His mother, Gladys Presley, gave him his first guitar in 1947, when he was 12 years old, as a birthday present.
His parents Vernon Presley and Gladys Presley were unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930s and lived on welfare and then on Social Security after it was created during the administration of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
His personal entourage were known as the "Memphis Mafia", and were given matching rings by Elvis. The diamond and gold rings sported a thunderbolt and the letters "TCB" (reportedly standing for "Take Care of Business"). Elvis was buried wearing one of the rings.
His records have spent 2,574 weeks in both the UK singles and album charts, were and still are way ahead of his closest competitors Cliff Richard (1,982), Queen (1,755), The Beatles (1,749) and Madonna (1,660).
His records have spent a total of 79 weeks at the top peak, of number one position in the United States, alone.
His song "Heartbreak Hotel" is based on a note left by a man who committed suicide in a Florida hotel suite. When Elvis first performed the song on "Stage Show" (1954) in 1956, he sang the words "They're so lonely they pray to die". This was changed in later performances from "pray to die" to "they could die" so as not to offend the religious establishment with a reference for a prayer for death.
His surname was Anglicized from the German Pressler during the Civil War. His ancestor Johann Valentin Pressler emigrated to North America in 1710. Pressler first settled in New York, but later moved to the South. Jaime Pressly is also a descendant from him. A connection between the Pressley's of Oprah Winfrey's great-grandfather and the ancestors of Elvis Presley has been posited but not confirmed. He also had Scottish, Dutch , Cherokee and Jewish ancestry among others. There is a Star of David and a Cross on his mother's grave.
His television debut was on the regionally telecast Louisiana Hayride (1955) (TV), Saturday, March 5th, 1955 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
His tombstone gives his name as "Elvis Aaron Presley", whereas he was in fact named "Elvis Aron Presley". Although this fueled conspiracy theories that he had faked his death, it is generally believed he changed his middle name so it would be the same as Biblical person, Aaron, (brother of Moses).
His two favorite books were "The Holy Bible" and "The Impersonal Life".
Honorary Member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.
Hysteria over "Elvis sightings" after his death were lampooned in the Mojo Nixon song "Elvis Is Everywhere" and "Elvis Is Dead" by Living Colour.
In Sam Lovullo's book "Life in the Kornfield", which recalled his years as producer of 1969's country music TV series "Hee Haw" (1969), he remarked that Elvis was a big fan of the show and had always wanted to perform on it. However, according to Lovullo, Elvis remarked they'd have to tape his spots in the middle of the night, knowing that if manager Tom Parker had found out, he'd never clear his appearance. Several months after Elvis' death, his father, Vernon Presley, appeared on "Hee Haw" and spoke about how the world would always love him and remember his music.
In 1953 while working as an usher in a local Memphis movie theater he sang, by request, "That's Amore" on stage.
In 1955 he appeared in a rock documentary, The Pied Piper of Cleveland: A Day in the Life of a Famous Disc Jockey (1955), about Cleveland DJ Bill Randle, filmed in various locations in the Cleveland, Ohio, area (mainly Brooklyn High School). The film headlined many top acts of the day including Bill Haley and the Comets, Pat Boone, The Four Lads and others. This film has yet to be released. It is still reportedly the property of Polygram International and in the Universal vault.
In 1962 he ceased almost completely to record non-soundtrack songs until his 1969 album "From Elvis in Memphis".
In 1970 he wrote to J. Edgar Hoover requesting to join the FBI at the height of its campaign against political protests in the United States.
In 1973 he met with Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and John Paul Jones in Los Angeles. An idol to the members of Led Zeppelin, Elvis wanted to meet "who was outselling him" at concerts (Zeppelin was in the midst of a record-breaking tour that year). A meeting was arranged with Plant and Jones. Plant was so awestruck at meeting his idol in person that he could barely speak to him. Jones, nearly as awestruck as Plant, made small talk with the "King," and mentioned what a beautiful watch Elvis wore. Elvis, always the generous one, instantly traded his $5,000 gold and diamond watch for Jones' $10 Mickey Mouse watch. This broke the ice with all of them, and they became fast friends. Throughout the early 1970s members of Led Zeppelin even attended a few of Elvis' concerts, and were granted the privilege of sitting in the front row by the King himself.
In 1973, he was the biggest taxpayer in the United States of America.
In 1975 he purchased a poor black East Memphis woman an electric wheelchair and picked her up and personally sat her in it. The woman's teenage daughter told Elvis she liked his car. He gave it to her and even gave her boyfriend a job.