Tag: rock

Do you know these facts about Elvis?

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

I don’t know why I was such an Elvis fan. I still love his music, but I do not view him through some sort of rose-colored glasses that fans of celebrities often wear. I loved his cheesy movies when I was growing up thanks to my brother and his girlfriend who took me to see them. In several of those movies, Elvis sang to kids and talked to them, and I just thought it would be so cool to be his friend. Nine-year-olds can think weird thingsl

For the non-Elvis fan world, you may not know what a paradox he was. I view him as two distinct individuals. The first half of his life, he was innocent, hopeful, attached to his mother (probably too attached–no, definitely too attached), acne-prone (yes!),a dreamer, and poor. The second half of his life was a wild ride that propelled him to the top, and the world around him, his grief over the loss of his mother, and other factors sent him on a downward spiral that ended in the way we all know.

Today, January 8, would have been his 91st birthday. The movie starring Austin Butler that was released a couple of years ago created a new generation of Elvis fans, although I think many are not Elvis fans. They are AustinButlerPlayingElvis fans, but I could be wrong.

In celebration of his birthday, I thought I’d share these facts about the King of Rock and Roll who was and is so much more to many all over the world.

  1. Elvis Aaron (Aron) Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother Jesse Garon was still-born and buried in an unmarked grave. No one knows where it is. A memorial “fake” grave is at Graceland.
  2. He and his parents, Vernon and Gladys, moved to Memphis in 1948. They lived in housing projects near Humes High School where he attended school until he graduated. He was an average student, and report cards show a mix of B’s and C’s.
  3. “That’s All Right, Mama” recorded with Scotty Moore (originally from Humboldt, Tennessee) and Bill Black was an instant hit in Memphis and became a regional hit. Sam Phillips of Sun Studio in Memphis recorded and promoted the group. It was released in 1954. At the time, Elvis was working as a truck driver for Crown Electric.
  4. Elvis’s favorite music was gospel. He and his girlfriend Dixie Locke attended all the gospel quartet performances in Memphis, and his dream was to be a member of a gospel quartet. In the late 1960s and 1970s when he was performing in Las Vegas and touring the country, he and his back-up singers would go to his hotel room and sing gospel music all night long. His idea and insistence, not theirs. “How Great Thou Art” became a standard in his concerts.
  5. His drug problems began when he was stationed in Germany while serving in the Army. When he had night watch, he took pills to help him stay awake and then had to take pills to help him sleep. He thought because they were prescribed by doctors it was fine to take them, but as we all know, it escalated into drug addiction and abuse. In his mind, he never thought he was doing anything wrong, and although family and friends tried their best to get him to stop, their efforts were ineffective.
  6. His mother died August 14, 1958 while he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, for basic training. She was only 46. She was a worrier and worried about Elvis his entire life. It was not widely known, but she developed a drinking problem and died due to a heart attack, but some sources indicate she had cirrhosis of the liver. Elvis did not drink alcohol. Maybe that’s why.
  7. Elvis grew to hate the movies Col. Parker had contracted for him to make. Barbra Streisand approached him to be her co-star in “A Star Is Born,” which Elvis really wanted to do because he wanted to be a serious actor, but Col. Parker refused because he wanted Elvis to have top billing instead of Streisand.
  8. Elvis was into karate and racquetball in the 1970s.
  9. Elvis played the guitar and piano by ear.
  10. Graceland has a copy of the Bible Elvis read, and it is full of notes that he wrote in the margins. He read it voraciously and read books about spirituality.

Maybe you already knew all of this, but I thought I’d share in case you don’t. I could write much more, but I don’t have time to address many Elvis issues about his relationship with Priscilla (we think of pedophiles in this day and age and it creeps us out although their relationship was not physical supposedly until she was older), his infidelity which violated the Christian principles he found in the Bible, and his temper. He had a bad one according to those closest to him.

His generosity was legendary, his loyalty to his fans at a level high above any other celebrity’s, and his allegiance to his family were other aspects of a very human and flawed man. I often say a psychiatrist could spend years analyzing him. My thoughts? Not famous to famous too quickly. Poverty to riches too fast. Immaturity that lingered too long. A little boy trapped in a man’s body. A charismatic entertainer whose main joy in life, other than his daughter, was performing and being adored by fans.

Ronnie McDowell, a country music and talented artist who has painted for Disney and other people/organizations, painted the artwork you see in the photo. This is his interpretation of a twelve-year-old Elvis getting his first guitar at a hardware store in Tupelo, a purchase that changed the course of history, not only for him, but for the world.

You have to wonder what his life would have been like and what our music today would be like if that purchase never had been made.

One final thing. Somehow peanut butter and banana sandwiches have become known as Elvis’s favorite sandwich, which may or may not be true. Believe me, there are plenty of Southerners who eat them. Elvis’s favorite meal was meat loaf with potatoes and other veggies like fried okra and corn.