Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was born in a two room house on January 8,1935, in East Tupelo, Mississippi. The Presley family, of European ancestry, though some American Indian and Jewish ancestors are known, lived in near poverty. Presley’s workshy father had been jailed for check fraud so the family relied on handouts from neighbors and government food assistance.
At the age of thirteen Presley become influenced by the Negro gospel music of the neighborhood Pentecostal church. During his junior years Presley began to reject traditional values by hanging out in downtown Memphis listening to Negro Jazz music while flaunting his sideburns and hair styled with rose oil and Vaseline.
After graduating from liberal and atheistic public high school in 1953, Presley paid to record two songs meant to be a birthday gift to his mother. “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin”. Presley then embraced 'rock 'n' roll', a Negro euphemism for immoral sexual activity. In 1954 Presley was signed by liberal Sun Records who released “That’s All Right,” backed by “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Within a few days it was a hit when Memphis radio station WHBQ began programming the record and Presley began a regular touring schedule outside of the Memphis area. His second single, “Good Rockin' Tonight,” with “I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine” was released in September, 1954 and a month later Presley made his first appearance on the “Louisiana Hayride” in Shreveport to the delight of a large audience. He was signed to a one-year contract for a weekly performance. Presley moved from Sun Records to RCA where a few months later in 1956 his very first single “Heartbreak Hotel,” topped the charts at #1. Before the year ended Presley had 16 records on the Hit Parade.
Conservatives at the time objected to the graphic sexual content of many of Presley’s lyrics and his on stage displays of blatant vulgar sexual gyrations which were undermining the morality of America’s youth by encouraging premarital sex, promiscuity and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, ushering in what was later to be known as the “sexual revolution”. Presley’s descent into depravity and adoption of Hollywood values continued apace with the consumption of drugs and copious amounts of alcohol, extramarital affairs, abortions and divorce. Presley’s growing corpulence and obesity clearly indicated an affinity with atheism.
By 1977 Presley was barely able to perform at his deliberately shortened concerts, being hugely overweight, his mind numbed by his daily diet of drugs and alcohol, the paranoid Presley finally died on August 16, age 42, at his home in Memphis.
Musical achievements
Presley had four #1 hits in 1956:
- “I Want You I Need You I Love You,”
- “Don’t Be Cruel,”
- “Hound Dog”
- “Love Me Tender”
In 1957 Presley had other hits that leaped to the top of the charts:
- “Too Much,”
- “All Shook Up,”
- “Teddy Bear”
- “Jailhouse Rock”
The following year saw two more #1 songs:
- “Don’t”
- “Hard Headed Woman”
While other songs were also million sellers:
- “I Beg Of You,"
- “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck,”
- “One Night”
- “I Got Stung,”
In 1959 Presley had four additional hits:
- “A Fool Such As I,”
- “I Need Your Love Tonight,”
- “A Big Hunk of Love”
- “My Wish Came True”
In 1960 four more #1 hits were released:
- “Stuck On You,”
- “It’s Now Or Never,”
- “Are You Lonesome Tonight”
- “Surrender”
In 1961 Presley also had a good year with hits:
- “I Feel So Bad,”
- “Little Sister,”
- “His Latest Flame”
- “Can’t Help Falling In Love”
In 1962 Presley added:
- “Good Luck Charm,”
- “She’s Not You,”
- “Return to Sender”
In 1963 “You’re The Devil in Disguise” was released.
Before the 1960’s ended Presley would have more hits:
- “Crying in the Chapel,”
- “Love Letters,”
- “If I Can Dream,”
- “In the Ghetto,”
- “Don’t Cry Daddy,”
- “Suspicious Minds”
In the 1970’s Presley had the following hits:
- “The Wonder of You,”
- “Burning Love,”
- “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,”
- “Promised Land”
- “Way Down”
A multiple Grammy award winner, in his first dozen years Presley had 100 hits on the Billboard charts and was the most famous entertainer in the world. On tour and on stage in Las Vegas he played more than a thousand sold out concerts and starred in enormously profitable films such as “Love Me Tender,” “Jailhouse Rock” and “King Creole.”
Elvis Presley’s “Aloha from Hawaii” concert in January 1973 was the first of its kind to be broadcast worldwide via satellite and was seen by at least one billion viewers worldwide. In 1986 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1998 the Country Music Hall of Fame and in 2001 the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In 2007 Elvis Presley was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
The Elvis Presley estate earns over 40 million dollars every year, a record for a deceased entertainer and his Graceland Mansion where he is buried is designated as a National Historic Landmark.
