Elvis' Family Life: One For The Money, Nothing Like The Show

Elvis Presley wasn't just loved by his fans. He wasn't just The King on stage; he was also a man with a family. His life was a classic rags-to-riches story; but as money accumulated, it seemed that he and his family were yet again on a sudden spiraling descent, only this time it was more on the emotional than financial side.

Good or bad, there was no denying that Elvis was and still is among the most famous men who ever lived. And the only way to understand his ways is to take a peak at the various chapters of his family life.

Early Family Life

Elvis' family came from a long line of German, French, Scottish and Cherokee descent. Vernon Presley, his father, was a sharecropper and a truck driver who hailed from Fulton, Mississippi. Gladys Love Smith, his mother, was a sewing machine operator who came from Pontotoc County, in Mississippi. Elvis' family started when his parents married on June 17, 1933.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He had a twin named Jesse Garon who was stillborn. Having only one child, Elvis' family lived just a little over the poverty line. The family attended a church called Assembly of God located in East Tupelo.

Although Elvis' family wasn't considered dirt poor, it is said that they lost their home when they weren't able to pay the money they borrowed to build it. The eviction came at a time when his father was serving a prison sentence due to forgery of a check for only $8. The sentence was for eight months; even so, this incident left a big mark on the Elvis' family.

Elvis' Family At Graceland

At the age of 13, Elvis' family moved to Memphis. It was in the latter part of the 1940's but life here wasn't much different from when they were in Mississippi. They lived in a public housing unit.

Only when Elvis' career surged, which wouldn't happen for yet another nine years, did the family start to live comfortably. At age 22, Elvis had acquired enough money to buy a mansion from a doctor for $100,000.

Married Life

In May 1967, Elvis married Priscilla Ann Beaulieu in Las Vegas, Nevada. They had a daughter, Lisa Marie, who was born in 1968. The couple separated on February of 1972 and they shared custody of little Lisa. Eventually in 1973, Elvis and Priscilla were granted a divorce.

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Elvis Presley Biography: A Kings Life

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 to Vernon, a truck driver and Gladys, a sewing machine operator. He was the second of identical twins. His brother, Jesse Garon, was still born. He grew up to be an only child. He was very close to his mother.

Elvis grew up being teased by his fellow classmates. They threw rotten fruit at him. They thought he was different because he stuttered.

His first public performance was when he was 10 years old. It was a singing contest held at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. He was dressed as a cowboy and sang Red Foley's Old Shep. He won second place.

Wanting a rifle, he was bought a guitar instead. After two years, the Presley's moved to Memphis. Elvis practiced playing his guitar in the laundry room. He was also part of a band with the other tenants.

In order to help with the family expenses, Elvis worked during the evening. He also started growing his sideburns and often dressed in flashy clothes. He stood out and again, he was bullied and mocked for it. He performed in the Annual Minstrel Show where he received a round of applause after singing Cold Cold Icy Fingers.

Living in Memphis, Elvis musical horizons expanded. He often hung out at listening booths and played old records. He loved music. He then went on to blues and hillbilly hot spots. In time, he wanted to hear what his voice sounded like recorded.

He made a demo acetate which included recordings of I'll Never Stand In Your Way and It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You. He returned to the Sun Studios to present his demo.

Alongside his band mates Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass (who left their previous band The Starlight Wranglers so they could work full time with the King), Elvis started doing regular live performances all around Memphis promoting his first single.

The famous trademark moves of leg shaking and hip gyrating was all because of Elvis nervousness whenever he performed onstage and in front of a huge crowd of women. This was how he concealed his anxiousness.

Audiences had never heard the kind of music Elvis played. Neither had they seen anybody perform the way he did. It was amazing to see the once polite, shy and mumbling boy gain self-confidence at every public appearance and performance.

The rest, they say, is history.

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