33 years after his death, he is still always on our mind. Lets pays homage to The King with 30 weird and wonderful facts from the life of the man who embodied rock ‘n’ roll.
1. Elvis was a black belt in karate. He took up martial arts under the shotokan sensei Jürgen Seydal, while fulfilling his military duties in Germany in 1958. He was awarded his black belt before he returned to the United States, in 1960, by the chito-ryu instructor Hank Slemansky. Elvis’s love of martial arts continued throughout his life. His favourite form of fighting became American Kenpo.
2. On 21 December 1970, Presley met President Nixon at the White House. Presley had initiated the meeting with a six-page letter to the President, in which he had spelt out his desire to be made a “Federal Agent-at-Large” in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. During his meeting with Nixon, Presley denounced The Beatles as being ‘un-American’ for their open drug-taking and anti-Vietnam politics. For his part, Nixon reminded Presley of his need to “retain credibility”. Nevertheless, he is said to have given Presley a ‘Special Agent’ badge.
3. Elvis’s first radio play was on Memphis station WHBQ, on the Red, Hot and Blue Right”, Show, in 1954. DJ Dewey Phillips played “That’s All and, a week later Sun Records had received 6,000 advance orders for the single “That’s All Right”/ “Blue Moon of Kentucky”.
4. The King’s entourage were known collectively as the Memphis Mafia. All members of the Memphis Mafia sported diamond and gold rings, given to them by Elvis, on which a thunderbolt and the letters TCB had been imprinted. TCB stood for “Take Care of Business”.
5. In 1960, when Elvis was at his post-military trimmest, he weighed a little over 12 stone. When he died, in 1977, he weighed a just under 19 stone.
6. None of Elvis’s feature films or music documentaries were ever nominated for an Oscar in any category. He made 31 movies and two music documentaries.
7. Elvis’s first public performance was at the Mississippi-Alabama competition Fair and Dairy Show. The young Elvis entered the singing dressed as a cowboy, and had to stand on a chair to reach the microphone. His performance of “Old Shep” by Red Foley earned him second prize.
8. Elvis recorded more than 600 songs in his music career, but didn’t write a single one of them.
9. Until his late teens, Elvis was blond.
10. Elvis ate nothing but meatloaf, tomatoes, and mashed potato for t
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
