The King of Rock and Roll
72 years ago on October 3, a ten-year-old shy boy participated in the ‘Mississippi-Alabama Fair’ singing contest, only because his schoolteacher got really impressed when he sang a famous country song during morning prayers. He was dressed as a cowboy and it was the first time he was singing in public.
A few months later, he received his first guitar for his birthday… but he never imagined that he will became one of the most important musical icons of the 20th century: the King of Rock and Roll. With over 500 million records sold, he is the best-selling individual artist of all time!
There is lots of information online and very interesting books about this fascinating artist. I have selected only some brushstrokes and let you know the sources, so you can read more about his life.
10 curious facts you didn’t know about Elvis Presley
- Blonde… According to this article, Elvis Presley, in contrast to Marilyn Monroe, was blonde. He dyed his hair black!
- Hard school times. He was the victim of bullying at school, some mates viewed him as a ‘mama’s boy‘ (source: Wikipedia)
- Twins! Elvis Presley had a twin brother, but he died at birth, according to this page)
- No conservatories. Elvis never received formal music training or learned to read music, he played by ear and even failed a music class in High School (more info here)
- Regarding songs… He didn’t write any of his songs! (source)
- Grammys! On the Grammys webpage you can see that won three Grammys, all of them for his gospel songs
- Funny marketing ideas! In this book it is said that Elvis Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker had a particular strategy at his concerts: he used to sell both ‘I love Elvis’ and ‘I hate Elvis’ badges
- Freddie Mercury wrote “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (read this) in 10 minutes as a tribute to Elvis Presley
- Bob Dylan didn’t speak to anyone for a week after Elvis Presley died (source)
- ”17059 Elvis” is a small planet discovered in 1999 and named after the singer according to this article.