.
 One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation
The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees) named
Elvis Presley One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation
for 1970 in a ceremony on January 16, 1971, one of Elvis’
proudest moments. This award has been given since 1938 and has
honored men of achievement in all areas of endeavor - sports,
government, science, medicine, entertainment, etc. It recognizes
outstanding personal achievement and the exemplification of the
opportunities available in the free enterprise system, along
with patriotism, humanitarianism, and community service. (In the
1980's, eligibility was opened to women as well as men, and the
award has since been presented to the year's Ten Outstanding
Young Americans.)
Charitable Endeavors
Elvis Presley was famous for giving away
Cadillac's,
cash and jewelry, often on the spur of the moment. But, the true
depth and breadth of his generosity and community involvement is
not so widely known.
In 1961, Elvis gave a benefit concert at Bloch Arena in Hawaii
that raised over $65,000 toward the building of the U.S.S.
Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. The resulting publicity gave
new life to the fund-raising effort, which had, by then, lost
its momentum. The memorial opened a year later.
Audience tickets for his
1973 Aloha from Hawaii television special and its
pre-broadcast rehearsal show carried no price, as each audience
member was asked to pay whatever he or she could. The
performances and concert merchandise sales were a benefit
raising $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii.
Each year, for many years, Elvis gave $1,000 or more to each of
fifty Memphis-area charities, but also continually made many
other charitable donations in Memphis and around the country.
Most of Elvis’ philanthropic endeavors received no publicity at
all. Throughout his adult life, for friends, for family, and for
total strangers, he quietly paid hospital bills, bought homes,
supported families, paid off debts, and much more.
Elvis' legacy of generosity continues through the work of the
Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, which is the philanthropic
branch of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and the creator of the
Elvis Presley Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of
Memphis. The tradition of giving also continues through the work
of the Elvis fan clubs worldwide, most of which are heavily
involved in charitable endeavors in Elvis' memory.
Elvis Presley's Graceland
Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home and refuge for twenty years, is
one of the most visited homes in America today, now attracting
over 600,000 visitors annually. It is also the most famous home
in America after the White House. In 1991, Graceland Mansion was
placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The
Elvis Presley Stamp
In 1992, the U.S. Postal Service announced that Elvis' image
would be used for a commemorative postage stamp. The Postal
Service narrowed the artwork choices down to two images - one of
Elvis in the 1950’s as a sizzling young rocker, and one of him
as a still-svelte concert superstar in his 1973 Aloha from
Hawaii special. In an unprecedented move, the USPS put the
decision to the American people and distributed ballots coast to
coast. Over 1.2 million votes were cast, and the image of the
young rocker won. The stamp was released on January 8, 1993,
with extravagant first day of issue ceremonies at Graceland. The
Elvis stamp is the most widely publicized stamp issue in the
history of the U.S. Postal Service, and it is the top selling
commemorative postage stamp of all time. The USPS printed 500
million of them, three times the usual print run for a
commemorative stamp. Several countries outside the USA also have
issued Elvis stamps over the years.
Special Posthumous Honors
The 1984 W.C. Handy Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis
recognized Elvis for "keeping the blues alive in his music -
rock and roll." The Academy of Country Music's first Golden Hat
Award presented in 1984 recognized Elvis' influence on country
music. In 1986, Elvis was among the first group of inductees
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1987, Elvis was honored
with the first posthumous presentation of the Award of Merit by
the American Music Awards, 1987. In 1998, Elvis received the
Country Music Association's highest honor, induction into the
Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2001, Elvis was inducted into the
Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame. With that
honor, Elvis is the only person, so far, to become a member of
all three of these halls of fame - Rock and Roll, Country and
Gospel.
Generations of Fans
Currently, there are over 625 active Elvis Presley fan
clubs worldwide. Elvis' popularity is at an all-time high, and
his legacy continues to reach new audiences. Half of Graceland's
visitor ship is age 35 and under.
A New
Concert Career
On August 16, 1997, Elvis Presley, via video, starred in an
extravagant concert production entitled Elvis in Concert '97 at
the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, accompanied live
on stage by over thirty of his former bandmates and the Memphis
Symphony Orchestra. The show played before a capacity crowd of
fans who had come to Memphis from around the world to
commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Elvis' death. Elvis
broke the Mid-South Coliseum's all-time record dollar figure for
box office sales. This concert was the prototype for the 1998/99
touring production Elvis - The Concert. By being the first
performer ever to headline a live concert tour while no longer
living, Elvis made history again. The March 1998 tour included a
three-show smash engagement at Radio City Music Hall in New
York. The August 1998 tour included the excitement of Elvis'
"return" to the Las Vegas Hilton with an eight-show engagement.
The January/ February 1999 European tour opened with a sell-out
at London's Wembley Arena and, in effect, marked Elvis Presley's
first-ever concerts outside of North America. The show continues
to tour periodically.
Elvis Presley 1935-54 |
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