Elvis Presley

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Elvis Presley in a black leather outfit singing into a microphone on stage during the 1968 Comeback Special, with seated audience members behind him.

Elvis Presley performing on stage at the Mississippi-Alabama Fairgrounds in Tupelo, Mississippi, as an enthusiastic crowd reaches toward him.

Small white wooden house with a front porch and steps, known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Presley family

Brick exterior of Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, with large painted signs and a giant guitar above the entrance, photographed in warm evening light.

Yellow Sun Records vinyl single labeled Milkcow Blues Boogie by Elvis Presley, photographed at Sun Studio, Memphis, with a rooster illustration and bold SUN lettering.

“You're a Heartbreaker”

Recording studio interior at Sun Studio in Memphis with musical instruments, drum set, amplifiers, and large black-and-white photos of musicians on the walls.

Elvis Presley sings into a microphone on stage beside bass player Bill Black, with a Louisiana Hayride sign visible in the background.

Colonel Tom Parker, seated at a desk with a pipe and typewriter, sits next to Elvis Presley, who wears a plaid jacket, in an office with wood-paneled walls and dog artwork.

At a Glance

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Elvis Presley summary

Elvis Presley: Media

American singer and actor who rose from rags to riches to become “the King of Rock ’n’ Roll”

Videos

The true story of Priscilla Presley and Elvis

The true story of Priscilla Presley and Elvis

Priscilla Ann Beaulieu became famous when she married “the King of Rock 'n' Roll,”...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

East and West German Cultural Changes: 1950s Music, Fashion, and More

East and West German Cultural Changes: 1950s Music, Fashion, and More

Learn about cultural changes in East and West Germany during the 1950s.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Badboo/Dreamstime.com; © 1957 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; TV Radio Mirror Magazine, March 1957

Images

Elvis Presley in a black leather outfit singing into a microphone on stage during the 1968 Comeback Special, with seated audience members behind him.

The King of Rock 'n' Roll

Elvis Presley performing in the TV special Elvis: The Comeback Special (1968).

National Broadcasting Company

Elvis Presley performing on stage at the Mississippi-Alabama Fairgrounds in Tupelo, Mississippi, as an enthusiastic crowd reaches toward him.

The young Elvis Presley, 1956

Elvis Presley performing live at the Mississippi-Alabama Fairgrounds in Tupelo, Mississippi,...

TV Radio Mirror Magazine, March 1957

Small white wooden house with a front porch and steps, known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Elvis Presley's birthplace

The birthplace of Elvis Presley, Tupelo, Mississippi.

Carol M. Highsmith—Photographs in the Ben May Charitable Trust Collection of Mississippi Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-highsm-49052)

The Presley family

The Presley family

Elvis Presley as a child with his parents, Gladys and Vernon Presley.

© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Brick exterior of Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, with large painted signs and a giant guitar above the entrance, photographed in warm evening light.

Sun Studio

Exterior of Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee.

© urmoments/Shutterstock.com

Yellow Sun Records vinyl single labeled Milkcow Blues Boogie by Elvis Presley, photographed at Sun Studio, Memphis, with a rooster illustration and bold SUN lettering.

Elvis Presley's single “Milkcow Blues Boogie”

“Milkcow Blues Boogie” was recorded by Elvis Presley and released by Sun Records...

© urmoments/Shutterstock.com

“You're a Heartbreaker”

“You're a Heartbreaker”

Original 45rpm record of Elvis Presley's “You're a Heartbreaker,” recorded at Sun...

Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images

Recording studio interior at Sun Studio in Memphis with musical instruments, drum set, amplifiers, and large black-and-white photos of musicians on the walls.

Interior of Sun Studio

The interior of Sam Phillips's Memphis Recording Service, pictured in 2010. Sun Studio,...

© urmoments/Shutterstock.com

Elvis Presley sings into a microphone on stage beside bass player Bill Black, with a Louisiana Hayride sign visible in the background.

Elvis Presley on the Louisiana Hayride tour

Rock and roll singer Elvis Presley performing with his bass player Bill Black on...

© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Colonel Tom Parker, seated at a desk with a pipe and typewriter, sits next to Elvis Presley, who wears a plaid jacket, in an office with wood-paneled walls and dog artwork.

Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley

Pictured here in the mid-1950s are Colonel Tom Parker (left) and Elvis Presley in...

© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock

Publicity still of Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957).

© 1957 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.; photograph, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Elvis Presley in an orange shirt poses in front of a brick wall in a promotional still from the 1965 film Girl Happy.

Girl Happy

Elvis Presley, promotional still from Girl Happy (1965), directed by Boris...

© 1965 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Elvis joins the army

Elvis joins the army

Elvis Presley standing with a group of young men at an induction center as they are...

© Hulton Archive—Archive Photos/Getty Images

Sergeant Presley returns home

Sergeant Presley returns home

Elvis Presley waving to fans as he disembarks from a train at Union Station in Memphis,...

© Charles Nicholas—The Commercial Appeal/Imagn Images

Comeback for the King

Comeback for the King

Elvis Presley performing on the television show Elvis: The Comeback Special...

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Elvis Presley in a jeweled white jumpsuit sings into a microphone and holds a guitar onstage during his Aloha from Hawaii concert in 1973.

“Aloha from Hawaii” concert

Elvis Presley performing onstage during his “Aloha from Hawaii” concert at the International...

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Nixon and Elvis

Nixon and Elvis

Elvis Presley (right) meeting U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the...

Oliver F. Atkins—White House Photo/Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

Front view of Graceland, Elvis Presley's former home in Memphis, Tennessee, showing its stone facade, white columns, green shutters, and manicured landscaping.

Graceland

Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

© Wiktor Wojtas/Dreamstime.com

White hearse carrying Elvis Presley leads a funeral motorcade, followed by police motorcycles, as people stand respectfully along a tree-lined street.

Elvis Presley's funeral

Motorcade with Elvis Presley's hearse in August 1977, Memphis, Tennessee.

Gilbert UZAN—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Elvis Presley, 1956

Elvis Presley, 1956

From 1956 through 1958, Elvis Presley dominated the pop music charts and ushered...

Picture Lux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy

Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash perform together in Sun Studios, Memphis, with Presley seated at a piano and the others gathered around him.

The Million Dollar Quartet

Jerry Lee Lewis (left), Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash recording an...

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley dance together in a scene from the film Viva Las Vegas, with Ann-Margret in a sweater and pants and Elvis in a light-colored suit.

Viva Las Vegas

Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas (1964).

© 1964 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.; photograph from a private collection

Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley sit together on their wedding day, with Priscilla in a bridal gown and veil and Elvis in a tuxedo, holding hands and smiling.

Priscilla Presley and Elvis Presley, 1967

After a courtship that began in Germany in 1959, Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley...

Bettmann/Getty Images

Elvis Presley seated at Graceland with members of his entourage, the Memphis Mafia, all holding sheriff badges and posing together in formal attire, December 21, 1970.

Elvis and the Memphis Mafia

Elvis Presley (sitting, center) with members of the Memphis Mafia and his father...

© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Elvis Presley walks on the lawn in front of the white-columned entrance of his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, wearing a light short-sleeve shirt and white pants.

The King at Graceland

Elvis Presley at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, c. 1957.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Graceland

Graceland

Elvis Presley's home from 1957 to 1977, Graceland is one of Memphis's major tourist...

Martin Haase

Judy Tyler as Peggy Van Alden sits on a desk, Elvis Presley as Vince Everett stands behind her, and Peter Adams as Jack Lease operates recording equipment in a scene from Jailhouse Rock.

Jailhouse Rock

Judy Tyler and Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957), directed by Richard...

© 1957 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Elvis Presley, holding a ukulele, sings to Joan Blackman, who sits on a rock in a yellow swimsuit, in a beach scene from the film Blue Hawaii.

Blue Hawaii

Elvis Presley and Joan Blackman in Blue Hawaii (1961).

© 1961 by Hal B. Wallis and Joseph H. Hazen, Paramount Pictures Corporation; photograph from a private collection

Colonel Tom Parker, wearing a suit and hat, stands talking with Elvis Presley, dressed casually, on the outdoor set of the film Change of Habit in 1969.

The Colonel and the King

Colonel Tom Parker (left) and Elvis Presley on the set of Presley's 1969 film Change...

© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Nancy Sinatra, holding an electric guitar, stands in front of Elvis Presley, who has his arms around her, in a lively dance scene from the movie Speedway.

Nancy Sinatra and Elvis Presley

Nancy Sinatra and Elvis Presley in a scene from the 1968 musical action film Speedway.

FilmPublicityArchive—United Archives/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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