elvis facts, born in tupelo, mississippi

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in a small two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi at 4:35 AM on January 8, 1935. (Died on 08-16-1977)

This was during The Great Depression. Times were hard everywhere, but especially in the rural South. The national average annual salary was $1,368 and unemployment was over 25%. Milk was 14¢ a quart and bread 9¢ a loaf. To escape the dire circumstances people amused themselves with board games like the new Parker Brothers game Monopoly, and by reading mystery novels by such writers as Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler. Another pastime was listening to the radio.

On the radio in the 1930's were comedians such as Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, and Fibber McGee and Molly. Dramatic radio serials featuring The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet and The Shadow kept listeners enthralled. The music was that of the Big Bands such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Tommy Dorsey as well as the folk songs of performers such as Woody Gutherie. George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin were prolific songwriters of the time. Popular Country singer Jimmie Rodgers had died in 1933. The "singing cowboy" Gene Autry was making movies and Len Slye (later world famous as cowboy star Roy Rogers) and the Sons of the Pioneers were becoming well known. As clothes had to last a long time, the simple print dress with a longer length replaced the flapper dresses of the 1920's. The zipper was the new thing in fashion and any dapper man wore a hat.

Such was the world Elvis Presley was born into, a world he would rock as he reaches young adulthood. Now, twenty-Eight years after his death, he remains the greatest of stars. The most recent recognition is today, with the presentation 
ELVIS BY THE PRESLEY'S