Happy Belated Birthday, Elvis!

Today in Music History: January 8, 1935 & 1946

Elvis Presley's impact on rock 'n' roll goes unsurpassed so it is customary for history to remember him on his birthday. His birthday in 1946 is memorable since it is on this day, Elvis received his first guitar. 

 

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)

Publicity photo for Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Source: en.wikipedia.org

The incredible Elvis life story began when Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child.  Source: Elvis Presley Biography

Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi
Source: en.wikipedia.org

Presley and his parents, 1937
Source: en.wikipedia.org

If he were alive today, Elvis would be celebrating his 80th birthday. In celebration of Elvis’ birthday, relive his music and reflect on the video of When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again as performed on the Ed Sullivan Show January 6, 1957.

Notice how the camera stays close-up to avoid his scandalous dance moves.

Move ahead to January 8, 1946...

1940s Kay (auction) guitar
Photo © courtesy Tupleo Hardware Store

 In competing versions of the story, what Elvis Presley really wanted for his birthday was a rifle or a bicycle—both fairly typical choices for a boy his age growing up on the outskirts of Tupelo, Mississippi. Instead, Elvis's highly protective mother, Gladys—"She never let me out of her sight," Elvis would later say—took him to the Tupelo Hardware Store and bought a gift that would change the course of history: a $6.95 guitar. It was January 8, 1946, and Elvis Aaron Presley was 11 years old. Read MORE...

If you were an Elvis fan, what was/is your favorite tune?

Presley in Aloha from Hawaii, broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973.
The singer himself came up with his famous outfit's eagle motif,
as "something that would say 'America' to the world."
Source: en.wikipedia.org

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...