1. Blue: Elvis Presley recorded 15 songs with the word “blue” in the title
2. Song lyrics: He recorded more than 600 songs (between 665 and 711), but didn’t write any of them himself
3. Pets: Elvis had a monkey named Scatter, who developed a taste for whiskey and bourbon and ended up becoming a heavy drinker. He also had several dogs, horses, ducks, chickens, peacocks and other animals
4. Fish: Elvis hated fish and wouldn’t let his wife, Priscilla, eat it in their Graceland home
5. TV: When Elvis appeared on The Steve Allen Show in 1956, the show was watched by 60 million Americans – equivalent to 82.6% of the TV viewers in the US at the time
6. Barry White: Elvis’ 1960 hit “It’s Now or Never” inspired a 17-year-old prison inmate to such an extent that the prisoner decided he wanted to pursue a career in music as soon as he was released. The young man, Barry White, went on to become a well-known singer and songwriter
7. Income: Among deceased musicians, Elvis has an excellent income ranking; in 2012 he was number 2 with 55 million dollars. He was only surpassed by Michael Jackson, who earned a whopping 160 million dollars
8. Police officer: In the early 1970s, Elvis posed as a police officer; he drove around with a siren, baton, and prong gun, stopping motorists. Instead of handing out tickets, he handed out autographs…
9. Threat: After Elvis at one point received a combined kidnap and murder threat, he now appears with a gun in each of his boots
10. Planet Elvis: The planet “17059 Elvis” was discovered in 1999 by Australian astronomer John Broughton and named after Elvis

Fact: Elvis Presley’s distinctive black hair was dyed black – he was actually a brunette in real life. The hair dye he used was called ‘Miss Clairol 51 D, Black Velvet’. He also dyed his eyelashes, which led to some minor health problems later in life

 

Background, family and friends

• Childbirth:Elvis Aron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA. He was born 35 minutes after his stillborn twin brother Jesse Garon Presley
• Parents and caregivers: Father; Vernon Elvis Presley (April 10, 1916 – June 26, 1979), mother; Gladys Love Presley (April 25, 1912 – August 14, 1958). He was also distantly related to US Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jimmy Carter
• Growing up:Elvis grew up as an only child and was very close to both his parents. However, he had an unusually strong bond with his mother
• Children:Elvis and Priscilla had one daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who was born in 1968. Lisa Marie later married Michael Jackson and then Elvis-obsessed actor Nicholas Cage
• Mephis Mafia: Elvis had a small circle of friends, employees and business partners who partly benefited from his wealth, but also had some practical functions by working as bodyguards, tour organizers, car buyers, etc. and some helped provide women, drugs, etc. Members of the Memphis Mafia wore rings with the inscription ‘TCB’, which stood for “Tsledding Care of Business”
• Death:Elvis ended his days severely overweight and suffering from numerous health problems such as glaucoma, high blood pressure, liver damage and intestinal problems. Elvis died on August 16, 1977. The cause of death is unknown, but is believed to be related to either his general poor health or the many drugs and medications he was taking
• Funeral:Elvis was buried next to his mother on August 18, 1977 at Graceland. Around 80,000 people attended his funeral
• Legacy:In the years since his death, there have been numerous rumors about whether or not Elvis faked his death, and many fans claim to have seen him after his death. Around 600,000 people visit Elvis’ home in Graceland every year. Elvis is remembered today by many as the “King of Rock n’ Roll”

Fact: Elvis Presley’s first recording was at Sun Studio with the songs “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin”. The recording was a gift to his mother

 

Elvis Presley’s career

• First guitar:Elvis bought his first guitar at the age of 11. He originally wanted a rifle, but his mother convinced him that a guitar was better
• Generosity: In 1947, a local radio station offered the 12-year-old Elvis a chance to sing live on air, but the young Elvis was too shy and declined
• First recording: The first time Elvis recorded a song, it was for his mother. He paid 4 dollars to Sun Studio to record 2 songs; “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin”
• First audition: In 1954, Elvis auditioned for a gospel choir called the Songfellows and was rejected. That same year, a local DJ played Elvis’ version of the song “That’s All Right”. He played the song 14 times, but had a hard time convincing his audience that Elvis was white
• Breakthrough: Elvis’ breakthrough came with the song “Heartbreak Hotel”, which was released in 1956. The inspiration for the song came from a newspaper article about a suicide in the community
• Elvis the Pelvis: In one of Elvis Presley’s early appearances on TV in 1956, the host (Milton Berle) asked him to perform without his guitar. Elvis’ wiggling hips caused outrage across the US and within days he was nicknamed ‘Elvis the Pelvis’
• Concerts abroad:Elvis Presley only gave 5 concerts outside the US – and they were all on a 3-day tour of Canada. Many believe that the reason Elvis never performed abroad again was because his manager – Colonel Tom Parker – was an illegal immigrant from the Netherlands who would be deported from the US if he applied for a US passport
• Mangager:The manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was known to have an eye for talent and quick money; before he started working with Elvis, he reportedly made a living dyeing sparrows yellow to sell them as canaries
• Song lyrics:Elvis liked to change his lyrics spontaneously for fun. One example was in Las Vegas 1969, where he changed the lyrics “Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?” to “Do you look at your bald head and wish you had hair?” (translated: “Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?” to “Do you look at your bald head and wish you had hair?”)
• Movie: In 1956, Elvis began his movie career with a western, ‘Love Me Tender’. In his second movie “Loving You”, his parents were in the audience. After his mother’s death in 1957, he never saw the movie “Loving You” again. Elvis appeared in 31 movies in his lifetime
• Military: In 1957, Elvis was drafted into the military, where he had to live on a monthly salary of 78 dollars. During his 2-year stay, he was unable to access the $400,000 his music career had generated
• Marriage: In 1959, when Elvis was 24 years old in Germany, he met his future wife, 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu. They married 8 years later
• Popularity: Elvis Presley’s popularity began to decline in the 1960s with the rise of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and other bands. However, he relaunched his career with reasonable success in 1968 with a TV show that – somewhat ironically – was about how no one recognized him on the street anymore