2. Elvis Aaron Presley - Biography
• Elvis Aaron Presley 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’ 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, Elvis 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.
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4. • He starred in 33 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. 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 his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977.
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6. Quotes by Elvis
• “Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people
sway back and forth. I just sorta do „em all together, I guess.”
-Elvis in 1956, talking about his way of moving on stage.
"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or
offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she
belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I
would believe I had contributed something to the world."
-Elvis commenting to a reporter, 1950's.
“Don‟t criticize what you don‟t understand, son. You never walked in that
man‟s shoes.”
-Elvis often used this adaptation of a well-known quotation.
“When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books
and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies and I was the hero in the
movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times...I
learned very early in life that: „Without a song, the day would never end;
without a song, a man ain‟t got a friend; without a song, the road would never
bend - without a song.' So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.”
-From his acceptance speech for the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation
Award. Given at a ceremony on January 16, 1971. (Elvis quotes from copyrighted
material with lines from the song “Without a Song”.)
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8. Quotes by Elvis
• “We do two shows a night for five weeks. A lotta times we‟ll go upstairs and
sing until daylight - gospel songs. We grew up with it...It more or less puts your
mind at ease. It does mine.”
-Talking about the informal jam sessions he and the band and entourage enjoy each
night during the lengthy Vegas engagements. These happen upstairs in Elvis’ suite at
the Las Vegas Hilton as they all try to “wind down” from the excitement and energy of
the live shows. Quote is from a 1972 taped interview used in MGM’s documentary
"Elvis on Tour."
• “I‟ve never gotten over what they call stagefright. I go through it every show.
I‟m pretty concerned, I‟m pretty much thinking about the show. I never get
completely comfortable with it, and I don‟t let the people around me get
comfortable with it, in that I remind them that it‟s a new crowd out there, it‟s a
new audience, and they haven‟t seen us before. So it‟s got to be like the first
time we go on.”
-From a 1972 taped interview used in MGM’s documentary "Elvis on Tour"
“The first time that I appeared on stage, it scared me to death. I really didn‟t
know what all the yelling was about. I didn‟t realize that my body was moving.
It‟s a natural thing to me. So to the manager backstage I said, „What‟d I do?
What‟d I do?‟ And he said “Whatever it is, go back and do it again.”
-From a 1972 taped interview used in MGM’s documentary "Elvis on Tour"
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10. Quotes by Elvis
• “Man, I was tame compared to what they do now. Are you
kidding? I didn‟t do anything but just jiggle.”
-From the press conference prior to his record-breaking Madison
Square Garden shows in New York City, 1972
“...the image is one thing and the human being is another...it‟s
very hard to live up to an image.”
-From the press conference prior to his record-breaking Madison
Square Garden shows in New York City, 1972
“A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity
that is generated in the crowd and on stage. It‟s my favorite
part of the business - live concerts.”
-Elvis at a press conference prior to his 1973 television special,
"Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite"
“ „Til we meet again, may God bless you. Adios.”
-Said in 1977 at the end of a concert during his last tour
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40. May 1967
On May 1, Elvis and Priscilla are married in a private ceremony amongst a small group of family and friends at the
Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, just after 11:40 a.m.
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59. Graceland
• Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and 13.8-acre (5.6
ha) estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It
is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven
community about 9 miles (14.5 km) from Downtown and less than
four miles (6 km) north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves
as a museum. It was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. The site
was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November
7, 1991 and declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27,
2006. Graceland has become one of the most-visited private homes
in America with over 600,000 visitors a year, behind the White
House and Biltmore Estate (900,000 visitors per year).
• Elvis Presley died at the estate on August 16, 1977. Presley, his
parents Gladys and Vernon Presley, and his grandmother, are
buried there in what is called the Meditation Garden. A memorial
gravestone for Presley's twin brother, Jesse Garon, is also at the
site.
