Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), popularly known by his first nameElvis, was an American singer and actor. He was born inTupelo, Mississippi, and moved toMemphis, Tennessee, with his family at age 13. His music career began there in 1954, recording atSun Records with producerSam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound ofAfrican-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitaristScotty Moore and bassistBill Black, was a pioneer ofrockabilly, an uptempo,backbeat-driven fusion ofcountry music andrhythm and blues. In 1955, drummerD. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet andRCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged byColonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades.
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, inTupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon Presley and Gladys Love (née Smith) Presley in a two-roomshotgun house that his father built for the occasion.[1] Elvis'sidentical twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, was deliveredstillborn thirty-five minutes before him.[2] Elvis became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended anAssembly of God church, where he found his initial musical inspiration.[3]
Presley's father Vernon was of Irish,[4] German,[5] Scottish, and English origins,[6] and was a descendant of theHarrison family of Virginia through his mother, Minnie Mae Presley (née Hood).[1] Presley's mother Gladys wasScots-Irish with some French Norman ancestry.[7] She and the rest of the family believed that her great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, wasCherokee.[8][9][10] This belief was restated by Elvis's granddaughterRiley Keough in 2017.[11]Elaine Dundy, in her biography, supports the belief,[12] as does Northern Ireland-based historian Alister McReynolds, who stated in his 2014 bookKith and Kin: The Continuing Legacy of the Scots-Irish in America that Morning Dove White was aCherokee princess who married Presley'sUlster Scot ancestor William Mansell.[13] Dundy also alleged that Elvis' great-great grandmother Nancy Burdine Tackett wasJewish.[14] This claim was further backed following the release of his mother's original headstone.[15][16][17] Tackett's family are believed to have migrated to the United States from what is nowLithuania around the time of the American Revolution;[18][19] it was revealed that the originalheadstone for Gladys Presley, which was placed on her first grave at Memphis' Forest Hill Cemetery in December 1964 and had been in storage in the Graceland Archives between 1977 and 2018, had not only a cross marking, but also a Star of David marking on it as well.[18][20][21]Nate Bloom challenged the claim of a Jewish ancestor based on a conversation with a woman whose mother was friends with Gladys.[22]
Vernon moved from oneodd job to the next, showing little ambition.[23][24] The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938 they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty ofaltering a check written by his landowner and sometime-employer. He was jailed for eight months while Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives.[3]
In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his teachers regarded him as "average".[25] He was encouraged to enter a singing contest after impressing his schoolteacher with a rendition ofRed Foley'scountry song "Old Shep" during morning prayers. The contest, held at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, was his first public performance. The ten-year-old Presley stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang "Old Shep". He recalled placing fifth.[26] A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he had hoped for something else—by different accounts, either a bicycle or a rifle.[27][28] Over the following year, he received basic guitar lessons from two of his uncles and the new pastor at the family's church. Presley recalled, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was veryshy about it."[29]
In September 1946, Presley entered a new school, Milam, for sixth grade; he was regarded as aloner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar to school on a daily basis. He played and sang during lunchtime and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who playedhillbilly music. By then, the family was living in a largely African American neighborhood.[30] Presley was a devotee ofMississippi Slim's show on the Tupelo radio stationWELO. He was described as "crazy about music" by Slim's younger brother, who was one of Presley's classmates and often took him into the station. Slim supplemented Presley's guitar instruction by demonstrating chord techniques.[31] When hisprotégé was aged 12, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time but succeeded in performing the following week.[32]
In November 1948, the family moved toMemphis, Tennessee. After residing for nearly a year inrooming houses, they were granted a two-bedroom apartment in thepublic housing complex known as the Lauderdale Courts.[33] Enrolled atL. C. Humes High School, Presley received only a C inmusic in eighth grade. When his music teacher told him that he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar the next day and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me", to prove otherwise. A classmate later recalled that the teacher "agreed that Elvis was right when he said that she didn't appreciate his kind of singing".[34] He was usually too shy to perform openly and was occasionallybullied by classmates who viewed him as a "mama's boy".[35]
In 1950, Presley began practicing guitar regularly under the tutelage ofLee Denson, a neighbor two and a half years his senior. They and three other boys—including two futurerockabilly pioneers, brothersDorsey andJohnny Burnette—formed a loose musical collective that played frequently around the Courts.[36] That September, Presley began working as an usher atLoew's State Theater.[37] Other jobs followed at Precision Tool, another stint at Loew's, and MARL Metal Products.[38] Presley also helped Jewish neighbors, the Fruchters, by being theirshabbos goy.
During his junior year, Presley began to stand out more among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew hissideburns and styled his hair withrose oil andVaseline. In his free time, he would head down toBeale Street, the heart of Memphis' thrivingblues scene, and gaze longingly at the wild, flashy clothes in the windows ofLansky Brothers. By his senior year, he was wearing those clothes.[39] Overcoming his reticence about performing outside the Courts, he competed in Humes' Annual "Minstrel" Show in April 1953. Singing and playing guitar, he opened with "Till I Waltz Again with You", a recent hit forTeresa Brewer. Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: "I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage, I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became in school after that."[40]
Presley, who received no formal music training and could notread music, studied and played by ear. He also visited record stores that providedjukeboxes and listening booths to customers. He knew all ofHank Snow's songs,[41] and he loved records by other country singers such asRoy Acuff,Ernest Tubb,Ted Daffan,Jimmie Rodgers,Jimmie Davis, andBob Wills.[42] TheSouthern gospel singerJake Hess, one of his favorite performers, was a significant influence on hisballad-singing style.[43][44] Presley was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African Americanspiritual music.[45] He adored the music of black gospel singerSister Rosetta Tharpe.[42]
Presley listened to regional radio stations, such asWDIA, that played what were then called "race records":spirituals, blues, and the modern,backbeat-heavy sound ofrhythm and blues.[46] Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues only on nights designated for exclusively white audiences—a necessity in thesegregated South.[47] Many of his future recordings were inspired by localAfrican-American musicians such asArthur Crudup andRufus Thomas.[48][49]B.B. King recalled that he had known Presley before he was popular when they both used to frequent Beale Street.[50] By the time he graduated from high school in June 1953, Presley had already singled out music as his future.[51][52]
In August 1953, Presley checked into the offices ofMemphis Recording Service, the company run bySam Phillips before he startedSun Records. He aimed to pay for a few minutes of studio time to record a two-sidedacetate disc: "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". He later claimed that he intended the record as a birthday gift for his mother, or that he was merely interested in what he "sounded like", although there was a much cheaper, amateur record-making service at a nearby general store. BiographerPeter Guralnick argued that Presley chose Sun in the hope of being discovered. Asked byreceptionistMarion Keisker what kind of singer he was, Presley responded, "I sing all kinds." When she pressed him on who he sounded like, he repeatedly answered, "I don't sound like nobody." After he recorded, Keisker wrote down the young man's name for Phillips, who was out of the office, along with her own commentary: "Good ballad singer. Hold."[53]
In January 1954, Presley cut a second acetate at Sun—"I'll Never Stand in Your Way" and "It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You"—but again nothing came of it.[54] Not long after, he failed anaudition for a local vocal quartet, the Songfellows, explaining to his father, "They told me I couldn't sing."[55] SongfellowJim Hamill later claimed that he was turned down because he did not demonstrate an ear for harmony at the time.[56] In April, Presley began working for the Crown Electric company as a truck driver.[57] His friend Ronnie Smith, after playing a few local gigs with him, suggested he contactEddie Bond, leader of Smith's professional band, which had an opening for a vocalist. Bond rejected him after a tryout, advising Presley to stick to truck driving "because you're never going to make it as a singer".[58]
Phillips, meanwhile, was always on the lookout for someone who could bring to a broader audience the sound of the black musicians on whom Sun focused. As Keisker reported, "Over and over I remember Sam saying, 'If I could find a white man who had theNegro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.'"[59] In June, he acquired a demo recording byJimmy Sweeney of a ballad, "Without You", that he thought might suit Presley. The teenaged singer came by the studio but was unable to do it justice. Despite this, Phillips asked Presley to sing as many numbers as he knew. He was sufficiently affected by what he heard to invite two local musicians, guitaristWinfield "Scotty" Moore andupright bass playerBill Black, to work something up with Presley for a recording session.[60]
The session, held the evening of July 5, proved entirely unfruitful until late in the night. As they were about to abort and go home, Presley took his guitar and launched into a 1946 blues number, Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right". Moore recalled, "All of a sudden, Elvis just started singing this song, jumping around and acting the fool, and then Bill picked up his bass, and he started acting the fool, too, and I started playing with them. Sam, I think, had the door to the control booth open ... he stuck his head out and said, 'What are you doing?' And we said, 'We don't know.' 'Well, back up,' he said, 'try to find a place to start, and do it again.'" Phillips quickly began taping; this was the sound he had been looking for.[61]
Three days later, popular Memphis disc jockeyDewey Phillips (no relation to Sam Phillips) played "That's All Right" on hisRed, Hot, and Blue show.[62] Listeners began phoning in, eager to find out who the singer was. The interest was such that Phillips played the record repeatedly during the remaining two hours of his show. Interviewing Presley on-air, Phillips asked him what high school he attended to clarify his color for the many callers who had assumed that he was black.[63] During the next few days, the trio recorded abluegrass song,Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky", again in a distinctive style and employing ajury-riggedecho effect that Sam Phillips dubbed "slapback". A single was pressed with "That's All Right" on the A-side and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the reverse.[64]
The trio played publicly for the first time at the Bon Air club on July 17, 1954—Presley still sporting his child-size guitar.[65] At the end of the month, they appeared at theOverton Park Shell, withSlim Whitman headlining. Here Elvis pioneered 'Rubber Legs', his signature style dance movement that he is best known for.[66][67] A combination of his strong response to rhythm and nervousness at playing before a large crowd led Presley to shake his legs as he performed: his wide-cut pants emphasized his movements, causing young women in the audience to start screaming.[68] Moore recalled, "During the instrumental parts, he would back off from the mike and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild".[69] Black, a natural showman, whooped and rode his bass, hitting double licks that Presley would later remember as "really a wild sound, like a jungle drum or something".[69]
Soon after, Moore and Black left their old band, the Starlite Wranglers, to play with Presley regularly, and disc jockey/promoterBob Neal became the trio's manager. From August through October, they played frequently at the Eagle's Nest club, a dance venue on the second floor of the Clearpool recreation complex in Memphis. When Presley played his fifteen-minute sets, teenagers rushed from the pool to fill the club, then left again as the housewestern swing band resumed.[70] Presley quickly grew more confident on stage. According to Moore, "His movement was a natural thing, but he was also very conscious of what got a reaction. He'd do something one time and then he would expand on it real quick."[71] Amid these live performances, Presley returned to Sun studio for more recording sessions.[72] Presley made what would be his only appearance onNashville'sGrand Ole Opry on October 2; after a polite audience response,Opry manager Jim Denny told Phillips that his singer was "not bad" but did not suit the program.[73][74]
In November 1954, Presley performed onLouisiana Hayride—theOpry's chief, and more adventurous, rival. TheShreveport-based show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states. Presley had another attack of nerves during the first set, which drew a muted reaction. A more composed and energetic second set inspired an enthusiastic response.[75] House drummerD. J. Fontana brought a new element, complementing Presley's movements with accented beats that he had mastered playing instrip clubs.[76] Soon after the show, theHayride engaged Presley for a year's worth of Saturday-night appearances. Trading in his old guitar for $8 (and seeing it promptly dispatched to the garbage), he purchased aMartin instrument for $175 (equivalent to $2,000 in 2024) and his trio began playing in new locales, includingHouston, Texas, andTexarkana, Arkansas.[77]
Many fledgling performers, likeMinnie Pearl,Johnny Horton, andJohnny Cash, sang the praises ofLouisiana Hayride sponsorSouthern Maid Donuts, including Presley, who developed a lifelong love ofdonuts.[78] Presley made his singular product endorsement commercial for the donut company, which was never released, recording a radiojingle "in exchange for a box of hot glazed doughnuts".[79][80] Presley made his first television appearance on theKSLA-TV television broadcast ofLouisiana Hayride. Soon after, he failed an audition forArthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on theCBS television network. By early 1955, Presley's regularHayride appearances, constant touring, and well-received record releases had made him a regional star, from Tennessee to West Texas.[81][82]
In January, Neal signed a formal management contract with Presley and brought him to the attention ofColonel Tom Parker, whom he considered the best promoter in the music business. Parker, born in the Netherlands, hadimmigrated illegally to the U.S. and claimed to be fromWest Virginia; he had acquired an honorary colonel's commission from theLouisiana governor and country singer Jimmie Davis. Having successfully managed the top country starEddy Arnold, Parker was working with the new number-one country singer,Hank Snow. Parker booked Presley on Snow's February tour.[81][82] When the tour reachedOdessa, Texas, a 19-year-oldRoy Orbison saw Presley for the first time: "His energy was incredible, his instinct was just amazing. ... I just didn't know what to make of it. There was just no reference point in the culture to compare it."[41]
By August, Sun had released ten sides credited to "Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill"; on the latest recordings, the trio were joined by a drummer. Some of the songs, like "That's All Right", were in what one Memphis journalist described as the "R&B idiom of negro field jazz"; others, like "Blue Moon of Kentucky", were "more in the country field", "but there was a curious blending of the two different musics in both".[83] This blend of styles made it difficult for Presley's music to find radio airplay. According to Neal, many country-music disc jockeys would not play it because Presley sounded too much like a black artist and none of the R&B stations would touch him because "he sounded too much like ahillbilly."[84] The blend came to be known as "rockabilly". At the time, Presley was variously billed as "The King of Western Bop", "The Hillbilly Cat", and "The Memphis Flash".[85]
Presley renewed Neal's management contract in August 1955, simultaneously appointing Parker as his special adviser.[86] The group maintained an extensive touring schedule throughout the second half of the year.[87] Neal recalled, "It was almost frightening, the reaction that came to Elvis from the teenaged boys. So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him. There were occasions in some towns in Texas when we'd have to be sure to have a police guard because somebody'd always try to take a crack at him. They'd get a gang and try to waylay him or something."[88] The trio became a quartet whenHayride drummer Fontana joined as a full member. In mid-October, they played a few shows in support ofBill Haley, whose "Rock Around the Clock" track had been a number-one hit the previous year. Haley observed that Presley had a natural feel for rhythm, and advised him to sing fewer ballads.[89]
At the Country Disc Jockey Convention in early November, Presley was voted the year's most promising male artist.[90] Several record companies had by now shown interest in signing him. After three major labels made offers of up to $25,000, Parker and Phillips struck a deal withRCA Victor on November 21 to acquire Presley's Sun contract for an unprecedented $40,000.[91][a] Presley, now aged 20, was legally still a minor, so his father signed the contract.[92] Parker arranged with the owners ofHill & Range Publishing,Jean andJulian Aberbach, to create two entities, Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music, to handle all the new material recorded by Presley. Songwriters were obliged to forgo one-third of their customaryroyalties in exchange for having Presley perform their compositions.[93][b] By December, RCA had begun to heavily promote its new singer, and before month's end had reissued many of his Sun recordings.[96]
