Elvis Presley

Background  

 Elvis Aaron Presley was born January 8, 1935. Unfortunately, his twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn. Elvis was raised in a two room

house by his parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley in Tupelo Mississippi. They moved to Memphis Tennessee in 1948, where Elvis attended Humes High School.   

Elvis started his music career 1954, only a year after graduating high school. He signed with Sun Records in  Memphis that year, but by the end of 1955 his contract was bought by RCA Victor. when 1956 rolled around his career soared internationally, with a different sound compared to other popular music, that appealed to white and black America. His influence changed the course of American music and pop culture. Elvis served in the US Army from 1958 to 1960. By the mid 60's his popularity had slowed to a crawl and Elvis was extremely unhappy with his career. He reinvented his image for Elvis , a TV special that aired December 3rd, 1968 on NBC. It was a huge success and re-introduced him to a new generation of fans. It is now known as the '68 Comeback Special. Elvis was taken at the early age of 42. He died at his home, Graceland, on Au gust 16, 1977. Approximately 80,000 people lined the streets near Forest Hills Cemetery, where Elvis was buried next to his mother. He and his mother's remains where moved to Graceland after an attempt to steal the singers corpse shortly after his burial.

Elvis was #3 on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Singers of All Time . He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". He had 30 #1 hits, starred in 31 motion pictures and 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 150 different albums and singles that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.