The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1935-53

On April 25, 1912 Gladys Love Smith was born in Pontotoc County/Mississippi. Four years later, on April 10th, Vernon Elvis Presley saw the light of day in Fulton/Mississippi. On June 17, 1933 they married and build a wooden shack in East Tupelo. Vernon loaned the necessary amount of 180 USD from his employer, the farmer Orville Bean. Gladys worked at the Tupelo Garment Center. On January 8, 1935 Gladys gave birth to Jesse Garon and Elvis Aron. Dr. William R. Hunt had to deliver the news, that Jesse was a stillbirth. A day later he was anonymously buried at Princeville Cemetery.

The surviving twin, Elvis Aron, would stay an only child. In 1945 his teacher, Mrs. Oleta Grimes, registered him for the talent contest of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair And Dairy Show in Tupelo. The boy performed "Old Shep", a sad ballad about a kid and his dog, and came in fifth place. A year later Elvis got a guitar for his 11th birthday. After his uncle had showed him some chords, the boy was seen with the instrument quite often. In 1948 the Presley's days in Tupelo/Mississippi were over. Looking for work and better conditions, the family moved to Memphis/Tennessee.

Elvis graduated from highschool in 1953 and worked for a branch of the Crown Electric Company. His main activity was to drive a truck, but he also was trained to become an electrician. In the summer of the same year the young man paid 4.00 USD to record a single at the Memphis Recording Service, a branch of SUN Records. His obvious goal was to get the attention of Sam Phillips, the owner of the company, but officially he claimed to record the songs for his mother's birthday.