I know its a few weeks past what would have been his birthday, but Elvis has been on my mind alot this week. so this weeks column is about "The King."

Elvis Aaron Presley was born January 8th 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys and Vernon Presley. Even his birth is the stuff legends are made of. He was born a twin. His brother Jesse was stillborn. Everyone has said that even from an early age Elvis loved nothing better then to go to church with his parents and sing. He gave his first notable public performance at the age of 8, when he won a local singing contest. The song he sang was Red Foleys "Old Shep."

In his early teen years Elvis and his family had to move to the place that will for ever more be known as their home Memphis, Tennessee. It was in Memphis that Elvis became aware of Sun Recording Studios, and went there to make a recording as a birthday gift for his mother. The songs he sang were The Inkspots "My Happiness," and the standard "That's Where Your Heartaches Begin." Sam Phillips after hearing Elvis' voice knew that he really had something, and took Elvis under his wing, so to speak, and they started to record. Elvis' first official Sun recordings were "That's Alright Mama," backed by Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and "Good Rocking Tonight," backed by "I Don't Care If The Sun Dont Shine." It was around this time that Elvis made his first and last Grand Old Opry appearance. He was told by the unimpressed manager of the Opry to get on back to driving truck, that he would never make it in the music business. This so crushed Elvis' hopes and dreams that he almost did just that, however, he started making successful appearances on The Louisiana Hayride around this time which boosted his spirits considerably.

It's pretty amazing considering what some music stars get away with today, that Elvis had people so freaked out. Preachers condemned him and his "jungle" music. Girls screamed and fainted. All he did was jiggle his leg and wiggle his hips. Back then, that was unheard of, and was considered blatantly sexual. I have heard that my Grandfather hated Elvis. If he could only have lived to see some of the rock stars of today, such as Ricky Martin "Shaking His Bon Bon." After seeing that Grandpa would have become a card carrying member of Elvis' fan club.

In January of 1956 after Tom Parker had taken over management of Elvis' Career, Elvis made his first recordings for RCA. It was then that one of Elvis' biggest hits was released; "Heartbreak Hotel." It's interesting to note that Floyd Cramer, one of my favorite country instrumentalists, played piano on "Heartbreak." Elvis scored his second #1 shortly after with "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," followed by "Hounddog."

It was around this time that Elvis made the first of many movies. "Love Me Tender," the movie and the song, were loved by fans and as would become the pattern, panned by critics. He made three other movies in the next three years, "Loving You," "Jailhouse Rock," and "King Creole."

In 1958, Uncle Sam sent Elvis a "fan letter," and he went off to Germany to serve his country. It's interesting to note that the man who inducted Elvis into the army was the future father of Elvis' last fiancée Ginger Alden.

Elvis finished his time in the army and came back to the States to face a whole new batch of male singers, including the Beatles. But Elvis fans were quick to assure him that he hadn't been forgotten, and continued to buy his albums and see his movies.

1968 was the year that the "Elvis Comeback Special" was aired on TV. Dressed in black leather, Elvis belted out his songs and reestablished himself as a force to be reckoned with in the music business.

The 70s weren't such a good time for Elvis, due to bad health, rumored drug abuse, and many say, a broken heart after the end of his marriage. Elvis released alot of live lackluster concert albums instead of any new material. It was all to come to a sad end on one hot August day in Memphis when Elvis was rushed to the hospital after having apparently suffering a heart attack. Soon after the announcement of his death people began to flock to Memphis from around the world and gather around the gates of Graceland to mourn for the man they called "The King."

Current Releases:

• "Good Rockin' Tonight" (Elvis Louisiana Hayride performances)
• "The Country Collection" (includes a previously unreleased version of "Snowbird")