On the 40th anniversary of his death, Event presents a glorious pictorial tribute from the family’s private Graceland archive
He was labelled ‘Elvis the Pelvis’ for the onstage gyrations that drove his teenage fans to distraction. Others called him ‘swivel hips’. In the end, however, Elvis Presley was known simply as The King of Rock ’n’ Roll – a mantle that has stuck to this day.
Now, on the 40th anniversary of his death in 1977 at the age of 42, the Presley family has released Elvis, The Legend, with unique images from the family-owned archives, detailing every aspect of his life.
Not many stars, particularly in the Fifties, were known only by one name. But Elvis was always different. His musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. But he loved all music, and was a perfectionist who never stopped till the sound was perfect – he did 31 takes of Hound Dog before he was convinced he’d got it right.
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Elvis loved all music, and was a perfectionist who never stopped till the sound was perfect – he did 31 takes of Hound Dog before he was convinced he’d got it right
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The Presley family has released Elvis, The Legend, with unique images from the family-owned archives, detailing every aspect of his life
With his pegged trousers, leather jackets and jumpsuits – devised so he could more comfortably display the kung-fu kicks he had mastered after studying the martial art since his time in the army – he also developed his own iconic style including the slicked back hair which made him look like the truck driver he once was in his youth. Indeed he went on to define what it meant to be a rock star: he had his own custom-made jewellery and sunglasses, a lavish Southern mansion, planes, trains and a fleet of luxury cars.
He was devoted to his mother Gladys and was determined to rescue his family from the poverty they had known through most of his youth. At her graveside he sobbed: ‘Oh God. Everything I have is gone.’
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Elvis poses in his army uniform at Graceland in 1959. While serving in Germany he was allowed to live off base with his father and grandmother. He also employed a secretary to answer fan mail and signed autographs every evening for the fans who gathered outside
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Elvis’s talent, good looks, sensuality and self-deprecating humour endeared him to millions – and that musical legacy lives on today
Elvis starred in 33 successful films and has sold over one billion records – more than any other artist. His talent, good looks, sensuality and self-deprecating humour endeared him to millions – and that musical legacy lives on today.
Over the following pages Event pays tribute to The King, with never-before-seen images, personal details and very private tributes for a man the world remembers simply as Elvis.
‘Elvis: The Legend’ by Gillian G Gaar is published on August 10 by Carlton Books, priced £25. Offer price £18.75 (25% discount with free p&p) until August 6. Pre-order at mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640
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On the front lawn of Graceland in 1957, the year he bought it for $102,500. He loved the mansion for its privacy, adding gates with huge musical notes at the front entrance
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Elvis plays touch football in 1956
A poverty-stricken childhood, his stillborn twin… and a rocky start to the career of the man who would be rock ’n’ roll’s King
1930s /40s Born on January 8, 1935, in a two-room shotgun shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, the future King was a twin.
Elvis’s brother, Jesse, was stillborn, and pain over the sibling he never knew would ‘tear up his head’ in later life. He grew up a ‘mama’s boy’, devoted to his mother, Gladys, and close to his father, Vernon, who during Elvis’s early childhood served time in jail for cheque fraud.
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Elvis aged two with his mother and father – the photograph was later used on the cover of Elvis Country
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Elvis with parents Gladys and Vernon (his father had a cameo in Live A Little, Love A Little)
A tall, shy child, at the age of ten Presley gave his first public performance, singing Old Shep in front of several hundred people at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, dressed in a cowboy suit and standing on a chair to reach the microphone.
Soon after, he was gifted his first guitar on his 11th birthday. In 1948 the family moved 100 miles southeast to a small apartment in Poplar Avenue, Memphis.
Rumour had it that Vernon was involved in a moonshine racket and had to leave town fast. ‘We were broke, man,’ Elvis later recalled. ‘We just left overnight. Things had to be better.’
From hillbilly to soldier, husband, father… and rock sensation
1950s
Elvis began the decade a poor ‘hillbilly’ and ended it the most famous face on the planet. Working odd jobs, from cinema usher to truck driver, he began exploring the Memphis music scene on Beale Street, home to the R&B clubs.
Slicking back his long hair with Vaseline he cut an eccentric figure, often singled out for ridicule. In 1953, he recorded an acetate of My Happiness at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios in downtown Memphis.
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Elvis in the woods in an army exercise in 1958; the army frequently sent him on manoeuvres to keep him at arms’ length from fans
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Elvis and singer Ann Margret on the set of Viva Las Vegas in 1963
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Elvis relaxing backstage and reading fan mail in 1957
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in 1956, learning that his music was to be banned in Canada. His response: ‘A lot of people like it’
‘Who do you sound like?’ he was asked. ‘I don’t sound like nobody,’ he replied.
A year later, on July 5, 1954, Presley was back to record his version of That’s Alright Mama – and everything changed forever. The song was a sensation. A string of hysteria-fuelled local shows and regional hits followed.
Signing to RCA in 1956 was the final step. Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog unleashed international Elvismania, accelerated by his teen-corrupting gyrations on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The same year, Elvis made the first of 33 feature films, Love Me Tender, and in the next 24 months scored ten No 1 singles.
The momentum barely ceased when he was drafted for military service in March 1958. He spent two years stationed in Germany, but manager Colonel Tom Parker ensured there was enough product stockpiled to keep Elvis flying high.
1960s
John Lennon’s quote that ‘Elvis died when he went into the army’ was typically barbed but not entirely baseless.
Elvis performs one of his legendary Las Vegas sets in 1970
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Elvis during his 1968 Comeback Special on NBC
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Above: Elvis marries Priscilla Beaulieu on May 1, 1967 at the Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas followed by a lavish reception. He’d first met her in Germany when she was just 14
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Elvis and Priscilla show off Lisa Marie in a family portrait
Yet there was no shortage of highlights. In 1967 he married Priscilla Beaulieu. A year later their daughter Lisa-Marie arrived.
There were many unforgettable songs, a handful of decent films and the legendary 1968 Comeback Special, in which the King reclaimed his throne.
From Elvis In Memphis, his best album, was released in June 1969, while his run of hits included If I Can Dream, In The Ghetto and Suspicious Minds, some of his greatest songs.
Gaudy rhinestone-studded jumpsuits. Bizarre karate poses. Junk food. Drug bloat
1970s
Elvis’s final decade is overshadowed by the weird stuff – being made an honorary narcotics agent by President Richard Nixon being perhaps the oddest escapade – yet it started with promise.
His concerts were wildly popular, he recorded The Wonder Of You, Burning Love and Always On My Mind, and his revved-up version of Chuck Berry’s Promised Land proved he could still rock with a vengeance. And he was still thin.
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Elvis sings in the 1970 documentary That’s The Way It Is, made by director Denis Sanders
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Practising karate and performing in his signature rhinestone suit in 1976, just a year before he died
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His concerts were wildly popular, he recorded The Wonder Of You, Burning Love and Always On My Mind, and his revved-up version of Chuck Berry’s Promised Land proved he could still rock with a vengeance
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In 1973 Elvis and Priscilla amicably divorced. This picture shows them leaving the courthouse hand in hand following a short hearing on October 9
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Elvis with Sammy Davis Jr backstage in Elvis’s dressing room after his opening night at the International Hotel, Las Vegas in 1970
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Elvis poses for the pictures needed for the honorary police badge he received from the Denver Police in 1970. He met many police officers on the road when he was touring and he loved adding a new badge to his collection
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The last picture of Elvis, in his coffin, which ran on the front page of the National Enquirer on September 6, 1977.
The final years, however, were painful. His marriage ended in 1972, and he became addicted to a dizzying variety of prescription drugs. His weight ballooned and his live performances became erratic. He’d stumble, slur and ramble, and had difficulty breathing.
The final show took place in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977, after which Elvis retreated to Graceland, where he lived in seclusion, sleeping through the days. Debilitated by high blood pressure, liver damage, an enlarged colon, glaucoma, migraines and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Elvis died on the afternoon of August 16, 1977, aged 42, suffering heart failure in the bathroom.
The King was dead. Long live The King.
