From a dirt-poor Mississippi kid who failed music class to the undisputed King of Rock and Roll — Elvis changed everything.
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother, Jesse Garon, was stillborn just 35 minutes before Elvis arrived. The family was so poor they relied on neighbors and government food assistance to survive.
In eighth grade, Elvis received a C in music class, and his teacher told him he had no aptitude for singing. He proved her wrong by bringing in his guitar and performing on the spot — and would go on to sell an estimated 500 million records worldwide.
Elvis began his career at Sun Records in 1954, where producer Sam Phillips was searching for someone who could bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. On the night of July 5, Elvis spontaneously launched into Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right," and Phillips knew instantly he'd found what he was looking for.
His unique blend of country and rhythm and blues — soon dubbed "rockabilly" — was so genre-defying that country DJs wouldn't play it because he sounded too Black, while R&B stations rejected him for sounding too much like a hillbilly. This revolutionary fusion helped birth rock and roll.
Elvis's electrifying stage presence was partly born from nervousness. His legs shook while performing, and his wide-cut pants amplified the movement, sending teenage girls into screaming fits. He quickly learned to channel and expand on whatever got the biggest reaction.
His first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel," was released in January 1956 and shot to number one. Within a single year, RCA Victor sold ten million Elvis singles, making him the undisputed leading figure of the rock and roll revolution.
Elvis made his film debut in November 1956 with Love Me Tender, launching a Hollywood career that would span decades. Some of his most iconic films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964).
In 1973, Elvis made broadcast history with "Aloha from Hawaii" — the first concert by a solo artist to be beamed around the world via satellite. Yet years of substance abuse and unhealthy eating took their toll, and he died at Graceland on August 16, 1977, at just 42 years old.
Elvis won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. He holds records for the most RIAA-certified gold and platinum albums and the most number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart.