Elvis remembered

Chamikara Weerasinghe

'Billy, son,' said Elvis Presley, 'This is gonna be my best tour ever.' Elvis was referring to his upcoming series of concerts. Billy was his first cousin and assistant. These were Presley's last words to anyone outside of Graceland before his death.

The singer died on August 16, 1977 in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

He is to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Graceland around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning, The king of Rock and Roll is dead of heart failure and drug abuse. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a matter of hours the shock registers around the world.

Millions of Elvis fans around the world commemorated his thirty second death anniversary on Monday, August 18. Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in association with the Elvis Fan Club in Sri Lanka aired songs of Elvis on this day. The local TV stations telecast concerts of Elvis. The experience was more like the superstar came out from his hiding.

Just as everybody thought he was dead, he was very much alive. Girls swooned. Music shop keepers found their racks of Presley CDs and DVDs empty the very next day. Most of them were bought by youth, they confessed.

The blueprint

Elvis not only changed the music scene forever, he laid a firm footing for the other musicians and singers to tread on the path of musical stardom. He served as a blueprint that others have to recreate his style and method to emulate if they wanted success. He has a tremendous effect on all the successful musicians of the time who reached the pinnacle of super stardom.

This is what John Lennon of The Beatles had to say about his being influenced by Elvis:

'It was Elvis who really got me buying records. I thought that early stuff of his was great. The Bill Haley era passed me by, in a way. When his records came on the wireless, my mother used to hear them, but they didn't do anything for me. It was Elvis who got me hooked on beat music. When I heard Heartbreak Hotel, I thought 'this is it' and I started to grow sideboards and all that gear...'

Presley has sold more than a billion records worldwide, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honourably served his country in the U.S. Army. he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. They moved to Memphis. Elvis' musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis.

In film

In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation.

Elvis starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas.

His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humour endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. important figures of twentieth century popular culture. 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, October 3, 1945. The talent show is broadcast over WELO Radio. Fifth prize is $5.00 and free admission to all the rides at the fair. His mother, Gladys talked him into accepting his first guitar instead of bicycle he wanted in 1946. Elvis' first guitar costs $12.95 and is purchased at the Tupelo Hardware Company.

1948-1953 Elvis and his parents lived in public housing or low rent homes in the poor neighbourhoods of north Memphis.

Vernon and Gladys went from job to job as Elvis attended L.C. Humes High School. Elvis worked at various jobs to help support himself and his parents. The teenage Elvis was to be known for singing with his guitar. He absorbed the black blues and gospel he heard 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. He was interested in karate , shotokan technique, an interest he developed from while in the army. Hen received his first degree black belt in karate in 1960, March.

GI Blues

In October 1960,his soundtrack album for GI Blues entered the Billboard album chart. It remained number one for ten weeks and stayed on the chart for 111 weeks. It is to be the most successful album of Elvis' entire career on the Billboard charts.

However, Blue Hawaii was the biggest selling album during Elvis' life, selling 2 million copies in the first 12 months.

On May 1,1967, Elvis married Priscilla.

Elvis and Priscilla bought their first home in Beverly Hill at 1174 Hillcrest, for $400,000 in November that year. Priscilla gave birth to Lisa Marie Presley nine months to the day after her marriage to Elvis.

Elvis was deeply distressed by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968. Elvis had been a long-time admirer and often quotes his 'I Have A Dream' speech. Robert Kennedy was also killed that year. Elvis' thoughts and feelings on the losses of both Dr. King and Robert Kennedy led to a song being written for him to sing in his upcoming TV special.

Sgt. Elvis

68 Special

Elvis rehearsed for the taping of his first television special. A press conference was held on June 25th. Videotaping was done June 27, 28, 29, and 30. Commonly referred to as The '68 Special or The '68 Comeback. the actual name of this landmark television special was Elvis.

Aloha from Hawaii January 1973

Elvis made television and entertainment history with his Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii - Via Satellite special. Performed at the Honolulu International Centre Arena on January 14, 1973, broadcast live at 12:30 AM Hawaiian time, beamed via Globe cam Satellite to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, South Vietnam and other countries. It is seen on a delayed basis in around thirty European countries. He had many touring engagements after that.

Elvis and Linda Thompson, his steady girlfriend since 1972, split up.

November 19, 1976 Elvis meets Ginger Alden who will be his steady girlfriend until his death.

November 24-30, 1976 December 2-12, 1976, Elvis played at the Hilton in Vegas for what will turn out to be the last time.

CBS special 'Elvis In Concert' aired. The album sold 1.5 million copies.