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April 25, 1912
Gladys Love Smith is born.
April 10, 1916
Vernon Elvis Presley is born.
June, 1933
Gladys Smith and Vernon Presley are married.
January 8, 1935
In Tupelo, Mississippi, shortly before dawn, in a
two-room house
built by her husband and her brother-in-law, Gladys Presley
gives birth to identical twin sons. The first, Jessie Garon, is
born dead. The second, Elvis Aaron, is born alive and healthy.
Elvis would be their only child.
1935 - 1948
Elvis grows up within a close-knit, working class family,
consisting of his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
cousins, who all live near one another in Tupelo. There is
little money, but Vernon and Gladys do their best to provide for
their son, who is the centre of their lives.
They move from one house to another in Tupelo. Elvis attends the
Assembly of God Church with his family, and the music and
preaching register deeply. Other influences are black bluesmen
in the neighbourhood and country music radio programs enjoyed by
his family.
1945
Ten-year-old Elvis stands on a chair at a microphone and sings
"Old Shep" in a youth talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama
Fair and Dairy Show, held in Tupelo. The talent show is
broadcast over WELO Radio. Second prize is $5.00 and free
admission to all the rides at the fair.
1946
Elvis’ parents cannot afford a bicycle that Elvis wants, so
Gladys talks him into accepting a guitar instead. Elvis' first
guitar costs $12.95 and is purchased at the Tupelo Hardware
Company. The bicycle would have to wait until Christmas of 1947.
Late 1948
Elvis plays his guitar and sings "Leaf on a Tree" for his Milam
Junior High class in Tupelo as a farewell. Elvis and his parents
pack their belongings in a trunk strapped to the roof of their
1939 Plymouth and move to Memphis, Tennessee in search of a
better life economically. Other members of the Presley and Smith
clan would follow.
To see more photos of Elvis
in his childhood and teen years, check the
Gallery.
1948-1953
Elvis and his parents live in public housing or low rent homes
in the poor neighbourhoods of north Memphis. Life continues to
be hard. Vernon and Gladys go from job to job and Elvis attends
L.C. Humes High School. Elvis works at various jobs to help
support himself and his parents. The Presley-Smith clan remains
close-knit, and Elvis and his family attend the Assembly of God
Church.
The teenage Elvis continues to be known for singing with his
guitar. He buys his clothes on Beale Street and he absorbs the
black blues and gospel he hears there. He’s also a regular
audience member at the all-night white, and black, gospel sings
that are held downtown. He wears his hair long (compared to the
day’s standards) and slick, and lets his sideburns grow. He’s
really different from the other kids, a good-natured misfit.
While at Humes High, Elvis nervously sings with his guitar at a
student talent show. Much to his own amazement, he gets more
applause than anyone else and wins, then performs an encore. The
acceptance feels good.
June 3, 1953
Elvis graduates from Humes High School.
1953
Elvis works at Parker Machinists Shop right after graduation.
That summer he drops by The Memphis Recording Service, home of
the Sun label and makes a demo acetate of
My Happiness and
That’s When Your Heartaches Begin for a cost of about $4.00.
(The studio came to be known as Sun Studio though never
officially named that until many years later. For simplicity
this text uses the name Sun Studio.) The studio owner isn’t in,
so his assistant, Marion Keisker handles the session.
Elvis wants to see what his voice sounds like on
a record and he has aspirations to become a professional singer.
He takes the acetate home, and reportedly gives it to his mother
as a much-belated extra birthday present. By the fall, he is
working at Precision Tool Company, and soon changes jobs again,
going to work for Crown Electric Company. At Crown, he does
various jobs, including driving a delivery truck. He also goes
to night school and studies to be an electrician.
January, 1954
Elvis makes another demo acetate at Sun. Sam Phillips, the
owner, is in this time and, like Marion Keisker, is intrigued by
this unusual looking and sounding young man.
Summer 1954
At Marion Keisker’s suggestion, Sam Phillips calls Elvis into
the studio to try singing a song Sam hopes to put out on record.
The song is "Without You" and Elvis does not sing it to Sam’s
satisfaction. Sam asks Elvis what he can sing, and Elvis runs
through a number of popular tunes. Sam is impressed enough to
team Elvis up with local musicians Scotty Moore (guitar) and
Bill Black (bass) to see if they, together, can come up with
something worthwhile. Nothing really clicks until July 5, when
after a tedious session, Elvis and the guys break into a sped-up
version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." This
song, backed with Blue Moon of Kentucky becomes the first of
five singles Elvis will release on the Sun label.
Elvis, Scotty, and Bill start performing
together, with Scotty acting as the group’s manager. Elvis
continues to work at Crown Electric as the group starts to play
small clubs and other small-time gigs locally and throughout the
South, enjoying moderate success with the records and personal
appearances.
Elvis’ one appearance on the Grand Ole Opry
doesn’t go over particularly well, with one of the Opry
officials reportedly suggesting that Elvis go back to driving a
truck. The Opry is very important at this time. This is a
painful disappointment in Elvis' early career.
Elvis, Scotty, and Bill continue to record and to travel.
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Vernon and Gladys Presley, Elvis' parents.
Elvis, with 6 years old.
The little house where Elvis was born, in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis, riding a bike (1945).
Elvis, in Lauderdale Courts, in Memphis (1948).
Sun Records Studios, in Memphis, on Union Street.
Elvis' employee card, at Precision Tool Co.
Elvis, Scotty Moore and Bill Black (1954).
Elvis, Scotty and Bill, live in Dallas (1955). |
