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Elvis Presley extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Elvis Presley
Elvis in 1970
Background information
Birth name	Elvis Aaron Presley1
Also known as	Elvis, The King, The King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis the Pelvis, The Hillbilly Cat2
Born	January 8, 1935(1935-01-08) Tupelo, Mississippi, USA
Origin	Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Died	August 16, 1977 (aged 42) Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, piano
Voice type(s)	Baritone
Years active	1953–1977
Label(s)	Sun, RCA Victor
Website	Elvis.com

Elvis Aaron Presley¹³ (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977; middle name sometimes written Aron)^a was an American singer, musician and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly referred to by his first name, and as the "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or "The King".

In 1954, Presley began his career as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an uptempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and "white" sounds, made him popular—and controversial⁴⁵⁶—as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice⁷ and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame.

In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his thirty-one movies—mainly poorly reviewed, but financially successful, musicals.⁸ In 1968, he returned with acclaim to live music in a television special,⁹ and thereafter performed across the U.S., notably in Las Vegas. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales.¹⁰ He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music. Health problems, drug dependency¹¹ and other factors led to his premature death at age 42.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Early musical influences 1.3 First recordings and performances 1.4 1956 Breakthrough 1.5 Controversy and cultural impact 1.6 Military service and mother's death 1.7 First post-Army recordings 1.8 Acting career 1.9 "The Fab Four" meet "The King" 1.10 Sex symbol 1.11 Marriage to Priscilla 1.12 Influence of Colonel Parker and others 1.13 1968 comeback 1.14 Return to live performances 1.15 1970–1972 1.16 Divorce from Priscilla 1.17 Aloha from Hawaii 1.18 1973–1976 1.19 Final year and death 2 Legacy 3 Discography 4 See also 5 Notes 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Biography

Early life

Elvis Presley was of mixed ancestry.^121314151617 His father, Vernon Elvis Presley¹⁸ (April 10, 1916–June 26, 1979), had several low-paying jobs, including sharecropper and truck driver. His mother, Gladys Love Smith (April 25, 1912 – August 14, 1958) worked as a sewing machinist. They met in Tupelo, Mississippi, and eloped to Pontotoc County where they married on June 17, 1933.¹⁹²⁰

Presley was born in a two-room shotgun house, built by his father, in East Tupelo. He was an identical twin—his brother was stillborn and given the name Jesse Garon. Growing up as an only child he "was, everyone agreed, unusually close to his mother."¹⁸ The family lived just above the poverty line and attended an Assembly of God church.²¹ Vernon has been described as "a malingerer, always averse to work and responsibility."²² His wife was "voluble, lively, full of spunk" and had a fondness for drink.²³ In 1938, Vernon was jailed for an eight dollar check forgery. His eight-month incarceration caused Gladys and her son to lose the family home, and they had to move in with relatives.²³²⁴²⁵

In September 1942, Presley entered first grade at Lawhorn School in Tupelo.²⁴ He was considered a "well-mannered and quiet child",²⁴ but sometimes classmates threw "things at him—rotten fruit and stuff—because he was different... he stuttered and he was a mama's boy."²⁶

On October 3, 1945, at age ten, he made his first public performance in a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show at the suggestion of his teacher Mrs. J.C. Grimes.²⁴ Dressed as a cowboy, the young Presley had to stand on a chair to reach the microphone and sang Red Foley's "Old Shep." He came second, winning $5 and a free ticket to all the Fair rides.²⁴²⁷

In 1946, for his eleventh birthday, Presley received his first guitar.²⁸ He had wanted a bicycle or rifle for his birthday, but his parents could only afford a guitar.²⁴²⁹ Over the following year, Vernon's brother, Vester, gave Elvis basic guitar lessons.²⁴ In September 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee,²⁴ allegedly because Vernon—in addition to needing work—had to escape the law for transporting bootleg liquor.²⁵³⁰ In 1949, they lived at Lauderdale Courts, a public housing development in one of Memphis' poorer sections. Presley practiced playing guitar in the laundry room and also played in a five-piece band with other tenants.³¹ One resident, another future rockabilly pioneer, Johnny Burnette, recalled, "Wherever Elvis went he'd have his guitar slung across his back... [H]e'd go in to one of the cafes or bars... Then some folks would say: 'Let's hear you sing, boy.'"³² Presley enrolled at L. C. Humes High School where some fellow students viewed his performing unfavorably; one recalled that he was "a sad, shy, not especially attractive boy" whose guitar playing was not likely to win any prizes. Presley was made fun of as a 'trashy' kind of boy, playing 'trashy' hillbilly music."³³ Other children however, "would beg him" to sing, but he was apparently too shy to perform.³⁴

In September 1950, Presley occasionally worked evenings as an usher at Loew's State Theater—his first job—to boost the family income,³⁵³⁶ but his mother made him quit as she feared it was affecting his school work. He worked again at Loew's in June the following year, but was fired after a fistfight over a female employee.³⁵ He began to grow his sideburns and, when he could afford to, dress in the wild, flashy clothes of Lansky Brothers on Beale Street.³⁷ He stood out, especially in the conservative Deep South of the 1950s, and was mocked and bullied for it.³¹ Childhood friend Red West said: "In the sea of 1600 pink-scalped kids at school, Elvis stood out like a camel in the arctic. ... [but] ... his appearance expressed a defiance which his demeanor did not match..."³⁸ Despite any unpopularity or shyness, he was a contestant in his school's 1952 "Annual Minstrel Show"³¹ and won by receiving the most applause. His prize was to sing encores, including "Cold Cold Icy Fingers" and "Till I Waltz Again With You".³²

After graduation, Presley was still rather shy, a "kid who had spent scarcely a night away from home".³⁹ His third job was driving a truck for the Crown Electric Company. He began wearing his hair longer with a "ducktail"—the style of truck drivers at that time.⁴⁰

Early musical influences

Initial influences came through his family's attendance at the Assembly of God, a Pentecostal Holiness church.¹⁸ Rolling Stone wrote: "Gospel pervaded Elvis' character and was a defining and enduring influence all of his days."⁴¹ Presley himself stated: "Since I was two years old, all I knew was gospel music. That music became such a part of my life it was as natural as dancing. A way to escape from the problems. And my way of release."⁴² Throughout his life—in the recording studio, in private, or after concerts—Presley joined with others singing and playing gospel music at informal sessions.⁴³

The young Presley frequently listened to local radio; his first musical hero was family friend Mississippi Slim, a hillbilly singer with a radio show on Tupelo’s WELO. Presley performed occasionally on Slim’s Saturday morning show, Singin’ and Pickin’ Hillbilly. "He was crazy about music... That’s all he talked about," recalls his sixth grade friend, James Ausborn, Slim’s younger brother.⁴⁴ Before he was a teenager, music was already Presley’s "consuming passion".⁴⁴ J. R. Snow, son of 1940s country superstar Hank Snow, recalls that even as a young man Presley knew all of Hank Snow’s songs, "even the most obscure".⁴⁵ Presley himself said: "I loved records by Sister Rosetta Thorpe, ... Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubbs, Ted Daffan, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Davis and Bob Wills."⁴⁶

In Memphis, Presley went to record stores that had jukeboxes and listening booths, playing old records and new releases for hours. He was an audience member at the all-night white—and black—"gospel sings" downtown.⁴⁷ Memphis Symphony Orchestra concerts at Overton Park were another Presley favorite, along with the Metropolitan Opera. His small record collection included Mario Lanza and Dean Martin. Presley later said, "I just loved music. Music period."⁴⁴

Memphis had a strong tradition of blues music and Presley went to blues as well as hillbilly venues. Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African American composers and recording artists, including Arthur Crudup, Rufus Thomas and B.B. King.⁴⁸ King says that he "knew Elvis before he was popular. He used to come around and be around us a lot ... on Beale Street."⁴⁹

Presley "was an untrained musician who played [guitar and piano] entirely by ear. 'I don't read music,' he confessed, 'but I know what I like.' ... Because he was not a songwriter, Presley [would] rarely [have] material prepared for recording sessions..." When later, as a young singer, he "ventured into the recording studio he was heavily influenced by the songs he had heard on the jukebox and radio."⁵⁰

First recordings and performances

Main article: Elvis Presley's Sun recordings

On July 18, 1953, Presley went to Sun Records' Memphis Recording Service to record "My Happiness" with "That's When Your Heartaches Begin", supposedly a present for his mother.⁵¹ During his initial introduction at Sun Records, assistant Marion Keisker asked him who he sounded like. Presley replied: "I don't sound like nobody."⁵² On January 4, 1954, he cut a second acetate. At the time, Sun Records boss Sam Phillips was on the lookout for someone who could deliver a blend of black blues and boogie-woogie music; he thought it would be very popular among white people.⁵³ When Phillips acquired a demo recording of "Without Love (There Is Nothing)" and was unable to identify the vocalist, Keisker reminded him about the young truck driver. She called him on June 26, 1954. Presley was not able to do justice to the song (though he would record it years later).⁵⁴ Phillips would later recall that "Elvis was probably as nervous as anybody, black or white, that I had seen in front of a microphone."⁵⁵ Despite this, Phillips invited local musicians Winfield "Scotty" Moore and Bill Black to audition Presley. Though they were not overly impressed, a studio session was planned.⁵⁶

During a recording break, Presley began "acting the fool" first with Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right (Mama)".⁵⁷ Phillips quickly got them all to restart, and began taping. This was the sound he had been looking for.⁵⁸ The group recorded other songs, including Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky". After the session, according to Scotty Moore, Bill Black remarked: "Damn. Get that on the radio and they'll run us out of town".⁵⁹

"That's All Right" was aired on July 8, 1954, by DJ Dewey Phillips.^60b Listeners to the show began phoning in, eager to find out who the singer was.⁵⁵ (The DJ mispronounced Presley's apparently unusual name as "Elton Preston.")⁶¹ The interest was such that Phillips played the demo fourteen times.⁵⁵ During an interview on the show, Phillips asked Presley what high school he attended—to clarify Presley's color for listeners who assumed he must be black.⁵⁵ The first release of Presley's music featured "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky". With Presley's version of Monroe's song consistently rated higher, both sides began to chart across the South.⁶²

Moore and Black began playing regularly with Presley. They gave performances on the July 17 and July 24, 1954 to promote the Sun single at the Bon Air, a rowdy music club in Memphis, where the band was not well-received.⁶³ On July 30 the trio, billed as The Blue Moon Boys, made their first paid appearance at the Overton Park Shell, with Slim Whitman headlining.⁶⁴ A nervous Presley's legs were said to have shaken uncontrollably during this show: his wide-legged pants emphasized his leg movements, apparently causing females in the audience to go "crazy".⁶⁵ Scotty Moore claims it was just the natural way he moved and had nothing to do with "nerves."⁶⁶ Presley consciously incorporated similar movements into future shows.⁶⁷

DJ and promoter Bob Neal became the trio's manager (replacing Scotty Moore). Moore and Black left their band, the Starlight Wranglers and, from August through October 1954, appeared with Presley at The Eagle's Nest.⁶³ Presley debuted at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on October 2; Hank Snow introduced Presley on stage. He performed "Blue Moon of Kentucky" but received only a polite response. Afterwards, the singer was allegedly told by the Opry's Jim Denny: "Boy, you’d better keep driving that truck,"⁶⁸ though others deny it was Denny who made that statement.⁶⁹ Country music promoter and manager Tillman Franks booked Presley for the Louisiana Hayride on October 16. Before Franks saw Presley, he referred to him as "that new black singer with the funny name".⁷⁰ During Presley's first set, the reaction was muted; Franks then advised Presley to "Let it all go!" for the second set. House drummer D.J. Fontana (who had worked in strip clubs) complemented Presley's movements with accented beats. Bill Black also took an active part in encouraging the audience, and the crowd became more responsive.⁷¹⁷²

According to one source, regarding Presley's engagements from that time, "Audiences had never before heard [such] music... [or] seen anyone who performed like Presley either. The shy, polite, mumbling boy gained self-confidence with every appearance... People watching the show were astounded and shocked, both by the ferocity of his performance, and the crowd’s reaction to it... Roy Orbison saw Presley for the first time in Odessa, Texas: 'His energy was incredible, his instinct was just amazing... I just didn’t know what to make of it. There was just no reference point in the culture to compare it.'"⁷³ Sam Phillips said Presley "put every ounce of emotion ... into every song, almost as if he was incapable of holding back."⁷⁴

By August 1955, Sun Studios had released ten sides credited to "Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill", all typical of the developing Presley style. That style proved hard to categorize; he was billed or labeled in the media as "The King of Western Bop", "The Hillbilly Cat" and "The Memphis Flash".⁷⁵

On August 15, 1955, "Colonel" Tom Parker became Presley's manager, signing him to a one year contract, plus renewals.⁷⁶ Several record labels had shown interest in signing Presley and, by the end of October 1955, three major labels had made offers up to $25,000.⁷⁷ On November 21, 1955, Parker and Phillips negotiated a deal with RCA Victor Records to acquire Presley's Sun contract for an unprecedented $40,000, $5,000 of which was a bonus for the singer for back royalties owed to him by Sun Records⁷⁷⁷⁸ (Presley, at 20, was officially still a minor, so his father had to sign the contract).⁷⁹ By December 1955, RCA had begun to heavily promote its newest star, and by the month's end had re-released all of his Sun recordings.⁷⁷

1956 Breakthrough

On January 10, Presley made his first recordings for RCA in Nashville, Tennessee.⁸⁰ The session produced "Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One" which was released on January 27. The public reaction to "Heartbreak Hotel" prompted RCA to release it as a single in its own right (February 11).⁸⁰ By April it had hit number one in the U.S. charts, selling in excess of one million copies.

To increase the singer's exposure, Parker finally brought Presley to national television (In March 1955, Presley had failed an audition for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts). He booked six Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show appearances in New York for CBS, beginning January 28, 1956. Presley was introduced on the first by Cleveland DJ Bill Randle. He stayed in town and on January 30, he and the band headed for the RCA's New York Studio.⁸⁰ The sessions yielded eight songs, including "My Baby Left Me" and "Blue Suede Shoes". The latter was the only hit single from the collection, but the recordings marked the point at which Presley started moving away from the raw, pure Sun sound to the more commercial and mainstream sound RCA had envisioned for him.⁸⁰

On March 23, RCA Victor released Elvis Presley, his first album. Like the Sun recordings, the majority of the tracks were country songs.⁸¹ The album went on to top the pop album chart for 10 weeks.⁸⁰

On April 1, Presley launched his acting career with a screen-test for Paramount Pictures. His first motion-picture, Love Me Tender, was released on November 21 (See 'Acting career').

Colonel Parker had also obtained a deal for two lucrative shows with Milton Berle at NBC. Presley first appeared on The Milton Berle Show from the deck of the USS Hancock in San Diego on April 3. His performance was cheered by a live audience of appreciative sailors and their dates.⁸² A few days after, a flight taking Presley's band to Nashville for a recording session left all three badly shaken (the plane lost an engine and almost went down over Texas).⁸² After more hectic touring, Presley returned to The Milton Berle Show on June 5 and performed "Hound Dog" (without his guitar). Singing the song uptempo, he then began a slower version. His exaggerated, straight-legged shuffle around the microphone stand stirred the audience—as did his vigorous leg shaking and hip thrusts in time to the beat. Presley's "gyrations" created a storm of controversy—even eclipsing the 'communist threat' headlines prevalent at the time.⁵ The press described his performance as "vulgar" and "obscene".⁵⁸³ The furore was such that Presley was pressured to explain himself on the local New York City TV show Hy Gardner Calling: "Rock and roll music, if you like it, and you feel it, you can't help but move to it. That's what happens to me. I have to move around. I can't stand still. I've tried it, and I can't do it."⁸⁴ After this performance he was dubbed "Elvis the Pelvis". Presley disliked the name, calling it "one of the most childish expressions I ever heard."⁸⁵

From April 23, Presley was scheduled to perform four weeks at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip—billed this time as "the Atomic Powered Singer" (Since Nevada was the home of the U.S.'s atomic weapons testing, Parker thought the name would be catchy). His shows were so badly received by critics and the conservative, middle-aged guests, that Colonel Parker cut short the engagement from four weeks to two.⁸⁶ . D.J. Fontana said, "I don't think the people there were ready for Elvis..... We tried everything we knew. Usually Elvis could get them on his side. It didn't work that time". While in Vegas, Presley saw Freddie Bell and the Bellboys live, and liked their version of Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog". By May 16, he had added the song to his own act.⁸⁷

The Berle shows drew such huge ratings that Steve Allen (NBC), not a fan of rock and roll, booked him for one appearance in New York on July 1. Allen wanted "to do a show the whole family can watch" and introduced a "new Elvis" in white bow tie and black tails. Presley sang "Hound Dog" for less than a minute to a Basset Hound in a top hat. According to one author, "Allen thought Presley was talentless and absurd... [he] set things up so that Presley would show his contrition..."⁸⁸⁸⁹ In his book "Hi-Ho Steverino!" Allen wrote the following: "When I booked Elvis, I naturally had no interest in just presenting him vaudeville-style and letting him do his spot as he might in concert. Instead we worked him into the comedy fabric of our program. We certainly didn't inhibit Elvis' then-notorious pelvic gyrations, but I think the fact that he had on formal evening attire made him, purely on his own, slightly alter his presentation."⁹⁰ The day after (July 2), the single "Hound Dog" was recorded and Scotty Moore said they were "all angry about their treatment the previous night".⁸⁹ (Presley often referred to the Allen show as the most ridiculous performance of his career.)⁸⁴ A few days later, Presley made a "triumphant" outdoor appearance in Memphis at which he announced: "You know, those people in New York are not gonna change me none. I'm gonna show you what the real Elvis is like tonight."⁹¹

Country vocalists The Jordanaires accompanied Presley on The Steve Allen Show and their first recording session together produced "Any Way You Want Me", "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog". The Jordanaires would work with the singer through the 1960s.

Though Presley had been unhappy, Allen's show had, for the first time, beaten The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings, causing a critical Sullivan (CBS) to book Presley for three appearances for an unprecedented $50,000.⁹²

Presley's first Ed Sullivan appearance (September 9, 1956) was seen by some 55–60 million viewers. Biographer Greil Marcus has written: "Compared to moments on the Dorsey shows and on the Berle show, it was ice cream."⁹³ On the third Sullivan show, in spite of Presley's established reputation as a "gyrating" performer, he sang only slow paced ballads and a gospel song.⁹⁴ Presley was nevertheless only shown to the television audience 'from the waist up', as if to censor the singer. Marcus claims he "stepped out in the outlandish costume of a pasha, if not a harem girl", and was shot in close up during this last broadcast, as if Sullivan had tried to 'bury' the singer.⁹⁵ It was also claimed that Colonel Parker had himself orchestrated the 'censorship' merely to generate publicity.⁹⁶⁹⁷ In spite of any misgivings about the controversial nature of his performing style (see 'Sex symbol'), Sullivan declared at the end of the third appearance that Presley was "a real decent, fine boy" and that they had never had "a pleasanter experience" on the show.⁹⁷

On December 4, Presley dropped into Sun Records where Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis were recording.⁹⁸ Sam Phillips made sure the session of the three performing was recorded; the results would later appear on a bootlegged recording titled The Million Dollar Quartet in 1977 (Johnny Cash is often thought to have performed with the trio, but he was only present briefly at Phillips' instigation for a photo opportunity).⁹⁹ RCA would eventually iron out legal difficulties and release an authorized version a few years later.⁹⁸

On December 29, Billboard revealed that Presley had placed more songs in the Top 100 than any other artist since chart records began.⁹⁸¹⁰⁰ This news was followed by a front page report in the Wall Street Journal on December 31, that suggested Presley merchandise had grossed more than $22 million in sales.¹⁰¹

Controversy and cultural impact

Main article: Cultural impact of Elvis Presley

When "That's All Right" was played, many listeners were sure Presley must be black, prompting white disc-jockeys to ignore his Sun singles. However, black disc-jockeys did not want anything to do with any record they knew was made by a white man.¹⁰² To many black adults, Presley had undoubtedly "stolen" or at least "derived his style from the Negro rhythm-and-blues performers of the late 1940s",¹⁰³ though such criticism ignored Presley's use of "white" musical styles. Some black entertainers, notably Jackie Wilson, argued: "A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis."^104c

By the spring of 1956, Presley was becoming popular nationwide and teenagers flocked to his concerts. Scotty Moore recalled: "He’d start out, 'You ain’t nothin’ but a Hound Dog,' and they’d just go to pieces. They’d always react the same way. There’d be a riot every time."¹⁰⁵ Bob Neal wrote: "It was almost frightening, the reaction... from [white] teenage boys. So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him." In Lubbock, Texas, a teenage gang fire-bombed Presley's car.¹⁰⁶ Some performers became resentful (or resigned to the fact) that Presley's unmatched hustle onstage before them would "kill" their own act; he thus rose quickly to top billing.¹⁰⁶ At the two concerts he performed at the 1956 Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, one hundred National Guardsmen were on hand to prevent crowd trouble.¹⁰⁷

To many white adults, the singer was "the first rock symbol of teenage rebellion. ... they did not like him, and condemned him as depraved. Anti-Negro prejudice doubtless figured in adult antagonism. Regardless of whether parents were aware of the Negro sexual origins of the phrase 'rock 'n' roll', Presley impressed them as the visual and aural embodiment of sex."¹⁰⁸ In 1956, a critic for the New York Daily News wrote that popular music "has reached its lowest depths in the 'grunt and groin' antics of one Elvis Presley" and the Jesuits denounced him in its weekly magazine, America.¹⁰⁹ Even Frank Sinatra opined: "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people."¹¹⁰ Presley responded to this (and other derogatory comments Sinatra made) by saying: "I admire the man. He has a right to say what he wants to say. He is a great success and a fine actor, but I think he shouldn't have said it... This ... [rock and roll] ... is a trend, just the same as he faced when he started years ago."¹¹¹

According to the FBI files on the singer, Presley was even seen as a "definite danger to the security of the United States." His actions and motions were called "a strip-tease with clothes on" or "sexual self-gratification on stage." They were compared with "masturbation or riding a microphone." Some saw the singer as a sexual pervert, and psychologists feared that teenaged girls and boys could easily be "aroused to sexual indulgence and perversion by certain types of motions and hysteria—the type that was exhibited at the Presley show."¹¹² Presley would insist, however, that there was nothing vulgar about his stage act, saying: "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."¹¹³ In August 1956, a Florida judge called Presley a "savage" and threatened to arrest him if he shook his body while performing in Jacksonville. The judge declared that Presley's music was undermining the youth of America. Throughout the performance (which was filmed by police), he kept still as ordered, except for wiggling a finger in mockery at the ruling.¹¹⁴ (Presley recalls this incident during the '68 Comeback Special.)

In 1957, despite Presley's demonstrable respect for "black" music and performers,¹¹⁵ he faced accusations of racism. He was alleged to have said in Boston, Massachusetts: "The only thing Negro people can do for me is to buy my records and shine my shoes." A journalist at Jet magazine (run by and for African Americans), subsequently pursued Presley, and his acquaintances in Memphis, for any other admissions or anecdotes to back up the perception that the singer was racist. None was found, nor could any evidence be found of the date, location and persons involved regarding the alleged remark (Presley had never visited Boston). Presley himself was interviewed on the set of Jailhouse Rock where he denied saying, or ever wanting to make, such a racist remark. However, the Jet journalist did find testimony from many individuals indicating that Presley judged people "regardless of race, color or creed".¹¹⁶ Even forty-five years later, the same racist remark was still being quoted as if it were a verified statement by Presley, to his detriment.¹¹⁷

His parents moved home in Memphis, but the singer lived there briefly. With increased concerns over privacy and security, Graceland was bought and renovated in 1957, a mansion with several acres of land. This was Presley's primary residence until his death.

Presley's record sales grew quickly throughout the late 1950s, with hits like "All Shook Up", "(Let me Be Your) Teddy Bear" and "Too Much".

Military service and mother's death

Rank and Insignia	Date of Rank
Private	Drafted 24 March 1958
Private First-Class	27 November 1958
Specialist 4	1 June 1959
Sergeant	20 January 1960

On December 20, 1957, Presley received his draft notice. Hal Wallis and Paramount Pictures had already spent $350,000 on the film King Creole, and did not want to suspend or cancel the project. The Memphis Draft Board granted Presley a deferment to finish it. On March 24, 1958, he was inducted as US Army private #53310761 and completed basic training at Fort Hood, Texas on September 17, 1958, before being posted to Friedberg, Germany with the 3rd Armored Division, where his service took place from October 1, 1958 until March 2, 1960.¹¹⁸

Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley's down-to-earth nature, and his generosity while in service. To supplement meager under-clothing supplies, Presley bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit. He also donated his Army pay to charity, and purchased all the TV sets for personnel on the base at that time.¹¹⁹

Presley had chosen not to join 'Special Services', which would have allowed him to avoid certain duties and maintain his public profile.¹²⁰ He continued to receive massive media coverage, with much speculation echoing Presley's own concerns about his enforced absence damaging his career. However, early in 1958, RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes and Freddy Bienstock of Hill and Range (Presley's main music publishers) had both pushed for recording sessions and strong song material, the aim being to release regular hit recordings during Presley's two-year hiatus.¹²¹ Hit singles—and six albums—duly followed during that period.

As Presley's fame grew, his mother continued to drink excessively and began to gain weight. She had wanted her son to succeed, "but... [the] hysteria of the crowd frightened her."¹²² In early August 1958, doctors had diagnosed hepatitis and her condition worsened. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her, arriving in Memphis on August 12. Two days later, Gladys Presley died of heart failure, aged forty-six. Presley was distraught, "grieving almost constantly" for days.¹²³

Some months later, in Germany, "[a] sergeant had introduced [Presley] to amphetamines when they were on maneuvers at Grafenwöhr... it seemed like half the guys in the company were taking them." Friends around Presley, like Joe Esposito, also began taking them, "if only to keep up with Elvis, who was practically evangelical about their benefits."⁴⁴ The Army also introduced Presley to karate—something which he studied seriously, even including it in his later live performances.^124d

Presley returned to the U.S. on March 2, 1960, and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant on March 5.¹²⁵ Any doubts Elvis had about his popularity must have been dispelled as "The train which carried him from New Jersey to Memphis was mobbed all the way, with Presley being called upon to appear ... at whistle-stops" to placate his fans.¹²⁶

First post-Army recordings

The first recording session, on March 20, 1960, was attended by all of the significant businessmen involved with Presley; none had heard him sing for two years, and there were inevitable concerns about him being able to recapture his previous success.¹²⁷ The session was the first at which Presley was recorded using a three-track machine, allowing better quality, postsession remixing and stereophonic recording.¹²⁷ This, and a further session in April, yielded some of Presley's best-selling songs. "It's Now or Never" ended with Presley "soaring up to an incredible top G sharp ... pure magic."¹²⁸ His voice on "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" has been described as "natural, unforced, dead in tune, and totally distinctive."¹²⁸ Although some tracks were uptempo, none could be described as "rock and roll", and many of them marked a significant change in musical direction.¹²⁸ Most tracks found their way on to an album—Elvis is Back!—described by one critic as "a triumph on every level... It was as if Elvis had... broken down the barriers of genre and prejudice to express everything he heard in all the kinds of music he loved".¹²⁹ The album was also notable because of Homer Boots Randolph's acclaimed saxophone playing on the blues songs "Like A Baby" and "Reconsider Baby", the latter being described as "a refutation of those who do not recognize what a phenomenal artist Presley was."¹²⁸

Acting career

See also: Elvis Presley filmography

In 1956, Presley launched his career as a film actor. He screen-tested for Paramount Pictures by lip-synching "Blue Suede Shoes" and performing a scene as 'Bill Starbuck' in The Rainmaker.¹³⁰ Despite being quietly confident that The Rainmaker would be his first film—even going as far as saying so in an interview¹³¹—the role eventually went to Burt Lancaster.¹³⁰

After signing a seven-year contract with Paramount, Presley made his big-screen début with the musical western, Love Me Tender. It was panned by the critics but did well at the box office.¹³² The original title—The Reno Brothers—was changed to capitalize on the advanced sales of the song "Love Me Tender". The majority of Presley's films were musical comedies made to "sell records and produce high revenues."¹³³ He also appeared in more dramatic films, like Jailhouse Rock and King Creole. The erotic, if not homoerotic,¹³⁴ dance sequence to the song "Jailhouse Rock", which Presley choreographed himself, "is considered by many as his greatest performance ever captured on film."¹³⁵ To maintain box office success, he would later even shift "into beefcake formula comedy mode for a few years."¹³⁶ He also made one non-musical western, Charro!.

Presley stopped live performing after his Army service with the exception, ironically—given Sinatra's previously scathing criticism—of a guest appearance on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis (1960). He also performed three charity concerts—two in Memphis and one in Pearl Harbor (1961).¹³⁷

In the Army, Presley had said on many occasions that "more than anything, he wanted to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor."¹³⁸ His manager had negotiated the multi-picture seven-year contract with Hal Wallis with an eye on long-term earnings.¹³⁹ The singer would later star alongside several established or up-and-coming actors, including Walter Matthau, Carolyn Jones, Angela Lansbury, Charles Bronson, Barbara Stanwyck, Mary Tyler Moore—and even a very young Kurt Russell in his screen debut. Although Presley was praised by directors, like Michael Curtiz, as polite and hardworking (and as having an exceptional memory), "he was definitely not the most talented actor around."¹⁴⁰ Others were more charitable; critic Bosley Crowther of the New York Times said: "This boy can act," about his portrayal in King Creole. Director Joe Pasternak believed "Elvis should be given more meaty parts. ... He would be a good actor. He should do more important pictures."¹⁴¹

The movies he did make, and the AIP beach movies (which were mainly made for an early sixties teenage audience), were generally criticized as a "pantheon of bad taste."¹⁴² The scripts of his movies "were all the same, the songs progressively worse."¹⁴³ For Blue Hawaii, "fourteen songs were cut in just three days."¹⁴⁴ Julie Parrish, who appeared in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, says that Presley hated many of the songs chosen for his films; he "couldn't stop laughing while he was recording" one of them.¹⁴⁵ Others noted that the songs seemed to be "written on order by men who never really understood Elvis or rock and roll."¹⁴⁶ Sight and Sound wrote that in his movies "Elvis Presley, aggressively bisexual in appeal, knowingly erotic, [was] acting like a crucified houri and singing with a kind of machine-made surrealism."¹⁴⁷ However, several reputable songwriters/partnerships contributed soundtrack songs, including Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Don Robertson, Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, and Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott. Whatever the quality of the material, some observers have argued that Presley generally sang well in the studio, with commitment, and always played with distinguished musicians and backing singers.¹⁴⁸ Despite this, critics maintained that "No major star suffered through more bad movies than Elvis Presley."¹⁴⁹

Presley movies were nevertheless very popular, and he "became a film genre of his own."¹⁵⁰ Hal Wallis would later remark: "An Elvis Presley picture is the only sure thing in Hollywood."¹⁵¹ Elvis on celluloid was the only chance for his worldwide fans to see him, in the absence of live appearances (the only time he toured outside of the U.S. was in Canada in 1957).^e His Blue Hawaii even "boosted the new state's tourism. Some of his most enduring and popular songs came from those [kind of] movies," like "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Return to Sender" and "Viva Las Vegas."¹⁵² His 1960s films and soundtracks grossed some $280 million.¹⁵³ On December 1, 1968, the New York Times wrote: "Three times a year Elvis Presley ... [makes] multimillion-dollar feature-length films, with holiday titles like "Blue Hawaii", "Fun in Acapulco", "Viva Las Vegas", "Tickle Me", "Easy Come, Easy Go", "Live a Little, Love a Little" and the latest in the series, "Chataqua" [released as Charro!. For each film Elvis receives a million dollars in wages and 50 per cent of the profits. ... [E]very film yields an LP sound-track record which may sell as many as two-million copies."

In 1964, Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole had starred in Hal Wallis' acclaimed Becket. Wallis admitted to the press that the financing of such quality productions was only possible by making a series of profitable B-movies starring Presley. He branded Wallis "a double-dealing sonofabitch" (and he thought little better of Tom Parker), realizing there had never been any intention to let him develop into a serious actor.¹⁵⁴

Presley was similarly exploited the following year with the film Tickle Me. Allied Artists had serious financial problems and hoped a Presley film would help them "stay afloat".¹⁵⁵ By agreeing to a lower fee, using previously recorded songs and filming on the studio back-lot, Allied Artists were able to keep costs very low.¹⁵⁵ Considered one of the weakest of all Presley pictures, it became the third highest grossing picture in Allied Artists' history, and saved them from bankruptcy at the time.¹⁵⁵

Presley was one of the highest paid actors during the 1960s, but times were changing. "[The] Elvis Presley film was becoming passé. Young people were tuning in, dropping out and doing acid. Musical acts like Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Janis Joplin and many others were dominating the airwaves. Elvis Presley was not considered cool as he once was."¹⁵⁶ Priscilla Presley recalls: "He blamed his fading popularity on his humdrum movies" and "... loathed their stock plots and short shooting schedules." She also notes: "He could have demanded better, more substantial scripts, but he didn't."¹⁵⁷

Change of Habit (1969) was the singer's final movie role. His last two films were concert documentaries in the early 1970s, though Presley was keen to consider dramatic movie roles.¹⁵⁸ (See: 'Influence of Colonel Parker and others').

As well as the formulaic movie songs of the 1960s, Presley added to the studio recordings of Elvis Is Back, by recording other noteworthy songs like "She's Not You", "Suspicion," "Little Sister", "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" and "It Hurts Me." In 1966 he recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow is a Long Time" (which RCA Victor relegated to a bonus track on the soundtrack album for Spinout). He also produced two gospel albums: His Hand in Mine (1960) and How Great Thou Art (1966). In 1967, he recorded some well-received singles, like Guitar Man, by songwriter/guitar player Jerry Reed. However, "during the Beatles era (1963-70), only six Elvis singles reached number ten or better. 'Suspicious Minds' was the lone number one."¹⁵⁹

"The Fab Four" meet "The King"

During filming of Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Presley returned to his Bel Air home. The Beatles were at the end of their second U.S. tour. Colonel Parker had been negotiating a meeting for some time, through The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, though Parker simply saw it as a valuable publicity opportunity (He had apparently even tried to get the group and Presley to perform the closing song in the same movie, but The Beatles' film contract precluded it). The group arrived in Bel Air amid a flurry of elaborate security arrangements made by Parker at 10pm, on August 27, 1965.¹⁶⁰ The visit lasted about four hours. Many of Presley's closest and trusted friends— members of the so-called "Memphis Mafia"—were present, including school friend and bodyguard Red West, Marty Lacker, Jerry Schilling, Larry Geller and their girlfriends.¹⁶⁰

Biographer Peter Guralnick maintains that Presley was at best "lukewarm" about playing host to people he did not really know, and it took a while for everyone to feel comfortable.¹⁶⁰ Paul McCartney later said: "It was one of the great meetings of my life. I think he liked us. I think at that time, he may have felt a little bit threatened, but he didn't say anything. We certainly didn't feel any antagonism. I only met him that once, and then I think the success of our career started to push him out a little, which we were very sad about, because we wanted to coexist with him."¹⁶¹

Marty Lacker recalls Presley saying: "'Quite frankly, if you guys are going to stare at me all night, I'm going to bed. I thought we'd talk a while and maybe jam a little.' And when he said that, they [The Beatles] went nuts."¹⁶² The group told stories, joked and listened to records. The five of them had an impromptu jam session.¹⁶¹ "They all went to the piano," says Lacker, "and Elvis handed out a couple of guitars. And they started singing Elvis songs, Beatle songs, Chuck Berry songs. Elvis played Paul's bass part on "I Feel Fine", and Paul said something like, 'You're coming along quite promising on the bass there, Elvis.' I remember thinking later, 'Man, if we'd only had a tape recorder.'"¹⁶²

Ringo Starr played pool with two others that night; George Harrison "looked to most of the guys to be stoned" on arrival and allegedly smoked a joint with Larry Geller and talked about Hinduism (see: 'Influence of Colonel Parker and others'). Parker played roulette with Epstein.¹⁶⁰ However, Guralnick claims The Beatles were, overall, disappointed by the visit. They still reciprocated with an invitation for Elvis to visit them, but only some of Presley's "Memphis Mafia" accepted. "John Lennon went out of his way to tell Jerry [Schilling] how much the evening had meant to him" and asked Schilling to tell Presley, "'[I]f it hadn't been for him I would have been nothing.'" Schilling says that when he told Presley he did not say anything, but "just kind of smiled."¹⁶³ (See: '1970–1972)').

Sex symbol

Main article: Relationships of Elvis Presley

Presley's sexual appeal and photogenic looks have been acknowledged: for example, director Steve Binder, not a fan of Presley's music at the time, recalled from the '68 Comeback Special (when Presley was fit and tanned): "I'm straight as an arrow and I got to tell you, you stop, whether you're male or female, to look at him. He was that good looking. And if you never knew he was a superstar, it wouldn't make any difference; if he'd walked in the room, you'd know somebody special was in your presence."¹⁶⁴

According to Marjorie Garber, a "male rock critic writing in 1970 praised Elvis as 'The master of the sexual simile, treating his guitar as both phallus and girl.' ... rumor had it that into his skin-tight jeans was sewn a lead bar to suggest a weapon of heroic proportions." She cites a boyhood friend of Presley's who claims the singer actually used a cardboard toilet roll tube to make it "look to the girls up front like he had one helluva thing there inside his pants."¹⁶⁵ Ed Sullivan had apparently heard similar rumors and instructed his director Marlo Lewis to film only Presley's chest and head for his final Sullivan appearance. However, Lewis was skeptical about Presley wearing such a device and says simply: "It wasn't there".¹⁶⁶

Accounts of Presley's numerous sexual conquests may be exaggerated.¹⁶⁷¹⁶⁸ Cybill Shepherd reveals that Presley kissed her all over her naked body - but refused to have oral sex with her.¹⁶⁹ Ex-Girlfriends Judy Spreckels and June Juanico had no sexual relationships with Presley. Byron Raphael and Alanna Nash have stated that the star "would never put himself inside one of these girls..."¹⁷⁰ Cassandra Peterson ("Elvira") says she knew Presley for only one night, but all they did was talk.¹⁷¹ Cher regrets turning him down when he asked her to stay with him in Las Vegas, because she was too nervous of spending the night with him.¹⁷² Peggy Lipton claims that he was "virtually impotent" with her, but she attributed this to his boyishness and drug misuse.¹⁷³ Guralnick concurs with others, "he wasn't really interested", preferring to lie in bed, watch television and talk.¹⁷⁴

Ann-Margret (Presley's co-star in Viva Las Vegas) refers to Presley as her "soulmate" but has revealed little else.¹⁷⁵ A publicity campaign about Presley and Margret's romance was launched during the filming of Viva Las Vegas,¹⁷⁶ which helped to increase Margret's popularity.¹⁷⁷¹⁷⁸ Presley apparently dated many female co-stars for publicity purposes.¹⁷⁹ Lori Williams dated him for a while in 1964. She says their "courtship was not some bizarre story. It was very sweet and Elvis was the perfect gentleman."¹⁸⁰

Former partner Linda Thompson says they did not consummate their relationship until after a few months of dating. After they broke up in December 1976, many say Presley never had sex again.¹⁸¹ His last girlfriend, Ginger Alden claims that the singer planned to marry her and that she was engaged to Presley at the time of his death, though her story is somewhat contradicted by many of Presley's close friends.¹⁸²

Marriage to Priscilla

Main articles: Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie Presley

Elvis and Priscilla met in 1959 at a party in Bad Nauheim, Germany during his stay in the army.⁵⁵ She was 14 at the time they met, while he was 24. They quickly began a serious relationship and frequently visited each other until he left Germany in 1960.^{citation needed}

Priscilla and Elvis stayed in contact over the phone, though they would not see each other again until the summer of 1962, when Priscilla's parents agreed to let her visit for two weeks.⁵⁵¹⁸³ After another visit at Christmas, Priscilla's parents finally let her move to America for good.⁵⁵ Part of the agreement was that she would be privately educated, to complete her senior year, and live with Elvis' father and his wife, Dee, in their home—due to Presley's difficulty with accepting his stepmother, he arranged for them to live in a separate house on the Graceland estate.⁵⁵ However, it wasn't long until Priscilla was moved into Graceland to live with Elvis.⁵⁵

In her autobiography, Elvis and Me, Priscilla says that Elvis refused to have sex with her until they were married. However, biographer Suzanne Finstad writes that Priscilla and Elvis slept together on their second date.¹⁸⁴

Shortly before Christmas 1966, Elvis proposed to Priscilla. They married on May 1, 1967 at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. In typical fashion