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1935-1957:
April 25, 1912
Gladys
Love Smith is
born.
April 10, 1916
Vernon Elvis Presley
is born.
June, 1933
Gladys
Smith and
Vernon Presley are married.
January 8, 1935
In Tupelo,
Mississippi, shortly before dawn,
in a
two-room house built
by her husband and her brother-in-law, Gladys
Presley gives birth
to identical twin
sons. The first,
Jessie
Garon, is born dead. The
second, Elvis Aaron,
is born alive and healthy.
Elvis would be their only
child.
1935 - 1948
Elvis grows
up within
a close-knit, working
class family, consisting
of his
parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
cousins, who
all live near
one another
in Tupelo. There is little
money, but Vernon and Gladys
do their
best to provide
for their
son, who is the center
of their lives. They move from
one house to another
in Tupelo.
Elvis attends the Assembly
of God
Church with his family, and the
music and preaching register deeply. Other
influences are black bluesmen in the neighborhood and
country music radio programs enjoyed
by his family.
1945
Ten-year-old
Elvis stands on a chair at
a microphone and sings
"Old Shep"
in a youth
talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy
Show, held
in Tupelo. The
talent show is broadcast over WELO
Radio. Second prize is
$5.00 and
free admission to all the
rides at the fair.
1946
Elvis’ parents cannot afford
a bicycle that
Elvis wants, so Gladys talks him into accepting
a guitar instead.
Elvis' first guitar costs
$12.95 and is purchased at the Tupelo
Hardware Company. The
bicycle would
have to wait until
Christmas of 1947.
Late 1948
Elvis plays his guitar and sings
"Leaf
on a Tree"
for his Milam
Junior High
class in Tupelo
as a farewell. Elvis and his
parents pack their belongings
in a trunk strapped
to the
roof of their
1939 Plymouth and move
to Memphis, Tennessee in
search of a better
life economically. Other members
of the
Presley and
Smith clan would follow.
1948-1953
Elvis and his
parents live in
public housing
or low rent
homes in the poor neighborhoods
of north
Memphis. Life continues to be
hard. Vernon and Gladys
go from
job to job and
Elvis attends L.C.
Humes High School.
Elvis works at various
jobs to help support himself and his
parents. The Presley-Smith
clan remains close-knit, and
Elvis and his family
attend the Assembly
of God
Church. The teenage
Elvis continues to be known
for singing with his guitar. He buys his clothes
on Beale Street and he absorbs the
black blues and
gospel he hears there.
He’s also
a regular
audience member at the all-night white, and
black, gospel sings that
are held downtown. He wears his hair
long (compared
to the day’s
standards) and slick, and lets his sideburns grow.
He’s really different from the other
kids, a good-natured misfit.
While at
Humes High,
Elvis nervously sings with his guitar at
a student
talent show. Much
to his own amazement, he gets
more applause than anyone else and wins, then performs
an encore. The acceptance feels good.
June 3, 1953
Elvis graduates from
Humes High School.
1953
Elvis works at
Parker Machinists
Shop right after
graduation. That summer he
drops by The
Memphis Recording
Service, home of the
Sun label and makes
a demo acetate
of "My Happiness" and
"That’s When Your Heartaches
Begin" for a cost
of about $4.00. (The
studio came to be known
as Sun Studio though never officially named that until many years later.
For simplicity this text
uses the name
Sun Studio.) The
studio owner isn’t
in, so his
assistant, Marion
Keisker handles the
session. Elvis wants
to see what his voice sounds like
on a record and he
has aspirations to become
a professional
singer. He takes the acetate
home, and reportedly gives it
to his mother
as a much-belated
extra birthday present.
By the fall, he is working at Precision Tool Company, and soon
changes jobs again, going
to work
for Crown Electric Company. At
Crown, he does various
jobs, including driving
a delivery
truck. He also goes
to night school and studies
to be
an electrician.
January, 1954
Elvis makes another demo acetate at
Sun. Sam Phillips, the owner, is
in this
time and, like
Marion Keisker, is intrigued
by this unusual looking and sounding young
man.
Summer 1954
At
Marion Keisker’s suggestion,
Sam Phillips calls
Elvis into the
studio to try singing
a song Sam hopes
to put out on record. The song is
"Without
You" and
Elvis does
not sing it
to Sam’s satisfaction. Sam asks
Elvis what he can sing, and
Elvis runs through
a number
of popular
tunes. Sam is impressed enough
to team Elvis up with
local musicians
Scotty
Moore (guitar) and
Bill Black (bass)
to see
if they, together, can come
up with something worthwhile. Nothing really
clicks until
July 5, when after
a tedious
session, Elvis and the guys
break into
a sped-up
version of Arthur "Big
Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." This song, backed with Blue
Moon of Kentucky becomes the first
of five
singles Elvis will
release on the
Sun label. Elvis, Scotty, and
Bill start performing together, with Scotty
acting as the group’s
manager. Elvis continues to
work at
Crown Electric
as the
group starts
to play small
clubs and other smalltime gigs locally and throughout the South, enjoying moderate success with the
records and personal appearances.
Elvis’ one appearance
on the Grand Ole Opry doesn’t
go over particularly well, with
one of the
Opry officials reportedly suggesting that
Elvis go back to driving
a truck.
The Opry is very
important at this
time. This is
a painful disappointment
in Elvis' early career.
Elvis, Scotty, and
Bill continue to record and
to travel.
October 16, 1954
They appear
for the first
time on the
Louisiana Hayride,
a live Saturday night country music radio show originating
in Shreveport, Louisiana, broadcast over KWKH
Radio. The
show is the
Grand Ole Opry's chief competitor, carried
by 190 stations in thirteen
states. This leads
to regular appearances
on the
Hayride and,
in November,
Elvis signs
a one-year contract
for fifty-two
Saturday night appearances.
This is
a great
break, but as Elvis’
popularity grows, his commitment
to the
Hayride prevents him from traveling much outside the South
to further his career
on a larger scale. During
Elvis' association with the
Hayride he meets
“Colonel” Tom Parker,
a promoter and
manager connected with various acts, and connected with the
Louisiana Hayride.
Parker is also the
manager for country star,
Hank Snow.
A previous
Parker client is
country star Eddy Arnold.
January 1955
Elvis signs
a contract with
Bob Neal, who becomes his
manager.
1955
Elvis, Scotty, and
Bill continue touring
on their own and
in package shows with various
country stars, including
package tours of artists from the Hayride.
Colonel Parker is involved.
This includes touring with Hank Snow. The regular Hayride appearances
continue. Drummer
D.J.
Fontana joins Elvis’ band.
In the spring,
Elvis fails
to be accepted
on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent
Scouts, a network television
show. As always,
Elvis’ live appearances
have special appeal
for the
teenagers, especially the females. His unusual
style, sexy moves, and good
looks start
to cause more and
more excitement wherever he plays. Sometimes the crowds
break through the
barricades in near-riot behavior.
Elvis gains more and
more popularity and begins
to receive
national attention. Colonel Parker becomes
more involved
in Elvis’ career.
August 15, 1955
Elvis signs
a management contract with Hank Snow
Attractions, which is owned equally
by Snow and
Colonel Tom Parker. Bob Neal
remains involved
as an advisor.
Colonel Parker is
to be
Elvis’ exclusive manager from this
time on, and Snow is soon
no longer connected
to Elvis.
November 20, 1955
Elvis signs his first contract with
RCA Records. Colonel Parker
negotiates the
sale of Elvis’ Sun contract
to RCA, which includes his five
Sun singles and his unreleased
Sun material. The price is
an unprecedented
$40,000, with
a $5,000 bonus for Elvis. RCA soon
re-releases the five
Sun singles on the
RCA label. At the same
time Elvis signs
a contract with
Hill and
Range Publishing Company, which is
to set up a separate firm called
Elvis Presley Music, Inc.
Elvis will share with
Hill and
Range the publishing ownership
of songs bought
by Hill and
Range for him
to record. Elvis is the hottest
new star in the
music business.
January 10, 1956
Two days after his twenty-first birthday,
Elvis has his first recording
session for RCA, held at their
studio in Nashville. Among the songs
laid to tape during this
session is
"Heartbreak Hotel."
The Jordanaires,
a gospel quartet and popular
country back-up
group, begin working with
Elvis in the
studio during the first
few RCA sessions and soon begin touring with him. They will also appear with him
in several
films and remain his
main back-up
group until the late
sixties.
January 27, 1956
"Heartbreak Hotel" b/w "I Was the One" is released by RCA and sells over
300,000 copies in its first three weeks on the market. It is soon to go to
number one on Billboard’s pop singles chart for eight weeks and hit number
one on the country chart and number five on the R&B chart. It becomes the
first Elvis single to sell over one million copies, thus earning Elvis his
very first gold record award.
January 28, 1956
Elvis appears with Scotty, Bill, and D.J. on the Jackie Gleason-produced
Stage Show, starring Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey on CBS.
This is Elvis’ first network television appearance. He appears five more
nights on Stage Show over the weeks ahead and makes minor waves
nationally. The last of these six appearances is March 24. Traveling and
personal appearances continue during this time, including the Louisiana
Hayride appearances for which he is still under contract. Fame and
“infamy” build.
February, 1956
As "Heartbreak Hotel" makes its climb up the charts on its way to number
one, "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" b/w "Mystery Train", Elvis' fifth and
last single to be released on the Sun label, hits number one on Billboard’s
national country singles chart. His first number one hit on a national chart.
March 13, 1956
RCA releases Elvis Presley, Elvis’ first album. The album soon goes
to number one on Billboard’s pop album chart for ten weeks. It is the first
Elvis album to reach over $1 million in sales, thus earning Elvis his first
gold album award.
April 1, 1956
Elvis has a screen test for Paramount Studios in Hollywood. He lip synchs "Blue
Suede Shoes" and he performs a scene from the as yet unmade film, The
Rainmaker, a film he does not end up being in.
April 3, 1956
Elvis appears on The Milton Berle Show on ABC, which, for this
particular broadcast, originates from the deck of the aircraft carrier, the
USS Hancock.
April 6, 1956
Elvis signs a seven-year movie contract with Hal Wallis and Paramount
Pictures.
April 23 - May 9, 1956
Compared to the usual hysteria, Elvis has lukewarm acceptance for his
two-week engagement at the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. He is not
exactly what the adult audience of Vegas gamblers relates to very well.
During these two weeks,
the single "Heartbreak Hotel" and the album Elvis Presley both hit
number one on the Billboard pop charts.
Through
all of this, the travel and personal appearances around the country and new
record releases continue. The crowds get bigger and bigger, wilder and
wilder. Elvis’ fame grows dramatically. Some of these shows have to end
early due to fans’ storming the stage. Elvis creates pandemonium wherever he
goes.
June 5, 1956
Elvis appears again on The Milton Berle Show, this time in the studio
where the show usually originates, this time backed by the Jordanaires in
addition to Scotty, Bill and D.J. Among his selections is a playfully
sensuous performance of "Hound Dog" that drives the kids in the audience
wild, and, the next day, has the press and some of the adult viewers
appalled. It is one of his most controversial performances. This merely
serves to fuel his seemingly unstoppable popularity even more.
Traveling
and personal appearances and new record releases continue. By this time
Elvis, with his sexy moves and black-influenced sound, is being condemned by
certain factions of the “morally concerned” establishment and the religious
community. But, the
kids love it.
July 1, 1956
Elvis appears on The Steve Allen Show on NBC. Among his performances
this night is a much toned down version of "Hound Dog". Allen has Elvis
dressed in white tie and black tux with tails and has him sing the song to a
live Basset hound, a tongue-in-cheek response to all controversy created by
the Berle appearance the month before. Elvis good-naturedly goes
along with it, but is not too happy about it. Elvis also appears in a cowboy
comedy sketch with Allen, Imogene Coca and Andy Griffith.
Record
releases, touring, and recording continue. The condemnation and controversy
continue along with the ever-growing popularity. Ed Sullivan, who had
said that he would never have the likes of Elvis Presley on his show,
changes his tune when he sees the big ratings that Elvis attracts to the
Berle and Allen shows. A three-appearance deal is worked out for $50,000 and
is the highest amount ever paid to a performer, up to that time, for
appearing on a variety show.
August 1956
Elvis begins shooting his first movie, Love Me Tender
on loan-out from
Paramount to Twentieth Century
Fox. It is originally titled The Reno Brothers,
but is
re-titled before its
release to capitalize
on Elvis’ sure-to-be-a-hit
single from the soundtrack.
September 9, 1956
Elvis
makes the first
of three appearances
on the Ed Sullivan Show, the
top television program
of the era.
Elvis attracts the highest
ratings ever
for any television variety
show. Character actor
Charles Laughton hosts in place of Sullivan, who is recuperating from
a car accident.
September 26,
1956
Elvis Presley Day is proclaimed
in Tupelo,
Mississippi. Elvis’ parents
join him
as he returns
to the town
of his birth
as a big
star. He performs two
shows at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy
Show, the same fair at which he had performed at
age 10. This time there
are a hundred
National Guardsmen surrounding the
stage to control the crowds
of excited
fans.
By this
time, souvenir merchandising
using Elvis’ name,
image, and likeness
has become
a big
part of the
Elvis phenomenon. Licensees will soon be producing
as many
as thirty different products including hats,
T-shirts, jeans, kerchiefs,
sneakers, shirts,
blouses, belts, purses, billfolds, wallets, charm
bracelets, necklaces,
magazines, gloves, bookends,
a statue, lipstick, cologne, stuffed hound dogs, stationery,
sweaters, crockery, and
more. Elvis and the
Colonel are to blaze new
trails in the
area of celebrity
merchandising. This is
to be forever
a part of the
marketing of Elvis Presley,
feeding a never-ending demand.
October 28, 1956
Elvis makes his
second of three appearances
on Ed Sullivan.
November 16, 1956
Elvis’ first movie, Love Me Tender premieres at the
Paramount Theater
in New York City, opening nationwide
in the days following. It becomes
a smash hit, and the critics’ reviews
aren’t bad
for his
acting in this melodrama, which is
set in the American South
of the
1800’s Civil War era. The
film has Elvis performing several songs,
of course.
December 31, 1956
The front page of The Wall Street Journal reports that in the past
few months Elvis merchandise has grossed $22 million in sales.
Elvis
ends the pivotal year of his career, when regional popularity gave way to
unprecedented national and international fame. The year of 1956 has seen the
beginning of Elvis souvenir merchandising, the beginning of a successful
movie career, huge record sales (five number one singles on the pop chart,
two number one albums on the pop chart, and other hits), history-making
television appearances, record-breaking personal appearances and more.
Elvis
has become the primary symbol of the new youth culture in America. He has
also become one of society’s most controversial figures. His unique blending
of white country and gospel music, black R&B and gospel, white pop music,
his particular brand of charisma and talent, and the resulting success and
controversy, have helped him greatly to begin, without premeditation, a
cycle of change in music and pop culture and the mores of American society.
Nothing will ever be the same for Elvis Presley or for the world.
January 6, 1957
Elvis makes his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the
Town Show. It is for this appearance that Elvis is seen only from the
waist up. It’s funny that after all of his television appearances the
previous year, such censorship comes at this time. It is particularly
amusing that this guideline remains in place during Elvis’ performance of
the gospel standard, Peace in the Valley, one of five songs he
performs on this Sullivan appearance. Ed Sullivan himself helps diffuse some
of the controversy surrounding Elvis when he comes out on stage to thank
Elvis and tells the studio audience and millions of American television
viewers that “this is a decent, fine boy” and what a delight he has been to
work with when appearing on the show. Ed Sullivan is the most influential
person on television audiences and one of the most powerful people in the
television industry at the time.
Personal
appearances, recording sessions, record releases, controversy, and publicity
continue.
January, 1957
Elvis begins production of his second movie, Loving You.
February 3, 1957
The New York Times runs a story entitled, "Presley Records a Craze in
Soviet Union." Elvis records are not legally available in the Soviet Union.
The article tells of bootleg recordings being cut on discarded X-ray plates
and being sold in Leningrad on the black market for fifty rubles (about
twelve and a half dollars) each, a lot of money at the time.
March 1957
Elvis buys Graceland Mansion for himself, his parents, and his
paternal grandmother to live in. It will be ready for them to move into in
early April.
April , 1957
While touring with his show, Elvis performs outside the United States for
the first time when he appears in Canada: two shows in Toronto on April 2
and two shows in Ottawa on April 3.
May, 1957
Elvis begins work on his third motion picture, Jailhouse Rock for MGM.
July 9, 1957
Elvis' second motion picture, Loving You, premieres and quickly
reaches the top ten at the box office. Hit records include the title song
and the classic smash "Teddy Bear".
Traveling,
touring, record releases, and personal appearances
continue.
August 31, 1957
Elvis performs in Vancouver. This is the third Canadian city he has
performed in, and marks the last time he will perform in concert outside the
United States.
September 27, 1957
Elvis returns once more to the town of his birth to perform. This time it is
a benefit for the proposed Elvis Presley Youth Recreation Center in Tupelo,
Mississippi. The grounds include Elvis’ birthplace home. He will donate
regularly to the center for the rest of his life. (The center is still used
by the general community today. The birthplace home is open for tours, and
there is a small museum and a memorial chapel.)
October 17, 1957
Jailhouse Rock, Elvis’ third motion picture, premieres in Memphis,
opening nationally in November and quickly going to the top five at the box
office. The title song is a smash hit. Years later, this film will be
considered one of Elvis’ best acting performances, surpassed only by King
Creole, which is to follow in 1958. Jailhouse Rock will come to
be considered the ultimate classic of all “rock opera” movies, and the "Jailhouse
Rock" production number in the film is to be recognized as the grandfather
of pop/rock music videos, a music format to become widely popular by the
80’s.
November 10, 11 1957
Elvis performs shows in Hawaii for the first time.
December, 1957
Elvis and family enjoy their first Christmas at Graceland and Elvis
officially receives his draft notice, a day he has known would be coming
soon.
1958-1965:
Late January- Early March, 1958
Elvis films and records for his fourth motion picture, King Creole.
March 24, 1958
Elvis Presley is inducted into the U.S. Army at the Memphis Draft Board and
is assigned serial number 53310761.
March 25, 1958
Elvis gets his famous G.I. haircut at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.
March 29, 1958
Private Presley arrives at Fort Hood, Texas for basic training and is
stationed there for six months. His parents soon move to a temporary home
near the base.
June 10, 1958
After basic training, while on his first leave, Elvis has a recording
session, his last until 1960.
July, 1958
King Creole, Elvis’ fourth motion picture opens nationally and the
reviews are the best he will ever have for his acting. Its impressive list
of co-stars and supporting cast includes Carolyn Jones, Walter
Matthau, Dean Jagger and Vic Morrow. It becomes a top five
film at the box office. This Michael (Casablanca) Curtiz-directed
movie, set in New Orleans and based upon the Harold Robbins novel, "A
Stone for Danny Fisher," will come to be regarded as Elvis’ finest film, his
greatest acting performance, and proof positive of his potential to have
become a respected serious actor, though the realization of this desire will
remain forever out of his grasp.
August, 1958
Gladys Presley becomes ill and returns to Memphis to be hospitalized with
acute hepatitis. Elvis is granted emergency leave and arrives in Memphis on
the afternoon of August 12th. He visits her that night, and the next day and
night. A few hours after Elvis goes home to Graceland to rest, she
dies in the early hours of August 14 at age 46. Her body lies in state at
Graceland that afternoon. Services are at the Memphis Funeral Home on
the 15th, with the Blackwood Brothers singing "Precious Memories" and
"Rock of Ages," two of Gladys Presley’s favorite hymns. She is laid to rest
at Forest Hill Cemetery, a few miles down the road from Graceland.
Elvis is devastated.
August 25, 1958
Elvis reports back to Fort Hood.
September/October 1958
September 19, Elvis boards a troop train to New York, later boards the USS.
Randall and sails to Germany, arriving on October 1. He will be stationed in
Friedberg for 18 months, maintaining an off-base residence in Bad Nauheim,
shared with his father and grandmother, and some friends from Memphis. He
finds the fans in Europe to be as enthusiastic as those in America.
January 8, 1959
Elvis is interviewed off-camera via trans-Atlantic telephone by Dick
Clark on his American Bandstand show on ABC-TV. The show
commemorates the star’s twenty-fourth birthday. (Elvis never performed on
American Bandstand.)
On a two-week leave, Elvis visits Munich, then goes clubbing in Paris, which
includes a visit to the Lido.
Colonel Parker
continues to keep Elvis’ career alive with promotions and hit record
releases.
November 1959
Captain Joseph Beaulieu is transferred from Texas to Weisbaden Air
Force Base near Friedberg, accompanied by his wife and children, including
his fourteen-and-a-half-year-old stepdaughter, Priscilla Ann. (Priscilla
is the only child from Ann Beaulieu’s marriage to her first husband,
James Wagner, a Navy pilot who was killed in a plane crash when
Priscilla was an infant.) Through a mutual friend, Priscilla is invited to a
party at Elvis’ home soon after her arrival in Germany. They meet, and the
rest is history.
January 20, 1960
Elvis is promoted to Sergeant.
March 1960
Elvis leaves Germany on March 1, arriving in New Jersey the next day for a
press conference, and is officially discharged from active duty on March 5,
1960. He boards a train for Memphis, arriving on March 7. Press and crowds
of fans are everywhere for this historic series of events. He holds a press
conference at Graceland in his father’s office behind the mansion on
March 8.
He has served his
country just like any other GI, with no special privileges his celebrity
status might have afforded him. These two years away from his career have
been a time to mature. He has also worried constantly that his lengthy
absence might have damaged his career progress. But, he has yet to see his
greatest stardom.
Late March, 1960
Elvis has his first post-army recording session. Some of the recording work
is for the album Elvis is Back!, which will hit number two on the
Billboard pop chart. (Sessions will continue in early April.) On March 21 he
receives his first degree black belt in karate, an interest he developed
while in the army. On March 26 he tapes a special "Welcome Home, Elvis"
edition of Frank Sinatra’s ABC-TV variety show, for which he is paid
$125,000, a record sum for a variety show appearance at the time.
Late April, 1960
Elvis begins filming and recording for his first post-army movie, his fifth
film, GI Blues for Paramount, the first of nine to be produced (not
consecutively) by Hal Wallis. GI Blues co-stars dancer/actress
Juliet Prowse.
May 8, 1960
ABC airs Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Home, Elvis edition of his variety
show, which attracts a 41.5% share of the national television audience.
July 3, 1960
Vernon Presley marries divorcee and mother of three sons, Davada (Dee)
Stanley, an American whom he met Germany, where she had been stationed
with her military husband. They live at Graceland briefly, then move
to a home nearby.
August/September 1960
Elvis records and films for his sixth movie, Flaming Star, a drama
with limited music. Elvis plays the son of a white father and a Native
American mother, torn between the two cultures in the 1800's. The film
co-stars Barbara Eden.
October, 1960
The soundtrack album for GI Blues enters the Billboard album chart
and soon goes to number one. It remains number one for ten weeks and stays
on the chart for 111 weeks. It is to be the most successful album of Elvis’
entire career on the Billboard charts. (In terms of total record sales over
time, it is uncertain which album stands as the most successful.)
November 1960
Elvis begins recording and filming for his seventh film, Wild in the
Country, which will be completed in January. GI Blues opens
nationally to warm reviews and big box office sales and is among the fifteen
top-grossing films of the year. It is a light comedy melodrama with lots of
singing by Elvis, who is seen in uniform for most of the movie.
Late December, 1960
Flaming Star opens nationally to warm reviews, but unlike GI Blues,
this dramatic film with little singing does not set the box office on fire.
However, Elvis earns recognition from a tribal council for his positive
portrayal of a Native American in this racially charged drama. The film is
banned in South Africa due to its interracial theme.
February 25, 1961
Elvis appears in Memphis at a luncheon in his honor, and numerous recent
awards Elvis has received are shown to the press and others attending. A
press conference follows. Then, Elvis performs one afternoon show and one
evening show at Ellis Auditorium to benefit around thirty-eight Memphis-area
charities. Other than the Sinatra television show, these shows are, so far,
Elvis’ only live performances since his army discharge. “Elvis Presley Day”
is proclaimed by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington.
Every year after this, Elvis donates money to a list of Memphis-area
charities, eventually reaching fifty or more, usually around Christmas time.
Within a few years, to show their appreciation the city gives him a massive
plaque listing fifty charities.
March 25, 1961
Elvis arrives in Hawaii for a press conference, then an evening concert at
Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor. He is there to perform a benefit to help fund
the building of the USS Arizona Memorial.
Hundreds of fans mob the airport as he arrives. His show raises around
$65,000 for the memorial, with related promotions bringing the total to
about $100,000. The event also helps bring publicity and public awareness
and support to the project. The fund-raising efforts, for the most part, had
been difficult up to this point. The rest of the needed funds are soon
raised, and the memorial is completed a year later. Elvis receives numerous
official honors in appreciation for this benefit. This turns out to be
Elvis’ last live, non-movie performance until his 1968 television special.
Late March/Mid-April, 1961
Elvis remains in Hawaii to do location filming for his eighth motion picture,
Blue Hawaii, having already done soundtrack recording. Later, there
is additional filming to be done back in Hollywood for this film. From this
time on, Elvis will have a fondness for Hawaii.
June, 1961
Wild in the Country, co-starring Hope Lange, Millie Perkins
and Tuesday Weld, opens nationally to mixed reviews. Like Flaming
Star it is a melodrama with limited singing by Elvis. It, too, does not
set the box office on fire.
July, 1961
Elvis records and films for his ninth motion picture, Follow That Dream.
Filming includes some location shooting in Florida.
Non-movie-related hit
records and recording sessions have also continued through this period.
October, 1961
The soundtrack album for Blue Hawaii enters the Billboard chart for a
year-and-a-half run, staying at number one for twenty weeks, second only to
GI Blues as the biggest album of Elvis’ career on the Billboard charts. It
also yields a number two single destined to become an Elvis classic, "Can’t
Help Falling in Love".
Non-movie-related
recordings and hit records have continued through this period, with "Good
Luck Charm" hitting number one in 1962, his last number one pop hit until
"Suspicious Minds" in 1969.
October/November, 1961
Elvis records and films for his tenth motion picture, Kid Galahad,
completing it in January.
Late November 1961
Blue Hawaii opens nationally to warm reviews and gets to number two
on the box office charts. It becomes the top-grossing film of Elvis’ career
thus far. Its characteristics of a non-cerebral plot, lavish scenery, lots
of songs by Elvis, and lots of pretty girls become the basis for the
“Presley formula” movies of the sixties, though most of them will not be
nearly so well done.
Late March/Late April, 1962
Elvis records and films in Hollywood, and does location filming in Hawaii
for his eleventh motion picture, Girls! Girls! Girls!.
May/June 1962
Follow That Dream opens nationally and gets to number five on the box
office charts. It is warmly reviewed and does fairly well in sales.
Late August/September 1962
Elvis records and films for his twelfth motion picture, It Happened at
the World’s Fair. Shooting is both in Hollywood and on location at the
World’s Fair in Seattle.
Kid Galahad
opens nationally and does relatively well with a brief stay in the top ten
on the box office chart.
October 1962
In Mexico, riot behavior in a theater showing GI Blues prompts the
Mexican government to ban Elvis movies. Torn seats, broken windows, and
other damage is reported.
November 1962
Girls! Girls! Girls! opens nationally and rivals Blue Hawaii
in box office success. This is the second film to use the so-called “Presley
formula”, and it works. The soundtrack album goes top five and yields the
hit single "Return to Sender".
December 1962
Priscilla Beaulieu had flown from West Germany to visit Elvis in Los Angeles
in the summer of this year for their first time to see each other after his
army discharge. In December her parents allow her to spend the Christmas
holidays with him at Graceland in Memphis. She returns to her family
briefly, then moves to Graceland in early 1963, finishing her senior
year of high school in Memphis and turning eighteen years old on May 24,
1963.
Late January/February 1963
Elvis records and films for his thirteenth film, another “formula” movie,
Fun in Acapulco.
April 1963
It Happened at the World's Fair opens nationally and does relatively
well at the box office, though its plot is the most frivolous of any Elvis
film so far. The soundtrack album goes top five.
Non-movie recordings
and hits continue through this period.
July 1963
Elvis records the music, then, on location in Las Vegas and in a Hollywood
studio, he films for his fourteenth motion picture, Viva Las Vegas,
co-starring Ann-Margret. (It will be his fifteenth movie to be
released as Kissin’ Cousins, which he is to shoot next, will actually
be released before Viva Las Vegas.)
October 1963
Elvis records and shoots for his fifteenth motion picture, Kissin’
Cousins.
Late November 1963
Fun in Acapulco opens nationally and quickly goes to number five at
the box office. The soundtrack goes to the top five on the pop chart.
January/February 1964
Elvis purchases the Potomac, former presidential yacht of Franklin
Roosevelt, for $55,000. He intends to donate it to the March of Dimes
for use as a national shrine (FDR suffered from polio, the main disease
fought by the March of Dimes). Costs of maintaining the yacht would be
prohibitive, so the March of Dimes declines to accept the gift. Elvis
attempts to give it to the 7th Coast Guard District Auxiliary in Miami,
which also doesn’t work out. Finally, on February 13 he presents the yacht
as a gift to a gift to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis for
them to use to raise funds as they see fit. The ceremony takes place in Long
Beach, California with actor and hospital founder, Danny Thomas,
accepting.
During this saga of
trying to donate the yacht,
The Beatles
make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and Sullivan
reads on the air a congratulatory telegram from Elvis and the Colonel.
American music and pop culture will soon change dramatically with the
"British invasion", much as it had after Elvis hit it big in the fifties.
Elvis has become
bored and frustrated with his film and recording career. It will only get
worse.
March 1964
Kissin’ Cousins opens nationally. One of the poorest quality films of
his career, it still quickly hits number eleven at the box office, then
quickly falls, and the album goes top ten.
Elvis begins filming
for his sixteenth motion picture, Roustabout, co-starring Hollywood
legend Barbara Stanwyck. He had recorded the music during the
previous month.
June 1964
Elvis records music for his next film, Girl Happy.
Viva Las Vegas
opens nationally and goes to number eight at the box office. It’s one of the
better Elvis movies of this period, and the songs are better as well.
July/August 1964
Elvis shoots his seventeenth motion picture, Girl Happy, which
co-stars Shelley Fabares and former Miss America, Mary Ann Mobley.
October 1964
Elvis begins shooting eighteenth motion picture, Tickle Me. The
soundtrack has no new recordings. Instead, previously released non-movie
recordings are used, apparently to keep production costs to a minimum.
November 1964
Roustabout opens nationally and hits number eight at the box office.
The soundtrack, which represents some of the best Elvis movie music in a
while, goes to number one on the Billboard pop album chart.
March/April 1965
Elvis records the soundtrack and does the filming for his nineteenth motion
picture, Harum Scarum, which co-stars Mary Ann Mobley.
April 1965
Girl Happy opens nationally and does relatively good business. The
soundtrack album goes top ten.
Non-movie record
releases have continued during this period.
May 1965
Elvis records music and does filming for his twentieth motion picture, to be
released out of chronology as his twenty-first, Frankie and Johnny,
co-starring Donna Douglas.
July 1965
Tickle Me opens nationally.
Elvis donates $50,000
to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, reportedly the largest single donation
the organization has ever received up to this date. Accepting for the
organization are Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Sinatra.
August 1965
Elvis records soundtrack music for his twenty-first motion picture,
Paradise, Hawaiian Style, which will be released out of chronology as
his twentieth, then goes to Hawaii for location shooting. During a break in
filming, he visits the USS Arizona Memorial. The visit is covered by the
press and prompts Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye to have the visit
recognized in the Congressional Record. Elvis returns to Hollywood for more
shooting for the film.
August 27, 1965
The Beatles
visit with Elvis for several hours at his home in California and have an
informal jam session.
November 24, 1965
Harum Scarum opens nationally and hits number eleven at the box
office, then falls, as has been the pattern for most of Elvis’ movies during
the past few years. (Hit fast, burn out quickly, but make a sizable profit
and sell some records.) The soundtrack album goes to number eight.
1966-1969:
February 1966
Elvis records the soundtrack music and shoots
his twenty-second motion picture, Spinout, co-starring Shelley
Fabares.
March 1966
Frankie and Johnny opens nationally and
doesn’t do particularly well. The soundtrack album goes to number twenty.
June 1966
Paradise, Hawaiian Style is released and
doesn’t do well. The soundtrack album peaks at number fifteen.
June-September 1966
Soundtrack recording and shooting for Elvis’ twenty-third motion
picture (to be the twenty-fourth released), Double Trouble.
September 1966
Soundtrack recording and filming for Elvis’ twenty-fourth motion
picture (the twenty-third to be released), Easy Come, Easy Go.
November 1966
Spinout opens nationally and doesn’t do
well. The soundtrack album goes to number 18.
December 1966
Elvis formally proposes marriage to Priscilla.
February 1967
Elvis buys a 163-acre ranch in Mississippi,
minutes across the Tennessee state line from Graceland. He and his
entourage and their wives had become interested in horseback riding after
Elvis purchased a horse for Priscilla as a gift. The hobby had outgrown the
pasture at Graceland. Over the months to come, Elvis and the gang will enjoy
spending a lot of time at the Circle G. It becomes a happy diversion for
Elvis as his frustration and unhappiness over the state of his career
reaches its height.
March 1967
Easy Come, Easy Go opens nationally and
doesn’t do well.
RCA releases Elvis’
second gospel album, How Great Thou Art, which was recorded in
mid-1966. It gets very good reviews and goes on to earn Elvis the Grammy
Award for Best Sacred Performance from the National Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences. This is the first of his three Grammy wins.
February-April, 1967
Soundtrack recording and filming for Clambake, Elvis’
twenty-fifth movie. It is the third of three Elvis movies to co-star Shelley
Fabares.
April 1967
Double Trouble opens nationally.
Although better than some of his recent screen efforts, it doesn’t do well
at the box office.
May 1967
On May 1, Elvis and Priscilla are married in a private ceremony
amongst a small group of family and friends at the Aladdin Hotel in Las
Vegas, just after 9:30 AM. A press conference and breakfast reception follow.
The couple honeymoon for a few days in Palm Springs. Elvis wraps up some
over-dubbing on Clambake. Then they return to Memphis.
May 29, 1967
Elvis and Priscilla dress in their wedding
clothes and have a second wedding reception in the trophy room at
Graceland to accommodate family and friends who were not in Las Vegas
for the wedding.
June-July 1967
Soundtrack recording and filming for Elvis'
twenty-sixth movie (to be the twenty-seventh released), Speedway, co-starring
Nancy Sinatra. During the production, news of Priscilla's pregnancy
is announced.
September-November, 1967
Soundtrack recording and filming for Elvis'
twenty-seventh movie (to be the twenty-sixth released), Stay Away, Joe.
In this western-themed comedy he once again plays a character who is part
Native American. It's a real departure from the virtually interchangeable
plots and characters in most of the films over the past several grueling
years. He has fun with this one.
December 1967
Clambake is released nationally and goes
to number fifteen at the box office. The soundtrack album goes to number 40.
February 1, 1968
Priscilla gives birth to Lisa Marie Presley
nine months to the day after her marriage to Elvis. It is a time of great
happiness.
March 1968
Stay Away, Joe opens to mixed reviews
and doesn't do well at the box office, though like all of Elvis’ films, it
makes a profit.
Soundtrack recording
and filming for Elvis' twenty-eighth movie, Live a Little, Love a Little.
It is a sexy, more adult kind of comedy/ melodrama.
It, like Stay Away, Joe is a real departure from the typical Presley
film. It is yet another breath of fresh air.
June 1968
Speedway is released nationally and
doesn’t do very well. The soundtrack album goes only as far up the chart as
number 82.
Mid-to-Late June, 1968
Elvis rehearses for the taping of his first
television special. A press conference is held on June 25th. Videotaping is
done June 27, 28, 29, and 30. Commonly referred to as The ‘68 Special
or The ‘68 Comeback. the actual name of this landmark television
special is Elvis.
The sixties have
brought about great change in music and pop culture. Change for which Elvis
helped pave the way over a decade earlier when he exploded onto the scene
with his unique blending of pop, rock, country, R&B and gospel influences.
Focusing on his Hollywood movie career in the sixties, Elvis has become less
a part of the current pop cultural scene. He has been making one movie after
another, and many of the records he has put out in these years have been
movie soundtrack albums. In the fifties and early sixties, the films and
film-related records were wonderfully successful, but as the sixties have
worn on, the movies and records, though still profitable, have not been
nearly so successful as they were before. Elvis has reached the supreme
level of frustration with the state of his career and all its limitations on
his creativity and artistic expression. He had hoped to become a serious
actor, but Hollywood had other ideas and Elvis went along with them. His
opportunities to show his true talents as an actor have been few. He is
beyond ready for a change. By now, it has been more than seven years since
Elvis has appeared in front of a live audience. Elvis has missed the
closeness of his audience, the energy and excitement of live performing.
The '68 Special
opens with Elvis singing a hot new version of the gutsy "Trouble", from his
1958 film King Creole. This segues into Guitar Man, which,
with its semi-autobiographical lyrics, becomes the underlying theme of the
show. Then, Elvis is reunited with two of his original fifties band members,
guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana (bass player Bill Black has
been deceased for several years by this time). They sit together on stage in
the round, along with several other friends and associates of Elvis for an
informal session of singing, jamming, and swapping stories. Parts of this
jam session are woven throughout the show. There are also sequences of Elvis
taking the stage alone and performing many of his greatest hit rockers and
ballads, and he introduces a new song, Memories.
One can surmise that
he pours out years of career frustration and pent-up creative energy into
the performance of these songs. His natural talent, charisma, sensuality and
stage presence have not been diminished by the years in Hollywood. In fact,
he looks, sounds, moves and grooves better than he ever has. At 33, he is
better than he has ever been. Better than anybody in the business. For the
group jam session segments and solo stage performances Elvis wears a
two-piece black leather outfit specially designed for the show by Bill
Belew, who also designed all the other wardrobe Elvis and the cast wear
in the show. The look evokes the era of James Dean and the Marlon
Brando type motorcycle films of the fifties, the era when Elvis was
first proclaimed the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
In one of the jam
session segments, Elvis speaks of the gospel origins of rock and roll. This
segues into the gospel music portion of the show, which has Elvis wearing a
two-piece burgundy suit, singing "Where Could I Go But to the Lord," "Up
Above My Head" and "I’m Saved," backed by the female vocal group, The
Blossoms, and accompanied by a troupe of dancers - all of this for a
rousing gospel production number.
Toward the end of the
special Elvis appears in a lengthy production number that, through song,
dance, karate, and various situations, traces a young man’s journey from a
struggling guitar player, through the challenges, dangers and compromises on
the path to his dreams of success and superstardom. Something is lost along
the way. Once the dream is achieved, the man realizes that he remains
unfulfilled, that he has abandoned his true self. He decides to return to
his roots, doing what made him happiest, what he does best. He sings “I’ll
never be more than what I am... a swingin’ little guitar man.” The parallels
to Elvis' own life are clear and deliberate, and his doing the ‘68 special
represents his own return to his true self, to his roots. Free from the
confines of his Hollywood grind, this is Elvis the singer, the performer,
the musician, the man - the real Elvis.
At the end of the special, Elvis appears alone wearing a simple white
two-piece suit, standing in front of the towering backdrop of red lights
that spell ELVIS. He sings a brand new song, "If I Can Dream," especially
written for the show. The writers created the song based in part upon
conversations with Elvis about his own thoughts on what was happening in the
turbulent sixties. It seemed appropriate that he close the show with some
sort of personal statement. His powerful and passionate performance of this
song of hope for mankind is one of the most brilliant moments of his singing
career.
July/August, 1968
Elvis records the theme and does filming for his twenty-ninth movie,
Charro!, a dramatic western, again a very different kind of role.
Elvis grows a beard for this. The theme song will be heard over the opening
credits, but there will be no other Elvis songs used. This will be the first
and only film in which Elvis does not sing on camera.
October-November 1968
Elvis records the soundtrack and does filming for his thirtieth movie,
The Trouble with Girls (and How to Get into It). He sings in this
one, but in very natural situations for a change. It is yet another film
quite different from the typical Elvis films.
Live a Little,
Love a Little opens in the U.S. in October and
doesn’t do very well.
"If I Can Dream,"
from the soon-to-be aired '68 special hits number 12 on the pop singles
chart in November, making it Elvis’ biggest single since 1965.
December 3, 1968
Elvis, the 1968 TV special, first airs
on NBC-TV and is one of this biggest television hits of the year, receiving
rave reviews from the public and the critics alike. The soundtrack album
goes to number eight on the pop chart. Reviewing the show, rock writer
John Landau says:
"There is something
magical about watching a man who has lost himself find his way back home...
He sang with the kind of power people no longer expect from rock ‘n’ roll
singers."
Years later, rock
writer Greil Marcus will remember it this way:
"It was the finest
music of his life. If ever there was music that bleeds, this was it."
Elvis,
the 1968 TV special, is to become widely regarded as one of the truly great
television moments in pop/rock music history. After this show everything
changes for Elvis. He pours renewed creative energy into his recording work,
is soon to wrap up his movie contract obligations and to return full-time to
the concert stage, beginning a new and exciting era of his career. His
superstardom is yet to reach its height.
December 1968
Elvis wraps shooting on The Trouble with
Girls.
January/February 1969
Elvis has been doing all of his recording work
in Nashville or Hollywood since signing with RCA. But, now he records in
Memphis again for the first time since 1955. He has all-night marathon
sessions at American Sound Studio. His work here will become regarded as
some of the finest music of his career, his best work since the innovative
days at Sun and the exciting early days at RCA before he went into the army.
Elvis has excellent material to choose from and pours his heart and soul
into the sessions. He works with a lot of top-notch Memphis musicians. The
sound is fresh and gutsy. On every track one can sense his creative
excitement and energy. This is joyful work after years of movie boredom. Two
albums will result from these sessions. The sessions will also yield four
hit singles to be released starting later this year and going into 1970: "In
the Ghetto", "Suspicious Minds", "Don’t Cry, Daddy" and "Kentucky Rain".
March/April 1969
Elvis returns to Hollywood to film and record the soundtrack music
for his thirty-first, and what will turn out to be his last, acting role in
a motion picture. It is Change of Habit, co-starring Mary Tyler
Moore. Elvis plays a hip ghetto doctor in a Northern city, having come
from Tennessee. Mary Tyler Moore and two others play nuns who go
“undercover” into the ghetto to assist with health and societal troubles in
the community. The theme, though serious and timely, is not particularly
well carried out by the script in the opinion of many, and the title is
frivolous. But, Elvis looks magnificent, and gives a natural, easy,
understated performance that is a refreshing pleasure to see after the
silliness he endured in his films through most of the sixties. The few songs
in the movie are good and they’re performed in natural, rather than the
usual badly contrived, situations.
March, 1969
Charro! opens in theaters and doesn’t do
much at the box office.
July 31 - August 28, 1969
Elvis is booked for a four-week, fifty-seven
show engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, which has just been
built and has the largest showroom in the city. Elvis puts together
top-notch rock and roll musicians, an orchestra, a male gospel back-up
group, and a black female soul/gospel back-up group for his show.* They
rehearse for several weeks and open on July 31, 1969. The show is a
delightful mix of fresh arrangements of classic Elvis hits, exciting new
material he has recorded, a few covers of current and past hits of other
artists, and charming on-stage antics and sharing of personal recollections
of his career. A press conference follows the first of his two opening night
shows.
This engagement
breaks all existing Las Vegas attendance records and attracts rave reviews
from the public and the critics. It is a triumph. Elvis' first live album,
Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, is
recorded during this engagement and is soon released.
For these shows a
lean Elvis in top physical form, wears simple, unique, karate-inspired
two-piece outfits in black or white. These are designed by Bill Belew, who
did the wardrobe for the ‘68 special. These are the predecessors to the
famous one-piece jumpsuits which will be simple at first, then become
flashier and more elaborate over the years.
Here are a couple of
reviews from music writers:
"There are several
unbelievable things about Elvis, but the most incredible is his staying
power in a world where meteoric careers fade like shooting stars."
- Newsweek, 8-11-69 issue.
"...a style and
panache that come close to pure magic. Lithe, raunchy, the sweat pouring
down his face, he now moves with the precision of an athlete, the grace of a
dancer...flamboyant and flashy, sexy and self-mocking, he works with the
instincts of a genius to give poetry to the basic rock performance."
- W.A. Harbinson, from his 1975 book, The Illustrated Elvis. A
passage reflecting on Elvis' 1969 Vegas engagement.
*NOTE: The orchestra
was conducted by Bobby Morris. The band consisted of James Burton
(lead guitar), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass
guitar), Larry Muhoberac (piano) and Ronnie Tutt (drums). The
female singers were The Sweet Inspirations. The male singers were
The Imperials. Charlie Hodge provided additional guitar and
vocals and general on-stage assistance. Over the concert years there were
changes in the show cast. Joe Guercio became Elvis' conductor.
Millie Kirkham, who had worked on Elvis' studio recordings, joined the
show as soprano, a position later taken over by Kathy Westmoreland.
Glen D. Hardin became the piano player. J.D. Sumner & the Stamps
Quartet became the male back-up group. Various other personnel changes
occurred over the years.
September 1969
The Trouble with Girls, Elvis’ thirtieth
movie, opens in theaters and doesn’t do much at the box office. From the
American Sound Studio sessions RCA releases "Suspicious Minds", which will
soon become Elvis' first number one single since "Good Luck Charm" in 1962,
and will be his last number one pop single, though he’ll have many big hits.
November 1969
Change of Habit, Elvis' thirty-first
movie, opens in theaters and doesn’t do much at the box office.
1970-1977:
January/February 1970
Some say it is a mistake to go back to Vegas so
soon, especially during the slowest season for the city. Can he fill the
seats?
But, Elvis returns to the International Hotel for another month-long
engagement. This time he breaks his own attendance records. Another live
album is recorded, On Stage, February 1970.
February/March 1970
A press conference in Houston on the 27th.
Elvis performs afternoon and evening shows at the Houston Astrodome. Two
more shows follow on the 28th. Two more follow on March 1. A closing press
conference and banquet follow,
and Elvis is presented an armload of recent gold record awards. The six
shows attract 207,494 people and set records. There is speculation among the
press and the public that Elvis might tour in concert for the first time
since the fifties.
June 1970
Elvis has recording sessions in Nashville.
July/September 1970
Back to Las Vegas for rehearsals for another month-long engagement at
the International. He opens on August 10 and closes on September 7.
MGM is on hand to shoot a documentary film called Elvis -That’s the Way
It Is that will show Elvis off stage, in rehearsals, in the recording
studio, and on stage.
RCA will also release an album with the same title.
September 1970
From the 9th through the 14th Elvis takes his show on a nine-city
tour. It is a smashing success, the first tour since 1957, only these days
the show is much more elaborate . MGM films portions of the first show on
this tour for use in Elvis - That’s the Way It Is.
Elvis has a recording
session in Nashville.
November 1970
Elvis, That’s the Way It Is, Elvis
thirty-second film, opens in theaters to good reviews and good box office.
Documentaries traditionally do not do well at the box office, but this one
makes a respectable showing. It, like other Elvis movies will go on to have
a life on television and home video in years to come. An album of the same
title is released, but only one song, "I Just Can't Help Believin'", is
actually from a stage performance included in the film. The other songs are
studio recordings, some of which Elvis performs live on stage or in
rehearsal footage in the film.
Elvis does a
successful eight-city concert tour.
December 1970
Elvis’ famous visit with President Richard
Nixon at the White House occurs.
January 16, 1971
Elvis attends a day of functions culminating in an evening awards
banquet. He and nine others accept the honor of being named One of the Ten
Outstanding Young Men of the Nation by the United States Junior Chamber of
Commerce (The Jaycees). He is nervous about his acceptance speech. He is
touched, excited and deeply proud. This national honor has been given each
year since the late 1930’s and recognizes young men who have made great
achievements in their field of endeavor, illustrating the opportunities
available in the free enterprise system. It also applauds humanitarianism
and community service. Scientists, inventors, performers, film makers,
politicians bound for the Presidency, and men of greatness in all fields,
have been selected for this award over the years. For Elvis, a man who grew
up poor, and, in his early career knew the sting of ridicule from the
Establishment, who, through the years has known criticism of his work, this
is one of his proudest moments. It is a sign that he has achieved acceptance,
recognition, and respect for his work and for the kind of person he is.
Late January/February 1971
Elvis plays another month-long engagement at
the International Hotel in Las Vegas.
March 1971
Elvis begins a recording session in Nashville,
but cancels it due to pain and inflammation in an eye. He is treated at a
Nashville hospital where he is diagnosed with secondary glaucoma. This eye
condition will plague him from time to time in varying degrees for the rest
of his life.
May 1971
Elvis is featured on the cover of Look
Magazine, which carries an installment of the forthcoming biography on Elvis
by Jerry Hopkins. Many books and articles have been written over the
years, but this is the first in-depth, serious biography. The book Elvis
: A Biography will be released in October.
Elvis has recording
sessions in Nashville. Much of the work is for his forthcoming album
Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas.
June 1971
The two-room house Elvis was born in opens to
the public for tours, having been restored by the East Heights Garden Club
in Tupelo. Elvis has more recording sessions in Nashville, this time mostly
for an upcoming gospel album, He Touched Me.
A long stretch of
Highway 51 South, part of which runs in front of Graceland, is
officially renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. The first of the new street
signs will go up in January of 1972.
Various albums and
singles continue to be released to various degrees of success during this
period.
July/August 1971
Elvis plays a two-week engagement at the Sahara
Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
August 9 - September 6, 1971
Elvis plays an engagement in Las Vegas at the International Hotel,
which has been renamed the Las Vegas Hilton International Hotel. He sets
another attendance record and tops himself once again.
During the engagement
an award is presented to Elvis in his dressing room. It is the Bing Crosby
Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the
organization that also presents Grammy awards). This award is a special
means of recognition from NARAS and is named for its first recipient. The
award is not given every year as a rule. It will later be re-named the
Lifetime Achievement Award. Elvis is 36 years old.
November 5-16, 1971
Elvis goes on a 12-city concert tour.
Late 1971, Early 1972
Elvis and Priscilla separate. She moves out on
her own with Lisa Marie.
January 26 - February 23, 1972
Elvis plays another successful engagement at
the Hilton in Vegas.
March/April 1972
In April MGM films Elvis in a Hollywood recording studio, then films
on and off stage during his 15-city concert tour, which is a big success.
MGM will use the footage for another theatrically released documentary,
Elvis on Tour.
In April the gospel
album He Touched Me is released to good reviews. The album will go on
to win Elvis his second Grammy Award, this one for the category of Best
Inspirational Performance.
June 1972
Elvis continues touring in concert, beginning
with a press conference in New York on the 9th. MGM is on hand to film the
conference for use in Elvis on Tour. Elvis makes entertainment history by
performing four sold-out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden. John
Lennon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, David Bowie,
and Art Garfunkel are among the music stars spotted at the shows.
Nine days after it is
recorded, RCA rush-releases a live album from one of the shows - Elvis as
Recorded at Madison Square Garden. Elvis tours to seven more cities.
Elvis' Vegas and
concert tour career is hot, hot, hot during the early to mid-seventies. He
breaks attendance records in cities all over America. Record releases also
continue.
July 1972
Elvis and Priscilla’s separation is formalized.
A divorce is to come. Elvis has begun seeing Linda Thompson, who will
be his main female companion until late 1976.
August 4 - September 4, 1972
Elvis plays a month-long engagement at the
Hilton in Vegas.
September 5, 1972
Elvis participates in a press conference in Vegas announcing plans for a
television concert to be broadcast via satellite around the world from
Hawaii. It is predicted that the show will reach the largest audience in
television history and that the live album will be a big hit.
October 1972
Elvis has a number two pop hit with the single
"Burning Love", one of his biggest records in recent years.
November 1972
Elvis on Tour opens to good reviews and good
box office performance in theaters. Later, its producers will receive the
Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary of 1972. Like other Elvis films it
will have a life on television and on home video.
Elvis tours seven
cities in concert. The last is Honolulu, Hawaii, where he does three shows
at the Honolulu International Center Arena, the same venue that will host
his satellite special in January. Elvis appears at a press conference in
Hawaii regarding his upcoming satellite show. It is announced that it will
be a benefit for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.
January 1973
Elvis makes television and entertainment history with his Elvis: Aloha
from Hawaii - Via Satellite special. Performed at the Honolulu
International Center Arena on January 14, 1973, broadcast live at 12:30 AM
Hawaiian time, beamed via Globecam Satellite to Australia, South Korea,
Japan, Thailand, the Phillipines, South Vietnam and other countries. It is
seen on a delayed basis in around thirty European countries. A tape of the
show will be seen in America on April 4th on NBC. The live broadcast in
January attracts 37.8% of the viewers in Japan, 91.8% in the Philippines,
70% in Hong Kong, and 70-80% of the viewers in Korea. The April showing in
America will attract 51% of the television viewing audience, and will be
seen in more American households than man’s first walk on the moon. In all,
it will be seen in about forty countries by one billion to 1.5 billion
people. Elvis commissions an American Eagle design for his jumpsuit for this
show, his patriotic message to his worldwide audience.* Never has one
performer held the world’s attention in such a way. Elvis is in top form
physically and vocally. This is probably the pinnacle of his superstardom,
one of the all-time great moments of his career.
Audience tickets for
the January 14 concert and its January 12 pre-broadcast rehearsal show carry
no price. Each audience member is asked to pay whatever he or she can. The
performances and concert merchandise sales are a benefit raising $75,000 for
the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii. (Kui Lee was a Hawaiian composer
who had died of cancer while still in his thirties.)
On stage with Elvis
is an orchestra and his current show cast: Joe Guercio (conductor), J.D.
Sumner & the Stamps (vocals), The Sweet Inspirations (vocals), Kathy
Westmoreland (soprano vocals), Charlie Hodge (guitar/vocals/on-stage
assistance), James Burton (lead guitar), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar),
Jerry Scheff (bass guitar), Glen D. Hardin (piano), and Ronnie Tutt (drums).
The soundtrack album
is soon released and goes to number one on the Billboard pop album chart,
and stays on the chart at various positions for 52 weeks. The show will
later have continued life on television and eventually home video.
In the special,
Elvis' recording of the theme song from his 1965 movie Paradise, Hawaiian
Style plays over the opening credits and scenes of Elvis' helicopter
arrival at the airport and his walking among the fans who are there to greet
him. The concert opens with Elvis' band playing his traditional introduction
for his seventies concerts, "Theme from 2001". He sings "See, See Rider", "Burning
Love", "Something", "You Gave Me a Mountain", "Steamroller Blues", "My Way",
"Love Me", "Johnny B. Goode", "It’s Over", "Blue Suede Shoes", "I’m So
Lonesome I Could Cry", "I Can’t Stop Loving You", "Hound Dog", "What Now", "My
Love", "Fever", "Welcome to My World", "Suspicious Minds", "I’ll Remember
You" (A Kui Lee composition Elvis sings after announcing the sum raised for
the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.), "Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On",
"An American Trilogy" (Elvis tosses his belt into the audience), "A Big Hunk
o’ Love", and "Can’t Help Falling in Love" (Elvis tosses his cape into the
audience). The show is one hour, including commercials. After the show,
Elvis and his bandmates come back out on stage in the empty arena and
videotape performances of the songs "Blue Hawaii", "Ku-u-i-po", and "Hawaiian
Wedding Song" which he had first done for his 1961 hit movie, Blue Hawaii,
plus "Early Morning Rain" and "No More". All but the song "No More" will be
inserted into the American broadcast with Elvis seen on a montage screen
with footage of Hawaiian scenery.
A Little History on
Elvis' Costume: Elvis told Bill Belew he wanted the jumpsuit for this
special to say “America” to the worldwide viewing audience. Bill told Elvis
that, except for the American flag, he could think of nothing other than the
American Eagle. Elvis said “I like it.” And that’s how one of Elvis' most
famous costumes came to be. Elvis had been wearing jumpsuits on stage since
1970, and they had become quite elaborate by the time of this show. For the
past year or two he had been wearing studded, hip-length capes and heavy
studded leather belts with his jumpsuits. For the American Eagle jumpsuit,
Bill first designed a huge calf-length cape. During preparations for the
show, Elvis tried working with this cape, but it was just too cumbersome to
use. So, out went the emergency order for another cape in the usual size.
January 26 - February 23, 1973
Elvis plays an engagement at the Las Vegas
Hilton.
March 1973
Elvis and the Colonel sell RCA the singer’s
royalty rights on Elvis’ entire recording catalog up to that point.
April 4, 1973
The Aloha special is seen on American
television for the first time.
Late April 1973
Elvis goes on an eight-city concert tour.
May 4-16, 1973
Elvis plays an engagement at the Sahara Hotel
in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
May 1973
The Aloha from Hawaii concert album hits
number one on the Billboard pop album chart. It is his first number one
album since Roustabout soundtrack album in 1965. It will also be his
last number one album on the pop chart.
June 20 - July 3, 1973
Elvis goes out on concert tour.
July, 1973
Elvis records a few songs at the Stax Recording
Studio in Memphis - his first time to record in Memphis since 1969.
August 6 - September 3, 1973
Back to the Vegas Hilton for another
engagement.
October 9, 1973
Elvis and Priscilla make a court appearance
together and their divorce is granted. They will continue to be close
friends. Though Priscilla has custody of Lisa Marie, there will be no formal
schedule of visitation for Elvis, and he and his daughter will spend time
together regularly.
October 15 - November 1, 1973
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis for recurring
pneumonia and pleurisy, an enlarged colon, and hepatitis. Elvis has been
battling health problems for some time, including an increasing dependency
upon prescription drugs. It will get worse. He also battles his weight.
December 1973
Elvis returns to the Stax Recording Studio in
Memphis for a week of sessions.
January 26-February 9, 1974
Elvis plays the Vegas Hilton again.
March - July 1974
Elvis is on tour through much of March. In
March he returns to the Houston Astrodome and sets a one-day attendance
record with his two shows. Also in March he plays Memphis for the first time
since 1961 and does four shows in two days to meet the demand for tickets.
Another live album results from the excitement in Memphis, Elvis Recorded
Live On Stage in Memphis, recorded at one of the shows. Included is a
live performance of How Great Thou Art that will go on to win Elvis
his third Grammy award. He resumes touring in May and plays the Sahara in
Lake Tahoe May 16 -26. He’s back on tour in mid-June and takes a few weeks
off, starting in early July.
August 19 - September 2, 1974
Back to the Hilton in Vegas for an engagement.
During this engagement Barbra Streisand and Elvis discuss his playing the
male lead opposite her in her remake of the film A Star is Born.
Elvis is excited by the prospect of returning to the screen in a serious
film. He still has aspirations to become a serious actor. He is growing
weary of the road, his health is worsening, his performances are suffering,
and he needs a new challenge. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out for various
reasons.
September 27 - October 14, 1974
Elvis is on tour again. Plays the Sahara-Tahoe
October 11-14.
Record releases have
continued through this period with varying degrees of success.
January 29 - February 14, 1975
Elvis is hospitalized with health and
prescription problems again.
March 1975
Elvis’ live recording of How Great Thou Art
from the album recorded at one of his Memphis concerts in 1974 wins the
Grammy for Best Inspirational Performance. This is Elvis’ third and final
Grammy win out of fourteen nominations (one nomination posthumously). All
three Grammy wins have been for his gospel music.
March 18 - April 1, 1975
Engagement at the Hilton.
April - July, 1975
Elvis tours in concert.
August 18 - September 5, 1975
Elvis opens in Vegas but ends his engagement on
the 20th and is hospitalized in Memphis until September 5.
November 1975
The renovation of a Convair 880 jet Elvis
bought earlier in the year is complete, and he takes his first flight on the
Lisa Marie jet.
December 2-15, 1975
Elvis returns to the Hilton in Vegas to make up
for the shows that were canceled during his previous engagement.
December 31, 1975
Elvis performs a special New Year’s Eve concert
in Pontiac, Michigan and sets a single performance attendance record of
62,500.
February 1976
Elvis has a week of recording sessions in the
den at Graceland, with RCA bringing in mobile recording equipment.
Songs from this will comprise the forthcoming album From Elvis Presley
Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (which will hit number one on the country
album chart in May) and over half of the forthcoming Moody Blue
album.
March 17-22, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
April 21-27, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
April 30 - May 9, 1976
An engagement at the Sahara Tahoe in Nevada.
May 27- June 6, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
June 25 - July 5, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
July 23 - August 5, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
August 27-September 8, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
October 14-27, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
October 29-30, 1976
Continuation of recording in the den at
Graceland.
Early November, 1976
Elvis and Linda Thompson, his steady girlfriend
since 1972, split up.
Late November, 1976
Elvis meets Ginger Alden who will be his
steady girlfriend until his death.
November 24-30, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
December 2-12, 1976
Elvis plays the Hilton in Vegas for what will
turn out to be the last time.
December 27-31, 1976
Elvis tours in concert, ending with a special
New Year’s Eve concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
February 12-21, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
March 23-30, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
April 1-5, 1977
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis and tour shows
scheduled for March 31-April 3 are canceled.
April 21- May 31/June 1-2, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
June 17-26, 1977
Elvis tours in concert. Shows on June 19, 20,
and 21 are recorded by RCA for an upcoming live album and are videotaped for
an upcoming CBS-TV television special. (Footage from the show on the 20th is
not used in the special.) The special will be called Elvis in Concert.
It will first air on October 3 after Elvis’ death in August. The camera
gives a shocking picture of Elvis’ poor health in his final days, but his
voice is strong.
June 26, 1977
A concert at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Market
Square Arena. This will turn out to be his very last concert performance.
June 27- August 15, 1977
Elvis relaxes in Memphis and prepares for the
next leg of touring for 1977.
August 16, 1977
Shortly after midnight Elvis returns to Graceland from a late-night
visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of the 16th he takes care of
last minute tour details and relaxes with family and staff. He is to fly to
Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue
the scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Graceland
around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning, Elvis
Presley is dead of heart failure. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a
matter of hours the shock registers around the world.
ELVIS ARON PRESLEY
1935-1977
Richard Dion
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