Today in Elvis History

It's May 22nd, and on this day in 1968, Elvis, Priscilla, and Lisa Marie were vacationing in Hawaii at the Ilikai Hotel in Honolulu. During their stay, Elvis took his entourage to the Karate Tournament of Champions at the Honolulu International Center. The event, promoted by Ed Parker, who would later become Elvis's bodyguard and personal karate instructor, featured future movie star Chuck Norris...

It's May 21st, and on this day in 1971, the Presley family made waves at the first annual Memphis Music Awards banquet. While Elvis was busy recording in Nashville, his father, Vernon Presley, and stepmother, Dee Presley, represented the family at the event. Elvis was nominated in ten categories and walked away a big winner. He took home the prestigious "Founder’s Award," and his hit song "Suspici...

It's May 20th, and on this day in 1971… Elvis Presley was deep into a week-long marathon recording session at RCA Studios in Nashville. Beginning each night around 7 p.m., these sessions were intended to yield both a Christmas album and pop singles for an upcoming studio release. While a rumored cover of The Carpenters’ Merry Christmas Darling never materialized, Elvis did lay down his now-classic...

It's May 19th, and on this day in 1965, Colonel Parker took an extraordinary step in promoting Elvis’s film *Tickle Me*. The Colonel, always thinking outside the box, convinced RCA to purchase Elvis's custom gold Cadillac and send it on a nationwide tour to serve as a stand-in for the star himself at *Tickle Me* premieres. The "Solid Gold Cadillac," as it was called, was no ordinary car. This 1960...

It's May 18th, and on this day in 1973, Elvis Presley was nearing the end of a seventeen-day engagement at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel when he was rushed to a local hospital for chest X-rays. Fans who had lined up outside the High Sierra Theater were devastated to learn that both the evening's and the weekend's shows would be canceled. Shortly after, Elvis flew back to Memphis, and Colonel Parker arran...

It's May 17th, and on this day in 1957, Elvis Presley was resting at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel following a brief hospital stay at Southern California’s Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. During the filming of *Jailhouse Rock*, Elvis had dislodged a cap from one of his teeth, which ended up lodged in his lung. The cap required a doctor to remove it with forceps. In an unexpected but heartwarming turn, El...

It's May 16th, and on this day in 1954, Elvis Presley attended the annual Cotton Festival in Memphis. Two years before he would become a headliner at the event, he was in the audience, watching the performance of Eddy Arnold, who had once been managed by Colonel Tom Parker. The Jordanaires, who would go on to become a crucial part of Elvis's sound, were backing Arnold during the show. Afte...

It's May 15, and on this day in 1956, Elvis Presley performed at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee, during the Cotton Carnival. This marked a key moment in his career, as he closed the show with "Hound Dog" for the very first time, a song that would go on to become a defining anthem of his career. Elvis, dressed in a black shirt, Kelly green jacket, and black pants, received...

It's May 14th, and on this day in 1957, while working on the dance sequence for *Jailhouse Rock*, Elvis accidentally swallowed a cap from one of his teeth. This mishap would become a notable moment in his legendary career as the King of Rock and Roll continued to face both the pressures and challenges of his rising stardom. Also on this day in 1968, Elvis met with Bob Finkel to discuss his upc...

Today in Elvis History for May 13

It’s May 12th, and on May 12th, 1960, Elvis Presley made his first television appearance since returning from the army—broadcast live from the luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. The special was Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Home, Elvis , and it was more than just a variety show—it was a symbolic passing of the torch. Elvis performed “Fame and Fortune” and “Stuck on You,” then swapped hits with Sina...

It's May 11th, and on May 11th, 1957, Elvis Presley met actor Russ Tamblyn—thanks to a connection through their mutual friend Nick Adams. Russ wasn’t just any actor—he was the acrobatic dynamo from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers , later known for West Side Story and even Twin Peaks . He’s also the father of actress Amber Tamblyn. That day, Russ and Elvis hit it off, and soon they were working tog...

It's May 10th, and on May 10, 1957, Elvis Presley was busy rehearsing a barroom fight scene for his third film, Jailhouse Rock. In the scene, his character Vince Everett throws a punch defending a barmaid, accidentally kills a man, and winds up in prison. It was a turning point in Elvis’s acting career. He’d already played the sweet younger brother in Love Me Tender and a rising singer in Lovi...

It’s May 9, and on May 9, 2020, Loanne Parker passed away in Las Vegas at the age of 84. As the widow of Colonel Tom Parker—Elvis Presley’s longtime manager—Loanne played a unique role in the Elvis story. She first met Elvis and the Colonel in 1969 while working as an RCA Records tour secretary. Her professional relationship with Parker evolved into a personal one, and they married in 1990. Loanne...

It's May 8, and on May 8, 1954, 19-year-old Elvis Presley attended the Memphis Cotton Carnival with his girlfriend, Dixie Locke. That night, the gospel group The Jordanaires performed—an event widely believed to be the first time Elvis encountered the group that would later shape his signature sound. That same day, across the Atlantic, Britain’s BBC banned Johnnie Ray’s “Such a Night” for bein...

It's May 7, and on May 7, 1957, Elvis Presley was in Hollywood recording for his upcoming film Jailhouse Rock . That day, he laid down a second vocal overdub for “Baby I Don’t Care” and worked through instrumental takes of the film’s title track. On May 7, 1972, Elvis left Memphis for the first leg of a Hawaiian vacation—a trip that would ultimately set the stage for his globally broadcast Alo...

It's May 6, and on May 6, 1956, 21-year-old Elvis Presley wrapped up his first Las Vegas engagement at the New Frontier Hotel. Sandwiched between the Freddy Martin Orchestra and comic Shecky Greene, Elvis’s raw rock ’n’ roll energy clashed with the lounge crowd—and the reviews reflected it. Still, Elvis took the moment in stride. “I’d like to tell you, it’s really been a pleasure being in Las...

It's May 5, and on May 5, 1955, Elvis Presley performed at Ladd Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. Billed as part of the “WSM Grand Ole Opry” All-Star Jamboree. Elvis skipped the next night’s performance, instead jumping in his pink Cadillac to drive the 350 miles back to Memphis to take his girlfriend, Dixie Locke Emmons, to the prom. It was a move described as “a most remarkable display of prioriti...

It's March 18th, and on this day in 1965, production began on Elvis’s nineteenth film, *Harum Scarum*, at MGM studios in California. Known for quickly churning out movies, producer Sam Katzman completed filming in just eighteen days. Elvis, however, was often heard complaining about the film's concept. At one point, Colonel Parker even insisted on adding "speaking parts" to the script, only for Ka...

It's February twenty-second, and on this day in 1969... Elvis Presley wrapped up his final recording session at American Sound Studio in Memphis by recording the gospel-influenced ballad "Who Am I?" This session marked the end of a landmark run that produced some of Elvis’s most critically acclaimed work in years, including “Suspicious Minds,” “In the Ghetto,” and “Kentucky Rain.” The sessions rev...

It's April 23rd, and on this day in 1956, Elvis opened a two-week engagement at the Venus Room in the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. Facing an older, "less hip" audience, he later remarked, "After that first night I went outside and just walked around in the dark. It was awful… I wasn’t getting across to the audience." Despite the rocky start, Elvis fell in love with the city, meeting show busin...

It's April 19th, and on this day in 1957, Hollywood actress Yvonne Lime arrived in Memphis for a visit, and Elvis took her to see Graceland. This was a notable moment in Elvis's personal life, as it involved a rare occasion when the King of Rock and Roll shared his beloved home with a guest, showcasing a side of him beyond his public persona. Also, on this day in 1965, Elvis completed his work on...

It's April 20th, and on this day in 1964, *The Las Vegas Desert News and Telegram* published an article entitled "Elvis Helps in Success of Burton-O'Toole Movie." The piece featured an interview with Hollywood producer Hal Wallis, who discussed how the profits from Elvis's films helped finance more "classy" projects, like *Becket*, starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. Wallis even suggested t...

It's April 21st, and on this day in 1976, Elvis made headlines for his first business venture outside the entertainment world. The *Memphis Press–Scimitar* ran a photograph of Elvis with his bodyguard Joe Esposito, Dr. Nick, and business associate Mike McMahon breaking ground on a racquetball facility that was part of a new project, Presley Center Courts, Inc. However, the excitement quickly turne...

It's April 22nd, and on this day in 1956, *Billboard* magazine reported that Elvis Presley’s record sales were bringing in a staggering \$75,000 a day in retail record shops across the country. In Canada, Elvis’s records dominated, accounting for the first eight singles of RCA Victor’s top ten bestsellers. In the United States, his LPs and EPs were selling at an incredible rate of 8,000 copies a d...