From WikiMusicGuide, the free music guide. Your music wiki.

Tagged as the King of Rock 'n' Roll or simply the King, Elvis Presley remains a pop icon and is regarded by some to be the most important, original entertainer of the last fifty years, leading to his ability to tackle a range of songs and melodies which would be nearly impossible for most other popular singers to achieve. He set many records, such as concert attendance, television ratings, blockbuster movies, record sales and became one of the best selling artists in the entertainment of movie and music industry. One of his unforgettable hit songs was Love Me Tender.

Contents 1 About 1.1 Awards & Certifications 1.2 Chart Toppers 2 News 2.1 Tours & Concerts 2.2 Announcements 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 3.3 Compilations & Live Releases 4 Other artists 4.1 Similar artists 4.2 Contemporaries 4.3 Influences 5 Trivia 6 Reviews 7 External Links

[edit] About

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 at around 4:30 a.m. in a two room shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi to Vernon Presley who works as a truck driver and Gladys Love Smith, a sewing machine operator. His parents did not finish elementary school. Elvis was a product of a poor family.

In 1938, when Elvis was three years old, Elvis father was convicted of forgery. During the absence of Elvis father, her mother lost their home. She was forced to transfer with her in-laws. In 1941, Elvis started attending at East Tupelo School and his father went out of prison. In 1943, his father moved to Memphis. He looked for a worked their and when he found a work, he goes home only on weekends.

In 1945, her mother bought Elvis his first guitar. Elvis studied at Humes high school in Memphis. During his vacant times, Elvis worked at the school library and after school at Loews’s State Theatre.

In 1953, after graduating from high school, Elvis worked at Forth Crown Electric Company driving a truck. In 1954, Elvis recorded demo tapes and send it to recording companies. In that same year, Elvis signed a recording contract under Phillips Records. He released his first single, That's All Right Mama.

In 1955, Elvis was becoming popular singer, he released another hit single Mystery Train which reached number one on the National Country charts. His single, Heartbreak Hotel reached number one at the chart and made Elvis an instant International superstar. His single, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You] went number one on the charts. His double-sided monster hit, Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel was one of the biggest-selling singles the industry had ever experienced.

Elvis albums and EP's were also chart toppers not only in the United States but through out the world. In 1956, Elvis became the best and most influential recording star of early rock and roll. In the later part of the year, Elvis played an important role in the movie, Love Me Tender. Elvis also did the movie, Jailhouse Rock which was his best movie ever made. All of his single such as Jailrock, All Shook Up and Too Much are few of Elvis hit singles.

In 1958, Elvis recording and movie career was stopped due to his induction into the army. In 1960, he re-entered his civilian life, he was still popular as high as when he left. After leaving the army, Elvis concentrate in doing movies. His discography was soon dominated by forgettable soundtracks.

In the early 60's, Elvis released Return To Sender and Little Sister. In 1968, Elvis released his first LP Elvis in Memphis. In 1969, he released two albums, Suspicious Minds and In The Ghetto which returned Elvis to the top of the charts.

In 1969, Elvis returned to live performing and sold out concerts. He was known for his on-stage highly energetic performances both vocally and physically. He continued to perform before sell-out audiences around the U.S. until his death in 1977.

On August 16, 1977, Elvis was found dead in Graceland, which proved a huge shock to his fans. It soon became clear that the cause of his death was due to the combination of over-work, obesity, depression, bad diet and severe abuse of prescritption drugs. However, mush confusion, conflict, contradiction and general controversy still surrounds his death. Thousands of fans still flocked everyday in Graceland to visit Elvis memorabilia. Hundreds make a comfortable living by impersonation Elvis.

[edit] Awards & Certifications

Year	Award	Category
1967	Grammy Awards	Best Sacred Performance for How Great Thou Art
1972	Grammy Awards	Best Inspirational Performance for He Touched Me
1974	Grammy Awards	Best Inspirational Performance for How Great Thou Art
1988	Grammy Awards	Hall of Fame for Hound Dog
1995	Grammy Awards	Hall of Fame For Heartbreak Hotel
1998	Grammy Awards	Hall of Fame For That's All Right
1998	Country Music Awards	Hall of Fame
1999	Grammy Awards	Hall of Fame For Suspicious Minds
2001	Gospel Music Awards	Hall of Fame
2002	Grammy Awards	Hall of Fame For Don't Be Cruel

[edit] Chart Toppers

[edit] News

[edit] Tours & Concerts

[edit] Announcements

There are no announcements as of this time

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Elvis Presley March 23, 1956 RCA	Elvis October 19, 1956 RCA	Loving You July 1, 1957 RCA	King Creole September 19, 1958 RCA
For LP Fans Only February 6, 1959 RCA	A Date With Elvis July 24, 1959 RCA	Elvis is Back April 8, 1960 RCA	G.I. Blues October 1, 1960 RCA
His Hand In Mind November 10, 1960 RCA	Something For Everybody June 17, 1961 RCA	Blue Hawaii October 1, 1961 RCA	Pot Luck June 5, 1962 RCA
Girls! Girls! Girls! November 9, 1962 RCA	It Happened At The World's Fair April 10, 1963 RCA	Fun In Acapulco November 1, 1963 RCA	Kissin' Cousins April 2, 1964 RCA
Roustabout October 20, 1964 RCA	Girl Happy March 1, 1965 RCA	Elvis For Everyone August 10, 1965 RCA	Harum Scarum November 3, 1965 RCA
Frankie and Johnny March 1, 1966 RCA	Spinout October 31, 1966 RCA	How Great Thou Art February 20, 1967 RCA	Double Trouble June 1, 1967 RCA
Clambake October 10, 1967 RCA	Speedway May 1, 1968 RCA	Let's Be Friends April 1970 RCA	Almost In Love October 1, 1970 RCA
That's The Way It Is November 11, 1970 RCA	You'll Never Walk Alone March 22, 1971 RCA	Love Letters From Elvis June 1971 RCA	Elvis Now January 1972 RCA
He Touched Me April 1972	Raised on Rock October 1973 RCA	Good Times March 1974 RCA	The Sun Sessions March 22, 1976 RCA
Moody Blue July 19, 1977 RCA

[edit] Singles

[edit] Compilations & Live Releases

The Best of Elvis 1957	Elvis' Christmas Album 1957 RCA	Elvis' Golden Records 1958	50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong (Elvis' Gold Records, Vol. 2) 1959
Elvis' Golden Records, Vol. 3 1963	Elvis' Gold Records, Vol. 4 1968	Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star and Others 1968 Atlantic	Elvis: TV Special December 1968
From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis November 1969	From Elvis in Memphis 1969	Today, tomorrow and forever 1969	On Stage - February 1970 1970
Back in Memphis 1970	Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas 1970	The U.S. Male 1970	Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits, Volume 1 1970 Atlantic
C'mon Everybody 1971	The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits, Volume 2 1971	I Got Lucky 1971	Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas 1971
Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden 1972	Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies 1972	Burning Love & Hits From His Movies 1972	A Portrait in Music 1973
Rock'N'On 1973	Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite 1973	Elvis (2 records) 1973	Separate Ways 1973
Elvis: A Legendary Performer, Vol. 1 1974	Elvis Forever 1974	Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis 1974	Having Fun on Stage With Elvis 1974
Jailhouse Rock 1975 RCA	Pure Gold 1975	Double Dynamite 1975	From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee 1976
Blue Christmas 1976	Elvis: A Legendary Performer - Volume 2 1976	The Sun Collections 1976	The Sun Sessions 1976
Elvis in Concert (Live) 1977	100 Super Rocks 1978	The '56 Sessions Volume 1 1978	Elvis' 40 Greatest 1978
Elvis: A Canadian Tribute 1978	Mahalo From Elvis 1978	Elvis Sings for Children and Grownups Too 1978	The '56 Sessions Volume 2 1979
Elvis Aron Presley (Silver Box Set) 1980	20 Greatest Hits Vol. 1 1981	20 Greatest Hits Vol. 2 1981	Greatest Hits Volume One 1981
Elvis: The Hillbilly Cat 1982	Rare Elvis 1983	Rocker 1984	Elvis's Gold Records, Vol. 5 1984
A Valentine Gift For You 1985	Ballads 1985	50th Anniversary 1985	It's Christmas Time 1985
Reconsider Baby 1985	Always on My Mind June 1985	The Legend Lives On 1986	Return Of The Rocker 1986
The All Time Time Greatest Hits 1987	The Definitive Film Album 1987	The Definitive Country Album 1987	The Definitive Gospel Film 1987
The Definitive Rock & Roll Album 1987	The Memphis Record 1987	The Top Ten Hits August 1987	Essential Elvis: The First Movies 1988
Stereo '57(Essential Elvis Volume 2) 1988>	'Elvis In Nashville.1956-1971 1988	Elvis Presley 1954-1961: The Rock'N'Roll Era (Time-Life Series) 1988	Elvis, The King 1954-1965: The Rock'N'Roll Era (Time-Life Series) 1990
For The Asking 1990	Hits Like Never Before (Essential Elvis Volume 3) 1990	The Great Performances 1990	The Gold Collection Volume One 1992
The Gold Collection Volume Two 1992	The Gold Collection Volume Three 1992	The Gold Collection Volume Four 1992	The Gold Collection Volume Five 1992
Amazing Grace 1994	If Every Day Was Like Christmas 1994	The Original Elvis Collection 1996	Forever in Love 1997
Always on My Mind: The Ultimate Love Song Collection 1997	Elvis 24 Karat Hits! 1997	Blue Suede Shoes: Elvis the Ultimate Rock 'N' Roll Collection 1998	Sunrise Elvis Presley 1999
Elvis Presley Love Songs 1999	The 50 Greatest Hits 2000	The 50 Greatest Love Songs 2001	The Live Greatest Hits 2001
The Best of Elvis Presley 2001	Fame and Fortune 2002	Spring Tours 77 May 2002	Elvis At The International 2002
Roots Revolution: The Louisiana Hayride Recordings 2002	Christmas Peace November 3, 2003	So High December 2003	Flashback May 2004
The Complete Sun Sessions 2006	Elvis Christmas October 3, 2006

[edit] Other artists

[edit] Similar artists

Johnny Cash	Jerry Lewis
Little Richard	Roy Orbinson
Carl Perkins	James Burton
Scotty Moore	Fats Domino
Rick Nelson	The Everly Brothers
Conway Twitty	Charlie Rich
Jerry Reed	Brenda Lee

[edit] Contemporaries

Carl Perkins	Roy Orbison
Rick Nelson	Jerry Lee Lewis
Eddie Cochran	Gene Vincent
Pat Boone	Billy Lee Riley

[edit] Influences

Roy Brown	Wynonie Harris
Bill Monroe	Kokomo Arnold
Big Mama Thornton	Clyde McPhatter
Big Joe Turner	Dean Martin

[edit] Trivia

• Elvis Presley was a big fan of James Dean.

• Elvis was an Honorary Member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.

• Elvis' favorite TV shows were The Jeffersons, Good Times, Happy Days, and The Flip Wilson Show.

• The Holy Bible and The Impersonal Life were Elvis' two favorite books.

• Elvis' favorite actors were Marlon Brando and James Dean.

• Elvis' favorite sports were raquetball and football.

• Elvis purchased a poor black East Memphis woman an electric wheel chair, picked her up and personally sat her in it. He gave his car to the woman's teenage daughter after she told him she liked his car and he also got her boyfriend a job.

• Elvis is a distant cousin of President Jimmy Carter.

• Elvis' favorite female singer was Anne Murray and he recorded a version of Snowbird.

• Elvis' favorite after-shave was Brut.

• Elvis' idol was General Douglas MacArthur.

[edit] Reviews

[edit] External Links

• Elvis Presley Official Website