Elvis Presley Trivia

Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll

• Born in 1935 in Mississippi to a poor, working-class family.
• Was an only child; his twin died at birth.
• Moved to a predominantly Black American neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 13 in 1948.
• Signed by Sun Records in Memphis at 19 in 1954.
• First hit single was "That's All Right".
• Became an international sensation by 21, starring in his first movie, Love Me Tender, in 1956.
• Drafted into the army for two years of national service at 23 in 1958.
• Starred in 33 movies between 1960 and 1968.
• Married Priscilla Beaulieu at 32 in 1967, with whom he had his only child, Lisa-Marie, in 1968.
• In 1969, performed a four-week, 57-show engagement in Las Vegas as an international superstar.
• From 1969-1973, he was at his peak, wearing capes and karate suits during energetic stage performances, maintaining a grueling show schedule.
• Continued shows from 1973-1977 while increasingly relying on prescription drugs.
• Died suddenly of a heart attack at 42 in 1977, shocking the world.
• Sold more than a billion records, becoming the biggest-selling solo artist of all time.
• He sent audiences wild by shaking his legs and swiveling his hips.
• Good-looking and charismatic with a great sense of humor, all of which electrified his performances.
• He shook popular music by fusing rhythm and blues, pop, country, and gospel music.

Musical Influences

• Arthur Crudup (1905-1974): Delta blues singer and guitarist who wrote songs used by Elvis.
• Rufus Thomas (1917-2001): Pioneer of American popular music.

Elvis's Legacy

• Known as "The King of Rock-and-Roll" or "The King".
• One of the most impersonated celebrities, with an estimated 80,000 people making a living impersonating him.
• Got his first guitar for his 12th birthday.
• Elvis's natural hair color was sandy blond but he dyed it black for a movie in 1956 and kept it that way.
• Was a black belt in karate.
• More people (1.5 billion viewers) watched Elvis's Aloha From Hawaii concert on TV than watched the first moon landing (600 million viewers).
• Recorded more than 600 songs but only wrote or cowrote 10.
• Some of Elvis's jewel-encrusted jumpsuits weighed more than 26 lb (12 kg).
• Graceland, his home, has become a pilgrimage site, attracting half a million visitors annually and is the second-most visited home in the US, after the White House.
• He was prescribed drugs to help him sleep and overcome anxiety, and these contributed to a heart attack.
• More than 80,000 people lined the processional route from his home in Graceland to the Forest Hill Cemetery.
• His remains were later moved back to Graceland after someone tried to steal his body.

The Beatles: Rock and Roll Revolutionaries

• Formed in 1957 in Liverpool, UK by John Lennon, then 16.
• Paul McCartney (15) and George Harrison (14) joined in 1958 on guitar.
• They renamed themselves The Beatles in 1960 and played rock-and-roll.
• Brian Epstein became their manager in 1962, guiding their career until his death in 1967.
• Ringo Starr replaced original drummer Pete Best for their first recording session.
• First hit single was "Love Me Do," produced by George Martin.
• Released their first album, Please Please Me, in 1963.
• On their first US tour in 1964, they were met with Beatlemania.
• Paul McCartney left in 1970, citing "personal, business, and musical differences," leading to the band's quiet end.
• The Fab Four's arrival on the music scene in the 1960s triggered a musical revolution.
• Music was the perfect accompaniment to the social revolution of the time, which set the youth of the world alight.
• The Beatles inspired a frenzy among their teenage fans, especially during the early years of their success.
• Teenage girls would try to mob them wherever they went, and sometimes they literally had to run to escape.

Musical Influences

• Everly Brothers (Don and Phil): Country-influenced rock-and-roll performers who sang in close harmony.
• Buddy Holly: Inspired by Elvis Presley, a pioneer of rock-and-roll music; The Beatles named themselves partly in homage to Holly's band, The Crickets.

A Powerful Partnership

• John Lennon and Paul McCartney were extraordinary songwriters who, between 1962 and 1969, wrote around 180 jointly credited songs.
• Many Beatles' songs are mostly the work of one or the other but they bounced ideas off each other and often ended up putting some of the other's ideas into their songs.
• This meant they could be competitive but also gain inspiration from each other.
• The merging of ideas of these two great talents is often said to be the key reason for the Beatles' huge success.

The Summer of Love

• Music by The Beatles was played throughout the so-called "Summer of Love," 1967, when hippie culture spread around the world.
• Peace, free love, and communal living were the reigning ideas of the time.
• The Beatles released music that was perfectly in tune with the times including Strawberry Fields Forever and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as their film Magical Mystery Tour.
• But their song that summed up the mood most of all was All You Need Is Love.

The Yellow Submarine

• In 1968, The Beatles released an animated musical film called Yellow Submarine.
• The film revolves around the music-hating Blue Meanies taking over Pepperland and The Beatle's bizarre journey back to Pepperland to restore love and music.

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