Elvis Presley's Accomplishments

Elvis Presley was born January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi to Gladys Smith Presley and Vernon Presley. Elvis was supposed to be a twin, but his brother, Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn. His parents were part of the working class but made very little money; as a child, Elvis moved frequently due to his parents looking for jobs. Elvis’ father worked odd jobs and was once sentenced in 1938 to three years in prison for forging a four dollar check, but he stayed less than a year (Nix). After moving numerous times, the Presley family settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where the birth of Elvis’ career would take place. Elvis Presley, also known as “The King of Rock N’ Roll”, was one of the best-selling artists and on the Greatest of All Time Hot

He attended the Assembly of God with his parents; gospel music became an important influence on him. He received his first guitar as a gift on his eleventh birthday instead of a bicycle because his parents could not afford to buy one. Elvis’ first taste of musical success was when he won the talent show at his high school, Humes High School, in Memphis. In 1953, he graduated and became the first in his immediate family to earn a high school diploma. After graduating, he worked as a mechanist, but soon he would get his big break in the music industry and acting business. Elvis cut his first demo record at Sun Studio; from there, Sam Phillips, the record owner, took him under his wing. Soon, Elvis made his first single “That’s All Right (Mama)” in 1954. In 1955, he signed with RCA Records which was worked out by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. His first number one hit was “Heartbreak Hotel”, and his first number one album was Elvis Presley. In 1956, Elvis signed a movie contract with Paramount; his first film Love Me Tender (1956) was a box office hit (Elvis

He sold more than 1 billion records worldwide and about 40 percent of his music sales were outside of the United States. He starred in 31 feature films as an actor and had two theatrically released documentary films (Elvis Presley Biography, Graceland). He was one of Hollywood’s top box office draws and one of its highest paid actors. His three network television specials “Elvis (1968)”, “Elvis-Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite (1973)”, and “Elvis in Concert (1977)”, were some of the most highly rated specials of their time. Elvis has also won three Grammy Awards which were all for gospel music, 18 number one singles such as, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Suspicious Minds”, and countless platinum and gold albums. Elvis was one of the first performers inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and he later became part of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Hall of Fame, Rockabilly and the R&B Hall of