Elvis Presley, A Man Who Lived For The Love Of His Fans

Elvis Liked To Play Jokes On His Fans

Elvis was quite a prankster. One of his favorite jokes was to change into the uniform of someone who had graduated from a police academy, then go around stopping people to give them tickets on some pretext. Upon receiving the tickets, fans would realize they were autographs.

These tickets are probably worth thousands of dollars now. For the King’s fans, it was a treat to be the target of one of his pranks. However, impersonating a cop is actually illegal. Elvis was lucky that he didn’t get into any trouble for it.

Elvis’s Dance Style Was Seen As Controversial

Elvis’s appearances on TV shows made him a national celebrity. The Ed Sullivan Show was particularly explosive, with fans going crazy and screaming during the entire performance. However, he received a lot of backlash for his dance moves, which were considered to be very provocative.

Nonetheless, Elvis’s earnings were progressively increasing, especially after he started going on tour. He not only gained millions of fans but also introduced rock ‘n’ roll music to pop culture. Many people believe that he opened the door for future rock bands to become mainstream.

Elvis Tried To Hide His Problems

During the last years of his career – and his life – Elvis tried to keep his issues more private than ever, afraid that people would think less of him if they found out. But despite his efforts to conceal it, his physical deterioration was evident to everyone.

A combination of excessive weight gain and abuse of prescription pills had turned him into a shadow of his former glory, yet Elvis tragically refused to ask for help. His fans were everything to him, and he was terrified they would stop loving him if he ever admitted the truth about his lifestyle.

Elvis Had A Twin

When Elvis Aaron Presley came into the world, he wasn’t alone. His mother, Gladys Presley, had actually been pregnant with twins, but his brother, Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn. Despite their joy upon receiving Elvis, Gladys and Vernon were devastated by the tragic loss of Jesse.

However, Elvis’s mother and father decided to pour all of their love and attention into the newborn child they did have rather than focus on the one they had lost. Some people believe that the traumatic experience of losing his twin brother was one of the reasons Elvis never wanted to be alone.

A Gift Changed Elvis’s Destiny

At 11 years old, Elvis was obsessed with guns, which worried his mother. Gladys wouldn’t let him anywhere near any type of firearm, so she gave him a guitar instead. This gift changed the course of the boy’s life as music became his new focus.

Elvis continued to be interested in firearms for the rest of his life, but he spent his youth learning how to play the guitar. At the time, no one could’ve guessed that his musical talent would make him the center of celebrity news in the United States.

Elvis Was Bullied

Many celebrities were bullied in their childhood, and not even the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was exempt. Elvis was a very shy child, making him an easy target for this kind of harassment. As a result, he became even more insecure, retreating further inward.

Victims of bullying can suffer serious damage to their mental health. Fortunately, Elvis found solace in music, which became the main way he expressed himself. We can only imagine how surprised his former tormentors must have been when he became a worldwide star years later.

Elvis’s Music Teacher Underrated Him

Considering how bold his performances were, it seems hard to believe that Elvis was once shy. Since music became his comfort zone at an early age, he overcame his anxiety by expressing himself through song, though not everyone believed that he could be a musician.

One of the people with little faith in Elvis’s talent was his music teacher, who told him that there was nothing special about his musical abilities. Although many other children would have given up on a career in music after hearing this, Elvis was undeterred.

Elvis Was Not A Songwriter

Elvis was a successful singer and guitar player, but he didn’t write any of his songs. Two of the songwriters he most frequently worked with were Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote Hound Dog. Although his performance of this song is the best-known, it was originally released by Big Mama Thornton.

Mike and Jerry contributed directly to Elvis’s albums starting with his second record. He developed a close relationship with them when they wrote the songs for films like Loving You and Jailhouse Rock. They admired how quickly he would learn the lyrics. Songwriters for Elvis had to give up one-third of their royalty earnings.

Elvis Dyed His Locks For An Edgier Look

Elvis thought a darker mane would make him look edgier, so he changed his natural dirty-blond color to black. His instincts turned out to be correct: a key part of his iconic image was his dark tresses coifed in a unique style. There are few photos of him with his natural color.

Early in his career, Elvis used shoe polish to achieve his signature look, but as his fame grew he started switching to regular hair dye. His fans loved the look, and it was with this style that he rose to fame all over the world.

Elvis Even Dyed His Eyelashes

Elvis considered his image to be extremely important, so he went to great lengths to always look his best for his fans. Given that he was a natural blonde, it thus makes sense that he would dye his eyelashes black to match his signature hairdo.

It is said that Elvis’s habit of constantly dying his eyelashes sadly gave him health problems with his eyes years later. Yet to him it was but a small price to pay. As far as he was concerned, pleasing his fans was always worth it.

Elvis Kept His Mother’s Hairdresser

Taking care of Elvis’s iconic hairstyle was a big responsibility with which he trusted none other than his beloved mother’s hairdresser. The hairdresser, Homer Gilleland, was even given an airline pass so that he could fly to wherever his client was at a moment’s notice.

In this way, Elvis kept his appearance impeccable for his performances. Rumor has it that Homer saved some of the tresses he cut, which wouldn’t surprise us at all. Jars of Elvis’s mane trimmings have sold for over $20,000 at auctions. Some fans will take anything they can get.

Why Elvis Popped His Collars

Another aspect of Elvis’s iconic style was his use of popped collars. According to some sources, this habit actually stemmed from one of his insecurities. During his childhood, he reportedly was teased about his “scrawny” neck even by his mother and father, which deeply scarred his self-image.

As a result, the young Elvis started popping the collars of his shirts to hide his neck. When he reached stardom, it simply became part of his signature fashion choices. His tall mane and trendsetting suits formed a complete image he sold to the public.

Elvis Bought A Mansion For His Family

Within the first year of his success, Elvis was able to purchase a mansion. He kept the estate’s name, Graceland, which had actually been named for the previous owner’s daughter, Grace, and invited his mother and father, Gladys and Vernon, to move in with him.

Elvis’s family was very important to him. He even gave his parents the master bedroom to ensure that they had the most comfortable accommodations in the house. Gladys decided to decorate the room in purple, her favorite color, and the decor hasn’t been changed since.

Elvis’s Dad Left His Mark At Graceland

Graceland was both a family home and a family business. As Elvis’s success grew, his career became more and more difficult to manage, so his father, Vernon, had his own office where he mostly attended to his son’s affairs, aiming for efficiency at all times.

As a very busy man, Vernon always liked to get to the point and deeply disliked wasting time on people who weren’t there to work. Therefore, he installed certain warnings against loitering on the property. Visitors can still see these signs hanging in his office.

Elvis Liked To Play Jokes On His Fans

Elvis Had A Very Unusual Pet

Elvis was big on animal care, and he had a lot of pets over his lifetime. Graceland housed many animals from dogs to birds to horses, but one of the most unique was his pet chimpanzee, Scatter. Much like his owner, the chimp was a prankster.

Elvis and Scatter played numerous jokes together. Elvis would dress the animal as a chauffeur and then ask the actual chauffeur to crouch down while driving around town. When they saw Scatter on the driver’s seat, other people thought a chimp was driving the vehicle.

Elvis Left His Finances To His Manager

Colonel Tom Parker became Elvis’s manager. Trusting him implicitly, the King paid his manager unusually large amounts: Tom’s salary was comprised of a whopping half of the proceeds from Elvis’s films and recordings, as well as a third of the income earned from his live performances.

All of this was possible because Elvis was more concerned with his music than his finances. In fact, it is said that he hated the business side of being a rock star, routinely signing contracts and agreements without even reading them or consulting someone else.

No Concerts Outside North America

Considering the magnitude of his stardom, one of the oddest things about Elvis’s career is that he never performed anywhere outside North America even though he could’ve made a lot of money touring around the world. In fact, he never performed outside the United States except for a mere three concerts in Canada.

As it turns out, Elvis’s manager, Tom, was actually an illegal immigrant, so it would’ve been impossible for him to get a passport. It was thus inconvenient for him to have the King traveling all over the globe. Tom told him it was a bad idea, and Elvis followed his lead.

Elvis’s Military Service Won Respect

Elvis’s decision to put his career on hold so he could serve in the military further endeared him to the public. Many people already adored him, but now even his staunchest critics had to admit that he was an honorable man. His manager approved completely.

Furthermore, Elvis served as a regular soldier instead of enlisting in Special Services. He could’ve had special accommodations while performing in various military camps but insisted on being treated no different than anyone else. The military uniform and polished shoes would really pay off later on.

Elvis’s Devastating Loss Of His Mother

Elvis had been very close to his mother, Gladys, since childhood. Even after he grew up and achieved celebrity status, he continued to use baby talk and special pet names with her. This was another reason his peers bullied him so harshly in his youth.

In 1958, Gladys was diagnosed with a fulminant case of hepatitis that claimed her life at only 46 years old. Elvis was granted leave from his military service to visit her. He stayed at her side during the final two days of her life and was devastated when she passed away.

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