Beyond the Music: 10 Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About the King of Rock and Roll

While Elvis's music has enthralled audiences for decades, there are numerous intriguing facets of his life that remain lesser-known. In this article, we embark on a voyage of discovery, unearthing 10 fascinating facts that shed light on the man behind the music. Brace yourself for surprises, untold stories, and a deeper understanding of the legendary figure who left an indelible mark on the music industry and popular culture. So, get ready to go beyond the music as we unveil the remarkable and lesser-explored aspects of Elvis Presley's life and legacy.

Here are 10 facts about the King of Rock and Roll.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935, to parents Vernon and Gladys Presley. He was the twin brother of Jesse Garon Presley, who was stillborn. Elvis later changed his middle name, Aaron, to Aron, to more closely match his twin’s middle name. Elvis’s upbringing was characterised by a strong work ethic, a love of family and a deep connection to his roots in the south.

Presley’s family was poor and he grew up in a small two-room house in Tupelo which was barely 400 square feet in size. His father Vernon worked as a truck driver while Gladys was a homemaker.

Elvis’ mother Gladys was a big influence on Elvis’s earliest musical influences as she was a devout gospel music fan. He frequently attended church in Memphis with his family, where the gospel quartet ‘The Blackwood Brothers’ performed. The group’s soothing harmonies and rousing lyrics had a profound influence upon Elvis, who, throughout his career, used gospel groups as his backing singers. Similarly, Elvis warmed up his voice to gospel music.

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In 1945, 10-year-old Elvis entered a youth talent contest in Tupelo, broadcast live on the local radio station. It was Elvis’ first public performance. He came fifth place and won some fair ride tickets. That same year, his parents gifted him a guitar for his birthday, instead of a bicycle which Elvis had requested but proved too expensive. Elvis quickly taught himself to play and as a teenager soon began performing at school concerts and entering local talent contests.

During this time he started to develop his image as a performer, with a style that would prove key to his iconic image: Cuban-collared shirts, pleated trousers and penny loafers became staples. He also started to wear his hair long, which was unusual at the time. He slicked it back with generous amounts of gel in a style that became known as the pompadour.

In 1953, Presley recorded his first demo acetate at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, primarily as a birthday gift for his mother, Gladys. The owner of the label, Sam Phillips, was impressed with his voice and unique style and gave him a record deal. Sam teamed Presley together with some local musicians and they went on to record Presley’s first single, ‘That’s All Right’, which was released in 1954. It quickly became a hit in the southern United States and marked the beginning of Elvis’ rapid rise to fame as a rock and roll artist.

RELATED SONG: Mama Liked The Roses

Elvis soon started to make regular appearances on a local live radio show where he met a promoter and manager known as ‘Colonel’ Tom Parker, who went on to play a fundamental role in the rest of his musical career.

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5. He holds the record for the most songs to chart in Billboard’s top 40

His first album, Elvis Presley, was released in 1956 and featured many of his early hit singles that have since become timeless classics, including ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’. He charted over 150 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the first artist to have 5 albums reach number 1.

He released a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1977, and he held the record for the most albums to reach number 1 for over 30 years.

Elvis made one of his earliest television performances on 5 June 1956 on the The Milton Berle Show in a performance that shocked America. The mainstream conservative culture was aghast at Elvis’s trademark gyrating hips and pelvis-shaking dance moves that enraged critics across the country, calling his shows ‘vulgar’ and ‘animalistic’.

On 9 September 1956, Elvis made his debut performance on America’s top television programme of the time, The Ed Sullivan Show, in which he was signed for an unprecedented $50,000 for three appearances. With 60 million viewers tuning in, Elvis’ first performance became the most-watched TV broadcast of the 1950s.

Elvis also launched a successful acting career, and aspired to be seen as a serious dramatic actor. He appeared in 31 films between 1956-1973, with some of his most successful films including Jailhouse Rock (1957), King Creole (1958) and Viva Las Vegas (1964).

However, as much as Elvis saw acting as the natural next step to his musical career, he soon became disillusioned with the industry. Under the heavy influence of his manager, Colonel Parker, Elvis was forced to continually appear in a series of musicals with romantic plot-lines, mainly due to the sales of the soundtracks returning a huge profit. However, he was never offered the opportunity to appear in a serious, non-singing role.

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Elvis entered the US Army at Memphis, Tennessee in 1958 and received his discharge from the Army Reserve in 1964. He completed advanced military training and served overseas in Germany from 1958-1960. Although his service didn’t last long, it had a profound effect on him privately, launching him into a dark period in his life during which he also lost his mother Gladys. He would later call her death ‘the great tragedy of his life’.

His military career was also the start of the drug addiction that likely contributed to the end of his life, when a fellow sergeant introduced Elvis to amphetamines, which he began taking almost daily.

While Elvis was in the army, he met Priscilla Beaulieu in 1959 during a party at his base in Bad Nauheim, Germany. She was 14 at the time. Priscilla’s parents were furious when she returned home late the night of that first meeting, insisting that she never see Elvis again. But the pair kept in touch by phone and some 2 years later she was allowed by her family to fly from Germany to visit him in America.

Eight years after they met, they were married in Las Vegas, Nevada. The wedding was arranged by Presley’s manager Tom Parker to maximise publicity, and featured very few guests. It was over in just eight minutes.

The couple’s daughter, Lisa Marie, was born the following year, in 1968. Although their marriage didn’t last (they divorced in 1973), Elvis and Priscilla remained friends, and raised Lisa Marie together until Elvis’ death in 1977.

Presley passed away on 16 August 1977, aged just 42. He died in the mansion known as Graceland, which is now a museum and a popular tourist attraction. The cause of death was officially ruled as a heart attack, but many believe that it was the result of his long-term drug abuse.

The later years of his career had been dogged by excessive weight gain, and he led a reclusive life for much of the sixties. Presley weighed some 250 pounds in his final years and his live performances slowly began deteriorating, largely due to his addiction to amphetamines and sleeping pills.