Elvis Aron Presley (1935-1977) - American singer and actor, one of the most famous musicians of the 20th century, who managed to popularize rock and roll. As a result, he received the nickname - "King of Rock 'n' Roll".
Presley's art is still in great demand. As of today, over 1 billion records with his songs have been sold all over the world.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Elvis Presley, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Elvis Presley.
Elvis Presley biography
Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in the town of Tupelo (Mississippi). He grew up and was raised in a poor family of Vernon and Gladys Presley.
The future artist's twin, Jess Garon, passed away shortly after birth.
Childhood and youth
The head of the Presley family was Gladys, since her husband was quite gentle and did not have a stable job. The family had a very modest income, and therefore none of its members could afford any expensive things.
The first tragedy in the biography of Elvis Presley happened when he was about 3 years old. His father was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of forging checks.
From an early age, the boy was brought up in the spirit of religion and music. For this reason, he often went to church and even sang in the church choir. When Elvis was 11 years old, his parents gave him a guitar.
It is likely that his father and mother bought him a guitar because a few years earlier he had won a prize at the fair for his performance of the folk song "Old Shep".
In 1948, the family settled in Memphis, where it was easier for Presley Sr. to find work. It was then that Elvis became seriously interested in music. He listened to country music, entertainers, and also developed an interest in blues and boogie woogie.
A couple of years later, Elvis Presley, along with friends, some of whom will gain popularity in the future, began performing on the street near his home. Their main repertoire consisted of country and gospel songs, a genre of spiritual Christian music.
Soon after leaving school, Elvis ended up in a recording studio, where for $ 8 he recorded 2 compositions - "My Happiness" and "That’s When Your Heartaches Begin". About a year later, he recorded some more songs here, attracting the attention of studio owner Sam Phillips.
However, no one wanted to collaborate with Presley. He came to various castings and participated in various vocal competitions, but everywhere he suffered a fiasco. Moreover, the leader of the Songfellows quartet told the young man that he had no voice and that he was better off continuing to work as a truck driver.
Music and cinema
In mid-1954, Phillips contacted Elvis, asking him to take part in the recording of the song "Without You". As a result, the recorded song did not suit either Sam or the musicians.
During the break, a frustrated Presley started playing the song “That’s All Right, Mama”, playing it in a completely different manner. Thus, the first hit of the future "king of rock and roll" appeared absolutely by accident. After a positive reaction from the audience, he and his colleagues recorded the track "Blue Moon of Kentucky".
Both songs were released on LP and sold 20,000 copies. An interesting fact is that this single took 4th place in the charts.
Even before the end of 1955, Elvis Presley's creative biography was replenished with 10 singles, which were a great success. The guys began performing in local clubs and radio stations, as well as filming videos for their songs.
Elvis' innovative style of performing compositions has become a real sensation not only in America, but also far beyond its borders. Soon the musicians began to cooperate with producer Tom Parker, who helped them sign a contract with a large studio “RCA Records”.
It is fair to say that for Presley himself, the contract was terrible, since he was entitled to only 5% of the sale of his work. Despite this, not only his compatriots, but all of Europe learned about him.
Crowds of people came to Elvis's concerts, wanting not only to hear the famous singer's voice, but also to see him on stage. Curiously, the guy became one of the few rock singers who served in the army (1958-1960).
Presley served in a Panzer Division based in West Germany. But even in such conditions, he found time to record new hits. Interestingly, the songs "Hard Headed Woman" and "A Big Hunk o 'Love" even topped the American charts.
Returning home, Elvis Presley became interested in cinema, although he continued to record new hits and tour the country. At the same time, his face appeared on the covers of various authoritative publications around the world.
The success of the movie Blue Hawaii played a cruel joke on the artist. This was due to the fact that after the premiere of the film, the producer insisted only on such roles and songs, sounding in the style of "Hawaii". Since 1964, interest in Elvis's music began to decline, as a result of which his songs disappeared from the charts.
Over time, the films in which the guy appeared also ceased to interest the audience. Since the movie "Speedway" (1968), the shooting budget has always been below the box office. The last works of Presley were the films "Charro!" and Habit Change, filmed in 1969.
Losing popularity, Elvis refused to record new records. And only in 1976 he was persuaded to make a new record.
Immediately after the release of the new album, Presley's songs were again at the top of the music ratings. However, he did not dare to record more records, citing health problems. His most recent album was "Moody Blue", which consisted of unreleased material.
Almost half a century has passed since that time, but no one has managed to beat Elvis's record (146 songs in the TOP-100 of the Billboard hit parade).
Personal life
With his future wife, Priscilla Bewley, Presley met while serving in the army. In 1959, at one of the parties, he met the 14-year-old daughter of a US Air Force officer, Priscilla.
Young people started dating and after 8 years they got married. In this marriage, the couple had a girl named Lisa-Marie. An interesting fact is that in the future Lisa-Marie will become the first wife of Michael Jackson.
Initially, everything was fine between the spouses, but due to the fantastic popularity of her husband, protracted depression and constant touring, Bewley decided to part ways with Elvis. They divorced in 1973, although they had been separated for over a year.
After that, Presley cohabited with actress Linda Thompson. Four years later, the "king of rock and roll" has a new girlfriend - actress and model Ginger Alden.
Interestingly, Elvis considered Colonel Tom Parker to be his best friend, who was next to him on many tours. The musician's biographers believe that it was the colonel who was allegedly to blame for the fact that Presley became a selfish, domineering and money-loving person.
It's fair to say that Parker was the only friend with whom Elvis communicated in the last years of his life without fear of being deceived. As a result, the colonel never let the star down, remaining faithful to him even in the most difficult situations.
Death
According to the musician's bodyguard, Sonny West, in the last years of his life, Presley could drink 3 bottles of whiskey a day, shoot at empty rooms in his mansion and shout from the balcony that someone was trying to kill him.
If you believe all the same West, then Elvis loved to listen to various gossip and take part in intrigues against the staff.
The death of the musician still arouses great interest among fans of his work. On August 15, 1977, he visited the dentist, and already late at night he returned to his estate. The next morning, Presley took a sedative as he was tormented by insomnia.
When the medicine did not help, the man decided to take another dose of sedatives, which turned out to be fatal for him. Then he spent some time in the bathroom, where he read books.
At about two o'clock in the afternoon on August 16, Ginger Alden found Elvis in the bathroom, lying unconscious on the floor. The girl urgently called the ambulance team, which recorded the death of the great rocker.
Elvis Aron Presley died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42. According to the official version, he died of heart failure (according to other sources - from drugs).
It is curious that there are still a lot of rumors and legends that Presley is actually alive. For this reason, a few months after the funeral, his remains were reburied at Graceland. This was due to the fact that unknown people tried to break open his coffin, who wanted to make sure of the death of the artist.
Photo by Elvis Presley
