Elvis Presley Remembered

A Humble Beginning (1935)

In the predawn hours of Jan. 8, 1935, Gladys Smith Presley awoke to intense labor pains and rallied her husband, Vernon, to summon the doctor to their two-room home in Tupelo, Miss. Pregnant with twins, Gladys was devastated when the first boy, Jesse Garon, was delivered stillborn. Then at 4:35 a.m., Jesse’s brother, Elvis Aaron, made his way uneventfully into the world. The little frame house is now a main attraction at the Elvis Presley Birthplace, Museum and Park. 

The Baby King (1937)

At age 2, a wide-eyed Elvis posed for his first formal portrait with his parents. Once his singing catapulted him to the national stage in the late '50s, he would become one of the most photographed men of all time. 

The Talent and the Tastemaker (1955)

Elvis rose from a regional act to an international sensation through the promotional efforts of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. A former carnival pitchman, the wily Parker knew what drew customers into the big tent, even though Hollywood producers and New York talent agents were initially loath to take a chance on the swivel-hipped singer that he called “my attraction.” 

The Stars Come Out (1956) 

When Elvis first went to Los Angeles to make movies, he was embraced by the friends of his late hero, James Dean. This included Nick Adams and Natalie Wood (above), who came to Memphis to visit Elvis late in 1956 at his home on Audubon Drive. Elvis would go on to date a number of Hollywood actresses, most notably Ann-Margret, his costar in 1964’s Viva Las Vegas. 

Going to Graceland (1957)

After neighbors complained about Elvis’s ever-present fans, the singer bought a mansion in the Whitehaven section of Memphis in March 1957. Built in 1939 for physician Thomas D. Moore and his wife, Ruth, the property comprised about 15 acres of towering oaks and farmland and undulating grounds that buffered the house from uninvited guests. 

You’re in the Army Now (1958)

After basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, Elvis sailed to West Germany in September 1958 to serve his country. He left with a heavy heart — his mother had died the previous month, and he was terrified that rock 'n' roll would fade during his time away. “How do you feel?" a reporter asked him as he boarded a troop train. “I just feel sad,” Elvis replied. 

'We Do!'  (1967)

In September 1959, Elvis met 14-year old Priscilla Beaulieu, the stepdaughter of an Air Force captain, when she attended a party at his house off base. When they were introduced, “he jumped out of that chair like he was sitting on a hot plate,” a friend remembers. They dated until his return to the States and years later married at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas on May 1, 1967. 

Rock’s Royal Offspring (1968)

On Feb. 1, 1968, nine months to the day after their wedding, the Presleys welcomed their only child, Lisa Marie. Elvis was an indulgent father and loved to buy his daughter showy gifts. Her favorite: a round bed made of fake fur, with a built-in radio and a mirror on top. He often slept in it when Lisa was away with her mother. 

The Memphis Mafia (1970)

Elvis developed an interest in law enforcement and loved to collect badges. On Dec. 28, 1970, Shelby County Sheriff Roy C. Nixon deputized him and his entourage, known as the Memphis Mafia, at Graceland. From left, standing: Billy Smith, former Sheriff Bill Morris, Lamar Fike, Jerry Schilling, Sheriff Roy C. Nixon, Vernon Presley, Charlie Hodge, Sonny West, George Klein and Marty Lacker. From left, front row: George Nichopoulos and Red West. 

Elvis and Nixon (1970) 

In December 1970, on a commercial airliner bound for Washington, D.C., Elvis got a wild idea to visit Richard Nixon at the White House, hoping that the president would make him a federal agent at large. Nixon wasn’t keen on the meeting but took it anyway. The oddly matched men soon found out that they liked each other. “You dress kind of strange, don’t you?” Nixon teased his guest. “Well, Mr. President,” Elvis said with a smile. “You got your show, and I got mine.” 

Linda Thompson: Last Serious Girlfriend (1972-1976)

After Elvis and Priscilla legally separated in July 1972, Elvis began dating 22-year-old Memphis beauty queen Linda Thompson. Their relationship lasted four years, during which Linda acted as wife, mother and nurse to the star, who suffered from myriad health problems. She went on to marry Olympian Bruce Jenner and music producer David Foster, and to have her own career as an actress and songwriter. 

The Jet Set 

Once a nervous flier, Elvis had traveled to his tour dates in the '70s on private planes that he had customized with gold-plated bathroom fixtures and accoutrements fit for a King. The Lisa Marie (named after his daughter) and the Hound Dog II, long parked at Graceland after Elvis’ death, were set to be relocated in 2014 — but fans successfully petitioned that they be kept there as permanent fixtures. In 2015, Lisa Marie (the person) tweeted what Elvis enthusiasts wanted to hear: “The planes will remain at Graceland 4 ever!" 

The Final Curtain 

Upon his death on Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis was interred in a mausoleum at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, alongside his mother. For security reasons, the two were later reburied in Graceland’s Meditation Garden, where Vernon Presley and his mother, Minnie Mae Presley, would eventually join them. The site also features a memorial gravestone for Jesse Garon, Elvis' stillborn twin. More than 650,000 people visit the graves each year. 

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