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 | Elvis presley News - 19-August-2000 |  |
 Elvis Presley WWW Virtual Library
Although many people still think of Elvis chiefly as a rock and roll star, he sang in a great variety of styles during his twenty-year long career and was always fond of gospel music. In addition to his many recordings - singles and albums - Elvis starred in 31 feature films and two documentaries. He also made many television appearances and gave special benefit concerts.
Elvis's main music influences were gospel music, rhythm and blues, and country music which he combined in his unique style. His religious background with the Assembly of God (Pentecostal) Church was a major influence on his life.
Elvis's historical and cultural significance and his talent have yet to be fully appreciated by mainstream America. Unlike most pop stars who rocket to fame and then fade away, Elvis retains an enduring popularity more than 20 years after his death, with over 20,000 impersonators world wide, over 400 fan clubs and many web sites dedicated to him.
These are important dates in Elvis' life:
1935 Jan 8: surviving twin, born to parents Vernon and Gladys (nee Smith) Presley on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi in poor circumstances; registered as Elvis Aron, which he later rectified
1946: given his first guitar
1948: family moves to Memphis, Tennessee, to seek a better life
1953: graduates from high school; cuts first demo disc at Sun Records; has 3 different jobs during the year; takes evening classes to become an electrician
1954: records for Sun Records; first appearance on radio show "Louisiana Hayride"
1955: signs with RCA Records, manager "Col." Tom Parker
1956: Elvis's career takes off this year; appears on the Milton Berle Show on ABC, Ed Sullivan Show (insists on singing a gospel song for his mother) and Steve Allen Show; intense public condemnation / outrage at his movements; his first film "Love Me Tender" premieres
1957: first and only foreign concert tour (Canada); buys and moves into Graceland Mansion; films "Jailhouse Rock"
1958: films "King Creole"; inducted into the US Army; mother Gladys Presley dies (August 14) aged 46 of acute hepatitis
1959: army duty in Germany; several visits to Paris; meets 14-year old Priscilla Beaulieu
1960: promoted to sergeant; returns to US; demobbed; starts recording again; TV appearance with Frank Sinatra; continues making movies
1961: first live performance in three years; benefit show and filming in Hawaii for "Blue Hawaii"
1963: Priscilla moves to Graceland, staying with Vernon and Vernon's second wife, Dee1965: increasingly dissatisfied with the poor movie roles he is given; meets Tom Jones, the Beatles
1967: gospel album released; Elvis and Priscilla married in Las Vegas (May 1) under pressure from Priscilla's father; doesn't give up bachelor lifestyle
1968: birth of Lisa Marie Presley - Elvis and Priscilla's only child; TV Comeback Special
1969: a good year; records over 30 new songs with new band in Memphis; performs to live audiences in Las Vegas
1970: performs in Las Vegas; goes on tour; documentary "Elvis-That's The Way It Is"; meets President Nixon at the White House to obtain a Federal Narcotics Badge
1971: receives Jaycees award for being One of the Ten Most Outstanding Young Men of the Nation; makes first T.C.B. ("Taking Care of Business") necklaces; Las Vegas performances; tours; diagnosed with glaucoma
1972: Elvis and Priscilla separate; health problems; increased use of prescription medicines; shows in New York, Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden; tours; meets girlfriend Linda Thompson
1973: Aloha from Hawaii world satellite television broadcast; divorce comes through; cancels some shows because of pneumonia, pleurisy, enlarged colon, hepatitis; start of physical and psychological deterioriation
1974: performs in home town Memphis; Las Vegas; weight problems; no studio recordings
1975: increasing weight / health problems but voice at its best; hospitalised in August with exhaustion; show in December
1976: records a few songs for RCA; increased medication for worsening health problems (liver, large intestines, kidneys, stomach, eyes); continues to perform although not performing well; fires three bodyguards who then write a book; splits up with Linda Thompson; meets new girl friend Ginger Allen; short end-of-year tour
1977: Elvis hospitalised in April; on tour again; shows recorded for TV special; last performance June 26; bodyguards' book "Elvis: what happened" released July
1977 Aug 16: dies at home in Graceland mansion; mourned by many.
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