April 25, 1912 Gladys
Love Smith April 10, 1916 Vernon Elvis
Presley June 1933 Gladys Smith and Vernon
Presley
are married.
January 8, 1935 Tupelo,
Mississippi
Gladys Presley gives birth to twin sons, Jessie Garon
& Elvis Aaron. Sadly, Jessie is stillborn.
1935-1948
Elvis grows up within a close-knit, working class family in
Tupelo, Miss. Elvis attends the Assembly of God Church with
his family where the music register deeply within him. Other
influences upon Elvis include black bluesmen in the
neighborhood and country music radio programs enjoyed by his
family.
1946 Elvis' parents cannot afford a
bicycle that Elvis wants, so Gladys
talks him into accepting a guitar instead.
Late 1948 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.
1948-1953 Elvis and his parents live in
public housing in a poor neighborhood. Elvis works at various
jobs to help support his parents. He's also a regular audience
member at the all-night white and black gospel sings that are
held downtown.
June 3, 1953
Elvis
graduates from Humes High
School
1953
Elvis works at Parker Machinists Shop after graduation. That
summer he visits The Memphis Recording Service, home of the Sun
Recordings, where he makes a demo of "My
Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches
Begin" for a cost of about $4.00.
Summer 1954 Elvis teams
up with local musicians Scotty Moore (guitar) and Bill Black
(bass) to create a sped-up version of Arthur "Big
Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." This song
becomes the first of five singles Elvis will release on the
Sun label. The group starts to tour small clubs throughout the
South, enjoying moderate success with the record sales. Elvis'
one appearance on the Grand Ole Opry doesn't go over
particularly well and one of the Opry officials reportedly
suggested that Elvis go back to driving a truck.
October 16, 1954
Elvis and his band appear for the first time on the Louisiana
Hayride, the Grand Ole Opry's chief competitor. Elvis
signs a one-year contract for 52 Saturday night appearances.
During Elvis' association with the Hayride he meets
"Colonel" Tom Parker.
August 15, 1955
Colonel Parker becomes Elvis' exclusive manager.
November 20, 1955
Elvis signs his first contract with RCA Records for an
unprecedented $40,000 with a $5,000 bonus.
January 10, 1956
Elvis has his first session with RCA, where he records
"Heartbreak Hotel."
January 27, 1956
"Heartbreak Hotel" released by RCA sells 300,000
copies in its first 3 weeks and earns Elvis his first gold
record.
January 28, 1956
Elvis' first network television appearance occurs on
"Stage Show," starring Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey on
CBS.
March 13, 1956
RCA releases Elvis Presley, Elvis' first album.
April 1, 1956
Elvis performs a screen test for Paramount Studios which leads
to a seven-year film contract.
June 5, 1956
Elvis appears on Milton Berle Show
where his racy moves are condemnation by the "morally
concerned" The kids love it!
July 1, 1956
Elvis appears on "The Steve Allen Show" on NBC.
August 1956 Elvis begins shooting his
first movie, Love
Me Tender
September 9, 1956
Elvis makes the first of three appearances on "The Ed
Sullivan Show" where he attracts the highest ratings ever
for any television variety show.
November 16, 1956
Elvis' first movie "Love Me Tender" premieres at the
Paramount Theater in
New York City
January 1957 Elvis begins production of
his second movie, "Loving You."
March
1957 Elvis buys
Graceland
Mansion
for himself, his parents and his paternal grandmother.
April 1957 Elvis performs outside the
US
for the first time when he appears in
Toronto
and Ottawa
,
Canada
May 1957 Elvis begins work on his third
motion picture, "Jailhouse Rock"
July 9, 1957
Elvis' second motion picture, "Loving You,"
premieres reaching 10 at the box-office. Hit records
include the title song and the classic hit, "Teddy
Bear"
August 31, 1957
Elvis appears in Vancouver the last time he will perform in
concert outside the United States
October 17, 1957
"Jailhouse
Rock," Elvis' third motion picture, premieres in
Memphis and later opens nationally in November.
November 10-11, 1957
Elvis performs shows in
Hawaii
for the first time.
December 1957 Elvis and family enjoy
their first Christmas at
Graceland
where Elvis officially receives his draft notice.
Late January-Early March 1958 Elvis
films his fourth motion picture, King
Creole
March 24, 1958
Elvis is inducted into the US
Army and assigned serial number 53310761.
July 1958 "King Creole,"
Elvis' fourth motion picture opens nationally and the reviews
are the best he will ever have for his acting.
August 14, 1958
Gladys Presley passes away
September-October 1958 Elvis boards the
USS Randall and sails to
Germany arriving on October 1
November 1959 Elvis meets Priscilla
Ann Beaulieu at a party.
January 20, 1960
Elvis
is promoted to Sergeant.
March 5, 1960
Elvis is officially discharged from active duty
Late April, 1960 Elvis begins filming
his fifth film, "GI Blues," for Paramount
August-September 1960 Elvis films his
sixth movie, Flaming
Star a drama with limited music.
October 1960 The soundtrack album for
"GI Blues" becomes Elvis' most successful album of
his career on the Billboard charts.
November 1960 Elvis begins filming for
his seventh film, "Wild in the Country"
Late March-Mid-April 1961 Elvis begins
filming his eighth motion picture Blue
Hawaii
July 1961 Elvis films his ninth motion
picture, "Follow That Dream"
October-November 1961 Elvis films his
10th motion picture Kid Galahad
Late March-Late April 1962 Elvis films
his 11th motion picture "Girls! Girls! Girls!"
Late August-September 1962 Elvis films
his 12th motion picture "It
Happened at the World's Fair"
Late January-February 1963 Elvis films
his 13th film "Fun in
Acapulco"
July 1963 Elvis films his 14th motion
picture "Viva Las Vegas"
October 1963 Elvis films his 15th
motion picture, "Kissin' Cousins."
March 1964 Elvis begins filming for his
16th motion picture, "Roustabout"
July-August 1964 Elvis shoots his 17th
motion picture, "Girl Happy"
October 1964 Elvis begins shooting his
18th motion picture, "Tickle
Me"
March-April 1965 Elvis begins filming
for his 19th motion picture, "Harum Scarum"
May 1965 Elvis begins filming for his
20th motion picture, "Frankie and Johnny"
August 1965 Elvis records soundtrack
music for his 21st motion picture Paradise
, Hawaiian Style
August 27, 1965
The Beatles visit with Elvis for
several hours at his home in
California
and have an informal jam session.
February 1966 Elvis records the
soundtrack music and shoots his 22nd motion picture,
"Spinout."
June-September 1966 Soundtrack
recording and shooting begin for Elvis' 23rd motion picture,
"Double Trouble."
September 1966 Soundtrack recording and
filming begin for Elvis' 24th motion picture, "Easy Come,
Easy Go"
December 1966 Elvis formally proposes
marriage to Priscilla.
February-April 1967 Elvis films
"Clambake," his 25th movie.
May 1, 1967
Elvis weds Priscilla in
a private ceremony with a small group of family/ at the
Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas just after 9:30 AM
June-July 1967 Soundtrack recording and
filming begins for Elvis' 26th movie "Speedway"
September-November 1967 Soundtrack
recording and filming begin for Elvis' 27th movie "Stay
Away, Joe."
February 1, 1968
Priscilla gives birth to
Lisa Marie Presley nine months to the day after her
marriage to Elvis.
March 1968 Elvis films his 28th
movie, "Live a Little, Love a Little."
June 27-30, 1968
Elvis shoots "Elvis," the television special, also
known as "The '68 Special."
July-August 1968 Elvis records the
theme and begins filming for his 29th movie,
"Charro!"
October-December 1968 Elvis records the
soundtrack and does filming for his 30th movie, "The
Trouble with Girls"
December 3, 1968
"Elvis" premieres on NBC.
March-April 1969 Elvis films his 31st,
and what will turn out to be his last, acting role in a motion
picture, "Change of Habit."
January 15, 1971, Elvis is voted one of
the Ten Outstanding Young Men
of America by the United States Junior Chamber of
Commerce: better known as the Jaycees.
December 1970 Elvis' makes his famous
visit to President Richard Nixon
at the White House.
Late 1971-Early 1972 Elvis and
Priscilla separate. Priscilla takes their daughter, Lisa
Marie, with her.
July 1972 Elvis and Priscilla's
separation is formalized pending divorce. Elvis dates Linda
Thompson, who will be with him until late 1976.
October 1972 Elvis has a #2 hit with
the single "Burning Love," one of his biggest
records in recent years.
November 1972 "Elvis on Tour"
opens to good reviews. Its producers will receive the Golden
Globe Award for Best Documentary
March 1973 The Colonel and Elvis sell
off his entire recording catalogue to RCA.
April 4, 1973
Elvis makes entertainment history with his "Elvis: Aloha
from
Hawaii Satellite" special. Elvis is in top form
physically and vocally in, arguably, his greatest career
moment.
October 9, 1973
Elvis and Priscilla are divorced. They remain
close. Priscilla gets custody of Lisa
Marie Presley Elvis allowed free visits
October 15 - November 1, 1973 Elvis is
hospitalized in Memphis
for recurring pneumonia, pleurisy, an enlarged colon and
hepatitis. Additionally, Elvis battles an increasing
dependency upon prescription drugs.
January 29 - February 14, 1975 Elvis is
again hospitalized with health and prescription drug issues.
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.
June 17-26, 1977
Elvis tours June 19, 20 and 21 are recorded by RCA for an
upcoming live album and upcoming CBS Television Network
special. The camera gives a shocking picture of Elvis' poor
health in his final days, but his voice remains strong.
June 26, 1977
Elvis performs his last concert at Indianapolis Market Square
Arena.
August 16, 1977 Shortly after midnight
Elvis returns to Graceland from a visit to the
dentist. During the early morning of the 16th, he takes
care of last minute tour details in preparation for a concert
in Portland, Maine the next day. He retires to his master
suite at Graceland around 7:00 AM goes to the bathroom to
read. At 2pm Elvis is found dead
by Ginger Alden.
