Elvis Aron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. He grew up listening to music on the radio and at church. At age ten his mother gave him a guitar and an instruction book and he taught himself how to play. He won his first award (second prize) that same year at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. In 1948, the Presley family moved to Memphis, Tennessee where Elvis won the senior talent show in high school. After graduation he worked on a munitions assembly line and as a truck driver. He continued to listen to music whenever possible: on the radio, from records, and at night clubs and music halls.
On July 5, 1954, Elvis was in a recording session for Sun Records when he began improvising on Arthur Crudup's song "That's All Right, Mama." That moment is considered "the birth of rock and roll." (Dictionary of American Biography) It was Elvis' first hit record. He started touring towns across the South while continuing to record hit after hit. In 1956, he appeared on many of the major television variety shows: the Stage Show, the Milton Berle Show, the Steve Allen Show, and the Ed Sullivan Show. That year his film career also started.
Elvis' career was put on a temporary hold during his two-year service with the U.S. Army. Upon his return from the army he filmed a whopping 27 movies between 1960 and 1969. These were primarily formula films with undistinguished music. His music career declined during this time frame due to contractual obligations to only record songs from the movie soundtracks. In 1970, Elvis signed a contract to perform two month-long shows per year in Las Vegas. He performed them from July 1970 until his death in 1977. These were lavish shows with large orchestras and extravagant visual effects.
After his divorce in 1973, Elvis' life deteriorated into self-indulgence. His drug use and binge eating of fat-laden foods changed Elvis into an obese mockery of his former self although he never lost his ability to sing.
He died at his Graceland home on August 16, 1977 of heart failure probably induced by his chronic drug abuse. To this day, stories of "Elvis sightings" continue and the entertainment world (especially Las Vegas) abounds with Elvis impersonators.
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