Elvis Presley
The 20th & 21st Centuries
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
On January 8, 1935, thirty-five minutes after his twin brother was stillborn, Elvis Presley was born in the rural town of Tupelo, Missippi. His family was not financially well off, and his situation became worse when he was three years old and his father attempted to alter a check, losing them their home and sending him to jail for eight months. The young Elvis became very close to his mother.
He was of limited musical talent, and later recalled placing fifth in a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. He had significant stage fright and seldom sang in public, usually keeping to his comfort zones of home and his Assemblies of God church.
When he was ten years old, he received a guitar as a birthday present and took some lessons at church. Three years later, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. In this significantly larger city, the 13-year-old Elvis was teased for being a "hillbilly." In school, Elvis failed music, being unable to read musical notation. However, he frequented jukeboxes and listened to the radio, learning by ear and becoming familiar with country, Gospel, and blues styles. As a junior, he started styling his hair and wearing flashy clothes, and experienced a surge in popularity after performing in high school’s talent show.
Elvis graudated high school in 1953 and recorded a few demo records at Memphis Recording Service, which shared a building with Sun Records. Sam Phillips, who ran both companies, was eventually impressed enough with Presley that he set up a recording session with a local guitarist and bassist. In 1954, the trio was performing live in Memphis. They were especially popular among young audiences, perhaps more due as much to Elvis' provocative dance moves and ability to respond to the crowd's energy as any musical merits. The group made several more records at Sun Studios. As their popularity increased, they performed on the Grand Ole Opry radio show and on both radio and television on the Louisiana Hayride. Elvis was soon able to trade in the guitar he'd received for a 10th birthday present for a more expensive model.
The trio became a quartet with the addition of a drummer and toured with country singer Hank Snow, but had trouble finding a radio niche because their style was considered too hillbilly for black audiences and too influenced by African American musical traditions for white audiences. They began calling the style “rockabilly.” Nevertheless, their regional reputation grew and after some successful tours, RCA Victor acquired Elvis' contract from Sun Records for $40,000.
In 1956, Elvis went to NYC performed six times on the CBS Stage Show, hosted by bigband leaders Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. In New York, he also made more recordings at RCA Victor’s studio, including his first #1 hit, "Heartbreak Hotel," as well as a cover of Carl Perkins’ "Blue Suede Shoes."
Later that year, Elvis began touring nationally, adding hits like "Don’t Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog." As his popularity and fame increased, so did the controversy surrounding his gyrating dance moves, which were considered provocative. He gained national fame (and further notoreity) after appearances on the Steve Allen Show and Ed Sullivan Show. He shrugged the controversy off, saying in an interview, “I don't see how any type of music would have any bad influence on people when it's only music.” (He had apparently not read his Plato.)
In mid-1956, Elvis went home to Memphis and met up with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash for a jam session at Sun Records. This later became known as the "Million Dollar Quartet," but was not released for over 25 years, since Sun Records had sold Elvis' rights to RCA Victor.
The year 1957 brought further hits including "All Shook Up" and "Jailhouse Rock," and the news that Elvis' recordings had even begun circulating illegally in the Soviet Union. By this time, Elvis was personally accounting for over 50% of RCA Victor's record sales. The poor hilbilly from Tupelo purchased a 23-room, 17,500-square-foot mansion in Memphis, calling it "Graceland."
The following year, Elvis was drafted into the Army. He used some of his money to purchase additional supplies and uniforms for his unit, but otherwise insisted on being treated like an ordinary soldier. Just a few months into his service, however, his mother died of a sudden hepatitis infection at the age of just 46. Elvis returned to Memphis to bury her. Returning to the Army, he was stationed in West Germany for the next two years, eventually being promoted to Sergeant. Although he was anti drug and wouldn’t touch alcohol or marijuana, he began taking amphetamines as stimulants for alertness. He also met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu.
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By the time he returned to the United States in 1960, he had had another ten Top 40 hits as RCA released previously unpublished recordings. With his fame undiminished and his wealth continuing to increase, Elvis backed off of touring to focus on films. Although most of his films were not critically well received, they were profitable and often featured new songs. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” from Blue Hawaii became his new closer.
In 1966, Elvis proposed to the now 22-year-old Priscilla. They were married the next year and had a daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968. He returned to public performance, staging a "comeback" tour. Faced with a gruelling performance schedule, he began taking barbiturates to help him sleep and counteract the amphetamines he was taking to help him stay awake. However, he did not view these prescription medications as drug use, even meeting with President Nixon in 1970 and offering to use his image to help combat the emerging hippie drug culture.
During this time his marriage was falling apart, and both he and his wife were having affairs. Despite this, when the couple divorced in 1973, Presley was greatly disturbed. He began dating a girl named Linda Thompson, but remained close to Priscilla for the sake of Lisa Marie.
As his intense touring schedule continued to exacerbate Presley's medical issues, he began taking a number of prescription painkillers. His personal doctor prescribed him thousands of sedatives, opioids, and narcotics. By 1977, he was overweight, in poor health, and taking over a dozen medications. He broke up with Linda and started dating a girl named Ginger Alden. On August 16, 1977, Ginger found him collapsed on the bathroom floor at Graceland. He was pronounced dead later that day.