Who Was Elvis Presley?  Part 1 in a series for Elvis Presley Week

Photo of Elvis Presley from Wikipedia

Elvis Aaron Presley was born January 8,1935, into abject poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi. Although his family did not have material wealth, they were a close family (especially Elvis and his mother) and a musical family, so Elvis was exposed to music from childhood. Young Elvis began singing at an early age and received his first guitar when he was 11. 

Elvis Presley - Christian Roots

The Presley family attended the First Assembly of God Church in East Tupelo and later the First Assembly of God in Tupelo where all the three Presleys were baptized. According to Joe Moscheo, author of The Gospel Side of Elvis, Gladys Presley reported that even as a toddler, Elvis would squirm out of her lap and run down to the front of the church where the choir stood. There he would watch the choir and copy their voices and movements. Moscheo, who joined gospel music group the Imperials in 1964 and appeared with the quartet in Elvis' Las Vegas show as one of his backup groups, says that the first dream young Elvis had was to be a gospel singer (see Elvis Presley's Gospel Dream).

In an interview with www.elvis.com.au, Ray Walker of The Jordanaires, another gospel group Elvis used through the 1960s, said, "He didn't like being called 'The King.' 'The 'king of rock 'n' roll' was one thing, but not 'The King.'" Walker stated that Elvis Presley once said, "There's only one king, and that's Jesus Christ."

Elvis Presley - Nashville Ties

Elvis was not an overnight success. On October 2, 1954, a teenage Elvis Presley made his first and only performance on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville where he received a lukewarm response. This was followed by other public appearances where he received a less than enthusiastic response. His career began to take off, however, when Presley made his first recordings for RCA in Nashville, on January 10, 1956 (Wikipedia).

Elvis Presley - Honors

While Elvis went on to perform and combine several styles of music, including rock and roll, blues, country, ballads and pop, he also became a respected Grammy-winning gospel singer. Whether performing rock and roll, country, rockabilly or gospel music, Elvis Presley was one of the best selling solo artists in music history, setting records for concerts, TV ratings and record sales. He has been inducted into four music Halls of Fame: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1997, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Elvis Presley - Death

Health issues and drugs played a part in the death of Elvis Presley at age 42 on August 16, 1977 from a heart attack. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, next to his mother, but following an attempt to steal his body, Elvis' and his mother's remains were moved to Graceland, the home and final resting place of music legend, Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley Week

Now Elvis Presley Week is celebrated every year in Memphis, Tennessee, at Graceland during the anniversary week of his death. Click here for more details.

More of the Elvis Week series at:

Part 2: The Gospel According to Elvis Presley: Elvis' gospel recordings (gospel videos included

Part 3: Top ten similarities between Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson

Part 4: Elvis Presley: the 'King of Rock 'n Roll' and a real doll (with slideshow of Elvis dolls)

Elvis Presley - 75th birthday memories of the King of Rock 'n Roll