The "King of Rock n' Roll" was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. When Presley was 13 the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he graduated from Hums High School. After graduation Presley worked as a movie theater usher, a truck driver, and singing as The Hillbilly Cat.
He established early rock and roll and introduced black blues singing into his portfolio. His sexy gyrations caused teenage girls to swoon and television cameras to only film him above the waist. The FBI listed Presley as "a threat to American Society." Presley sold over 600 million singles and albums. His first acting role was in Love Me Tender in 1956. Most of his 33 films were acting nightmares, but earned over $150 million in total.
Presley was drafted into the military and located to Bad Nauheim, Germany. He met 14 year old Priscilla Ann Wagner and they married seven years later. After his military service he moved to Hollywood and stared in over 20 movies. He made his comeback in the 1970s with live concert appearances in Las Vegas. He toured throughout the U.S. and appeared on-stage in 500 live appearances. His rockabilly and upbeat tempo fused country music with rhythm and blues and his versions of black and white sound made him controversial.
He embodied longer and deeper sideburns with hair slicked back with Vaseline and rose oil. He wore white sequined jumpsuits and loved to do onstage karate moves. Presley earned a black belt in karate in 1960. He is known for his three Grammy Awards for his Gospel music. Presley had 18 Billboard number 1 songs starting with Heartbreak Hotel in 1956 and ending with Suspicious Minds in 1969.
Presley and Priscilla married in 1967 and divorced in 1973. They had one child. It is said that after his marriage broke up, Presley ballooned from 170 to 290. He died with 10 different drugs in his system on August 16, 1977.
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