Elvis Presley can only be described as arguably the most influential star of Rock'n Roll. He was born on the 8th January 1935 in Tupelo Mississippi. Born one of twins his brother died at birth and it was probably because of this that Elvis became a maternal child.

After winning 5 dollars in a talent competition he went to Sun Records where he wanted to record a song as a birthday present to his mother. The studio manager was impressed with the style and voice of Elvis and informed Sam Phillips who owned the company of his potential. In Elvis Phillips had found someone unique. The unusual voice that Elvis possessed sounded like that of a negro and the stage attitude which later caused controversy was also something very unusual for this time.

In 1955 Elvis went on tour and played gigs in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. With his hip swivelling stage act the fans went wild. However, after the tour the management side of Elvis' career changed when Colonel Tom Parker took over the day to day running of his business affairs. Parker who already managed other top stars such as Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow, was actually an illegal immigrant from Holland. He persuaded Sun Records to release Elvis to a major record label and after constantly raising the price of his stars contract he eventually signed to RCA records for a staggering 35.000 dollars. To say that Parker was a shrewd business man would not only be polite but an understatement as well. He ensured that his young star rarely gave interviews, took enormous amounts of royalties from his earnings (rumours have it 50%) and made certain that because of his own legal problems Elvis never toured outside the United States.

1956 saw his first single with RCA Records, "Heartbreak Hotel", released although a slow downbeat song it went on to be one of his most memorable and proved to his new label that the money they had spent on his contract was well worth it. The single topped the American charts for eight weeks. In the last few years Elvis had gone from serving ice cream in a cinema as an usher to a lorry driver and then on to one of the hottest singing properties around.

Soon after his initial success he made several television appearances and once again encountered problems because of his indifferent dancing. In fact on most shows the camera only filmed him from the waist upwards in order to eliminate any so-called erotic movements. A good example of this was when he appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the host was far from impressed with the dance routine. Afterwards Mr Sullivan was reported to have said that Elvis Presley would never again appear on his show. However after competition from other shows Sullivan soon changed his mind and in fact paid Parker 50.000 dollars for three appearances.

young Elvis black/white With the success of the small screen behind him Presley decided to go on to the big screen by starring in films. "Love Me Tender" became his debut film and with the music he sang in it there seemed to be no stopping him. However something did interrupt his career and that was the call of the American army, which he enlisted into in 1958. Soon after his enlisting his mother was taken ill and died from acute hepatitis. This death hit Elvis really hard and which was shown at the funeral where he was totally inconsolable. As he admitted later in his life, that was the worst day of his life and something that even later on he had problems coming to terms with.

Whilst in the army Parker made sure Elvis wasn't forgotten and continued to release previous recorded material from the star. As for his army career, that flourished too and he was promoted to sergeant and met a then 14 year old Priscilla Beaulieu who later went on to become his wife.

After his demob from the army Elvis came back with a string of hits such as "Are You Lonesome Tonight", "It's Now Or Never" and "Wooden Heart". The latter of these songs Elvis actually sang in German - a language he had learned whilst stationed in Hamburg when he was in the army. Along with his records he had a series of films during this period and up until 1963 his career seemed unstoppable. However after this period things seemed to change and his popularity faded. Whether it was to do with the new groups such as The Beatles it is hard to say. Although Presley still recorded and brought out different hits the glory days seemed to have gone.

In 1967 he married his long time love Priscilla in Las Vegas and held a reception for around 100 guests. They actually had two receptions, the second being held for the guests that couldn't attend the first one and this was held the same month, but in the grounds of their home Graceland. Although they had two receptions they settled for one honeymoon and borrowed Frank Sinatra's private jet to fly them to Palm Springs.

In 1968 Priscilla gave birth to daughter Lisa Marie. This year proved to be a revelation for Elvis as his career bounced back on track when he appeared on a television special entitled "Elvis TV Special". His looks, enthusiasm, voice and charisma flooded back and he turned the clock back over ten years with all the old classics. He also sang new material which was well received by the audience. Following this he enjoyed new found stardom with the hits "Suspicious Minds", "If I Can Dream" and "Love Letters". Although the singing side of things had picked up his marriage hit the rocks and in 1973 Elvis and Priscilla divorced. You could say that it was no surprise that Priscilla remained good friends with Elvis as she received 2 million dollars alimony, child support and incidentals. I reckon that is enough to keep anyone happy.

From 1973 onwards Elvis suffered reoccurring health problems and on more than one occasion collapsed on stage. In 1975 not for the first time he was hospitalized and diagnosed with hypertension and an impacted colon. He was instructed by a physician to go on a special diet and prescribed a dosage of cortisone which has the unfortunate side affect of weight gain. This was something that he had constant problems with from then on.

Not only idolized by the general public he was also adored by other stars. A point that was proved in 1976 when a certain Bruce Springsteen was arrested while climbing over the gates of Graceland in order to meet the star. In the same year a similar event took place when Jerry Lee Lewis was arrested in the grounds, drunk and carrying a gun. Whether his intentions were truly honest remains very doubtful.

In May the same year, after more health problems, he left the stage during a concert in Baltimore and, after treatment, returned to complete the show. However the massive amount of drugs and the tiring work schedule finally took its toll and on the 16th August 1977 was found unconscious on his bathroom floor by his girlfriend Ginger Alden. After resuscitation attempts failed, Elvis was pronounced dead. The cause of death was stated as heart failure which was no surprise as it was later revealed that eight different substances had been found in his blood. Elvis was only 42 years old when he died, but his body had considerably aged over the last few years. At the time of his death it was rumoured that he had been planning to get married again. Unfortunately, though he had once put his career back on track, he couldn't do the same with his health.

Since his death - like with so many stars - his popularity has soared and in 1982, even though at the time his aunt was still living there, Graceland was opened as a sort of museum to the public. The estate was actually left in a trust for his daughter which she received on her 25th birthday. The media has also helped keep the Elvis memory alive and after rumours that the star was still in the land of the living. The Sun newspaper put up 1 million pounds as a reward to anybody who could bring a live Elvis Presley to their offices. Court room battles have also followed since his death, allegations were made against his physician Dr Nichopoules for over-prescribing drugs to Elvis.

The life of Elvis Presley is really a story of a man who built his own world around himself, but unfortunately attracted so many money grabbers that it became one big glorified show. Honoured by just about every star since a guitar string has been struck, he must go down in the history of Rock 'n' Roll as being the king of all legends.
 

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