Theresea Hughes asked:


Elvis Presley wasn’t just loved by his fans. He wasn’t just The King on stage; he was also a man with a family. His life was a classic rags-to-riches story; but as money accumulated, it seemed that he and his family were yet again on a sudden spiraling descent, only this time it was more on the emotional than financial side.

Good or bad, there was no denying that Elvis was and still is among the most famous men who ever lived. And the only way to understand his ways is to take a peak at the various chapters of his family life.

Early Family Life

Elvis’ family came from a long line of German, French, Scottish and Cherokee descent. Vernon Presley, his father, was a sharecropper and a truck driver who hailed from Fulton, Mississippi. Gladys Love Smith, his mother, was a sewing machine operator who came from Pontotoc County, in Mississippi. Elvis’ family started when his parents married on June 17, 1933.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He had a twin named Jesse Garon who was stillborn. Having only one child, Elvis’ family lived just a little over the poverty line. The family attended a church called Assembly of God located in East Tupelo.

Although Elvis’ family wasn’t considered dirt poor, it is said that they lost their home when they weren’t able to pay the money they borrowed to build it. The eviction came at a time when his father was serving a prison sentence due to forgery of a check for only $8. The sentence was for eight months; even so, this incident left a big mark on the Elvis’ family.

Elvis’ Family At Graceland

At the age of 13, Elvis’ family moved to Memphis. It was in the latter part of the 1940’s but life here wasn’t much different from when they were in Mississippi. They lived in a public housing unit.

Only when Elvis’ career surged, which wouldn’t happen for yet another nine years, did the family start to live comfortably. At age 22, Elvis had acquired enough money to buy a mansion from a doctor for $100,000.

Married Life

In May 1967, Elvis married Priscilla Ann Beaulieu in Las Vegas, Nevada. They had a daughter, Lisa Marie, who was born in 1968. The couple separated on February of 1972 and they shared custody of little Lisa. Eventually in 1973, Elvis and Priscilla were granted a divorce.



Eileen

Mike Shaw asked:


In today’s internet world it’s become very stress-free to get hold of very looked-for memorabilia and if done right if can be both profitable and enjoyable. Just browsing through some of the listing can be an eye opener, especially when you see some of the hard to believe prices people are asking for rare memorabilia.

If you are going to buy costly music collectables, then the initial thing you need is conclusive verification that what you’re buying is the genuine article and I mean one hundred percent substantiation.

I still find it incredible that I can find practically anything with a quick search on the internet. I think possibly the younger individuals reading this take the internet for granted, as it’s constantly been there for them, but I have bought memorabilia in the past, before the internet days and it involved trawling through music stores, auctions and second hand shops. In fact, what use to take weeks and months now takes seconds, literally.

It could be argued that the older the music artist, the more costly the memorabilia, but I’m not sure I believe that any longer. It depends on who the artist is I expect. If you had a selection of bidding on Elvis Presleys piano or Beethovens piano, which would you plump for and which one do you think would be the most costly. I suppose the price of these things depends on the age of the article for sale and fame of the artist in their own time and more vitally, today. It’s complicated.

There’s is an obvious certainty that, if you are going to be the owner of and handle a piece of memorabilia that was once owned and touched by mega stars such as Elvis, The Beatles and Beethoven, then its going to cost you a small fortune, but I’m sure that if its the true item, then its a safe outlay.

If you are interested in collecting a piece of music history then I suggest you start off small. Get used to the buying process first if you have never used online websites to buy items. Using the internet to purchase any products is very safe if used correctly. Yes, we all know there are lots of scams out there, but there are millions more safe and honest transactions throughout the world. Just using a bit of common sense as you would if you were shopping on the high street is all you need and possibly you will secure your own piece of music history.



Courtney

Adam Victor asked:


More than thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley remains indelibly etched in to the American psyche. As the Elvis of myth – an embodiment of the American Dream in the flesh- has become synonymous with Elvis the man, the subject of countless books, articles and songs, it has become increasingly hard to discern who Elvis really was. By combining obsessive research with absorbing writing, Adam Victor, author of the bestselling The Marilyn Encyclopedia, sifts through the competing versions of events throughout Elvis’s life and traces a young man’s path to immortality.

The Elvis Encyclopedia, the product of over six years of research, was created to help bring order to the massive amount of material written about Elvis Presley. In doing so, it stands as the most comprehensive book about his extraordinary life and legacy ever published. Below is a quiz based on information from The Elvis Encyclopedia designed to test your basic knowledge about Elvis and his life. Learn the answers and so much more by picking up your copy of The Elvis Encyclopedia!

Answer the following by choosing either a, b, c, or d:

1. What did Elvis pay for Circle G Ranch?

a. $36,000

b. $437,000

c. $1,000,000

d. 128,000

2. What was Elvis’s job before cutting his first record in 1955?

a. delivery truck driver for Crown Electric

b. worked in a sewing factory with his mother

c. a line cook at the local diner

d. he cut lawns for the local neighbors

3. What was Elvis’s first appearance on national television and when?

a. “Louisiana Hayride” on KWKH March 5, 1955

b. “The Roy Orbison Show” on KOSA May 31, 1955

c. “Stage Show” on CBS January 28, 1956

d. “Milton Berle Show” April 1956

4. Between which two celebrities is Elvis’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

a. Gary Cooper and Milton Berle

b. Jack Lemmon and Ronald Regan

c. Fred Astaire and Ingrid Bergman

d. Ray Charles and Vivian Leigh

5. How many of the following women did Elvis marry?  Magdalen Moran, Dixie Locke, June Juanico, Anita Wood, Priscilla Beaulieu, Linda Thompson, Ginger Alden

a. three

b. two

c. one

e. six

6. What did radio personality, Dewey Phillips, call Elvis when spinning his record on the radio for the first time?

a. Elton Preston

b. Eli Preistly

c. Elia Priest

d. Ellis Perry

7. What was Elvis’s favorite alias to use when traveling?

a. Tom Wilson

b. John Carpenter

c. Jon Burrows

d. Lucky Jackson

8. Which of Elvis’s movies was the only one to premiere in New York City?

a. Viva Las Vegas

b. Love Me Tender

c. Jailhouse Rock

d. Blue Hawaii

9. Of what was Elvis made honorary captain in 1956?

a. Louisiana Hayride

b. The Tupelo Rotary Club

c. The Mississippi State Baseball Team

d. Louisiana State Highway Patrol

10. What was one of Elvis’s earliest gifts to his mother after giving her the famed pink Cadillac?

a. a vacuum

b. an electric mixer

c. a house

d. a washer/dryer set

11. How many number one singles made it to the Billboard Charts in Elvis’s lifetime?

a. 10

b. 38

c. 57

d. 17

12. What was the name Elvis gave to the pitched firework battles he regularly held in the Graceland grounds over the Christmas and July 4th holidays?

a. Spectacular Spectacular

b. Sparkle Show

c. War

d. Lisa Marie’s Fireworks

The above is excerpted from the book The Elvis Encyclopedia

by Adam Victor

Published by Overlook Duckworth Press; October 2008;$65.US/$71.50CAN; 978-1-585-67598-2

Copyright © 2008 Adam Victor

Quiz Answers: b, a, c, d, b, a, c, b, d, b, d, c



Todd

barbsky2000 asked:


Elvis Presely Enterprises owns the liscensing rights to the name of Elvis Presley. Does the purchase of rights extend to each play house that presents the play?

Kimberly

I am not ok asked:


What’s a good visual tribute for Elvis Presley?
Question Details:I need to make something visual for Tennessee. My friend who is doing hers on California is doing the Golden Gate Bridge out of clay.

Clara

Andrew Doyle asked:


Introduction

On July 18th in 1953, a truck driver named Elvis Presley cut his first song at Sun Records Recording Studio in Memphis Tennessee and with the later arrival of local musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Black recorded some of the earliest and most popular Rock n’ Roll records of all time. Early songs by Elvis such as ‘That’s all right mama’ originally by Arthur Crudup and a cover of Bill Monroe’s ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ and along with later records such as Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’, defined the Rock n’ Roll genre by blending boogie-woogie and blues music. It must be no doubt that Elvis Presley is one of the most influential performers of all time and obviously one of the coolest people to dress up as this Halloween or New Year.

Costume Ideas

If you are looking into dressing up as Elvis there are various online sites from which you can purchase a costume. The majority of the costumes are based around his later years from 1970 and the costumes he wore during this period up until his death in 1977. Most of the costumes consist of white jumpsuits that are often studded with glass jewels, these often come with some sort of belt that often also has attached glass gems. In order to finish off the costume you will need a black wig or perhaps slick back your own hair if it is long enough. Obviously unless you are incredibly lucky you will need to go out and buy some long side burn attachments to complete the ****** hair features. Next you will be looking at purchasing some sun glasses to complete the cool look, generally the bigger the glasses the better, and a tint of gold around the rims always works well. Also a hairy chest wig or some sort of inflatable guitar is also appropriate as well as a cheap plastic microphone which can add extra character to the costume.

If you want to dress as other eras of Elvis, then the leather jacket era of the 60’s is always a good look, it first starts with a black leather jacket and trousers and make sure they both fit quite snugly in order to wear them just like Elvis did. Next it is always a good idea to decorate the leather jacket with rhinestones in the shape of a guitar on the back, and leave the top of your jacket slightly undone in order to fit in with the look of Elvis at the time. The hair at this time was quite long with long side burns and the hair long over the fringe. A good example of this eras look is the comeback special in 1968, which reinvented his career at the time, but if you are looking for a more stereotypical hair style you could use the later style that is big and slicked back. If you want to go for the ‘Jailhouse’ look from the film ‘Jailhouse Rock’ released in the 1950’s, then you will need a denim jacket and jeans and a black and white striped shirt. The bottom of the jeans should also be rolled up so that the socks are easily visible, similar to the film. To add extra authenticity add Presley to the left front of the jack and add the numbers 6239 to the right side which comes from Elvis Presley’s jailhouse number in the film.

Whatever you do this Halloween or New Year, the Elvis costume is always a well used favourite at parties, and has to be one of the most easily recognised costume available. But what shouldn’t be forgotten is his impact on popular culture and his genre defining music that will surely be around for as long as music is.



Nicholas

Victor Epand asked:


The King of Rock and Roll, which many still refer to him as, was born on January 8, 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee. While his rightly earned title suggests that he was mostly involved in rock and roll, other genres he performed in were blues, country, rockabilly and gospel. In fact, when he first began his musical career he focused more in the other genres first before he went to rock and roll. He was not only a vocalist, he was also a pianist and a guitarist. He was even an actor in a number of films, though many of them did not really do overly well.

Elvis Presley’s childhood was far from easy. He was an only child of a relatively poor family. He did have a twin, but the child was still-born. When Elvis was still young, his father went to jail for fraud and his mother eventually lost the house that her husband had built. He was apparently quite close to his mother and was bullied at school for it. He was a quiet child who kept to himself most of the time and was different from the others, which resulted in harassment by the other children at school who would throw insults and objects at him.

Despite all this, Elvis had his first performance at the age of ten where he won second prize for the contest he had entered. The next year he got his first guitar, which he loved to play and take everywhere he went. He then went on to play in shops in order to make money to help his parents. It would be a few years and a few recordings later before he made his first breakthrough in 1956, when he was 21 years old. The year after Tom Parker became Elvis’ manager, Elvis had a number one hit in the United States in April. His manager also tried to get him onto television in an effort to boost Elvis’ exposure, but many of the films the singer was on did not receive very good reviews. Performances were apparently more for Elvis because music was where his talent was.

Elvis Presley brought in an entirely new wave of music and while it was music that was not very well accepted by the older crowd, the younger crowd absolutely loved it. Despite a few minor setbacks in his career and a few televisions show hosts who weren’t fans of his, Elvis’ popularity grew. It was a change in the world of music that was going to happen and nothing was going to change that. His performance on stage was also ridiculed, as the older crowd saw his actions on stage as vulgar, but this was later set aside. His music and his performances were controversial, but that didn’t matter to the audience that loved him. His music was so different and influential that even the Beatles claim they were inspired by him. Many other bands that would later surface would also admit they were greatly influenced by the King of Rock and Roll.



Jorge

candiegurl40 asked:


lol, seriously this kid has like 12 different accounts all relating to elvis presley, and they keep asking about vegemite, how many questions can you seriously have about vegemite?

lol.

am i the only person that noticed this??

Jacqueline