The early years

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon Elvis and Gladys Love Presley. Vernon built a two-room weatherboard house in readiness for the birth of his twins. Unfortunately Elvis Presley’s identical twin brother, was delivered stillborn. Following the birth, Gladys became the doting and over protective mother. This was the beginning of a very close relationship between mother and son.

The 35th Anniversary Elvis Tribute Tour offers you a rare chance to come and experience the making of a legend and marks the 35th death anniversary of Elvis Presley. Join in to see where the King Rock “n” Roll breathed his first breath and sang gospel music for the first time. Experience his humble beginnings and visit the house where he was born. Learn more about Elvis Presley’s birth place and home by booking a spot on the 35th Anniversary Tribute Tour – book your trip online.

The making of a legend

The young family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948 and Elvis was enrolled into Humes High School.

He began to broaden his musical talents during his high school years. He took every opportunity he could to listen to music – from the radio, church, record stores to night clubs. He also played in a band with four other boys from Lauderdale Courts, a public housing community where Elvis and his parents lived. During his junior year at Humes High School, Elvis began to focus on his appearance; growing his hair and sideburns and dressing in flashy clothes to stand out.  He would wear dress pants to school every day whilst everybody else wore jeans. He would wear a coat and fashion a scarf like an ascot tie, as if he were a movie star. He stuck out like a sore thumb and was teased but that didn’t bother the young man. Looking back, it was like he was already portraying something that he wanted to be. As his passion for music intensified, his grades faltered. He would attend all night gospel singing sessions with his parents and keenly observed the extroverted performers and their animated movements on stage.

April 9, 1953, Elvis performed in Humes’ annual Minstrel Show shocking fellow students, parents, and teachers alike with his performance of Teresa Brewer’s ‘Till I Waltz Again with You’. Both Elvis and his classmates date this as the beginning of his rise to fame. Elvis later said, ‘It was amazing how popular I became after that’. It was the turning point in his life and he went from being the peculiar looking student to being the star attraction among his peers. A couple of months later Elvis went on to graduate from Humes High School.

In March 1957, the Presley’s bought the Graceland mansion. The mansion now attracts about 600,000 visitors a year making it the second most popular home after the White House in America. In 1991, Graceland Mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 35th Anniversary Tribute Tour will give you a chance to learn more about Elvis Presley’s rise to fame, visit his beautiful home and share your experiences with others Elvis fans. So don’t miss out - book your trip online.

Elvis’s keen interest in music

Elvis Presley’s music influencees at the time were pop and country. In 1954, Elvis started his singing career in Memphis with the Sun records label. To date Elvis Presley has sold an estimated one billion records worldwide; the most anyone has ever sold in the record industry history. In America alone 150 different albums have been certified Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum by the  Recording Industry Association of America. It has been estimated that 40% of record sales have been overseas. On the tour, you will visit the Graceland mansion and get a chance to see the trophy room about Elvis Presley’s Gold and Platinum awards. Elvis has had no less than 149 songs appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America. Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were in the top ten, and 18 went to number one.  His number one singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one. He has also had over 90 charted albums with ten of them reaching number one. (These figures are only for the pop charts and only in USA.)

About Elvis Presley the actor

Elvis Presley acted in 31 feature films and two theatrically released concert documentary films, all of which had great financial support. For many years he was among Hollywood’s most popular actors and top earners. Elvis Presley’s two most acclaimed films are “Jailhouse Rock” (1957) and “King Creole” (1958), have become classics of their era.

Elvis Presley met Priscilla Ann Wagner on September 13, 1959 during a party at his home in Bad Nauheim, Germany. In December 25, 1966 Elvis Presley proposed to Priscilla and were married on May 1, 1967 at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.

The Death of Elvis

In 1973, the year of his divorce from Prescilla, he became increasingly unwell and twice that year overdosed on barbiturates drugs. In August 16, 1977 he was scheduled to fly out of Memphis for a concert tour. The same day in the afternoon he was found in the bathroom unresponsive and attempts to revive him failed. It was announced at 3.30pm he was dead in  Baptist Memorial Hospital. Presley’s funeral was held at Graceland where 80,000 people lined the processional route to Forest Hill Cemetery where Presley was buried next to his mother.
Experience the aura surrounding Elvis’s career and mysterious death & visit his last resting place by booking a spot on the 35th Anniversary Tribute Tour - book your trip online.

If you’re keen to be a part of the 35th Anniversary Elvis Tribute Tour, register your interest online as seats are limited!