Action Figures 4U

Elvis Presley early life

Elvis Presley was born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8 1935. His father Vernon Presley was an impoverished truck driver; his mother, Gladys Love Smith, a sewing machine operator. His twin brother was stillborn and was given the name Jesse Garon Presley before burial. Presley was mostly of Scottish, Irish, Native American, Jewish, and German roots. He grew up as an only child and lived just above the poverty line in East Tupelo.
   As a ten-year-old, he made his first public performance - a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. Dressed as a cowboy, the young Elvis stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang Red Foley's "Old Shep". He came second.
   In January 1946, Presley was bought a guitar - a $12.75 birthday present. Two years later, the Presleys moved to Lauderdale Courts public housing development in one of Memphis, Tennessee's poorer sections. Here Presley practiced his guitar in the basement laundry room. Fellow tenant, Johnny Burnette, recalled: "Wherever [theteenage] Elvis went he'd have his guitar slung across his back... He used to go down to the fire station and sing to the boys there... [H]e'd go in to one of the cafes or bars... Then some folks would say: 'Let's hear you sing, boy,'" He began growing long, fuzzy sideburns and dressing in less conservative clothes, preferring the brightly colored shirts and jackets of Lansky Brothers on Beale Street. Presley went to blues and hillbilly venues and was a regular audience member at the all-night white - and black - gospel sings downtown. .......more on Elvis....