Elvis Aaron Presley arrived on January 8, 1935, the surviving son of Vernon and Gladys Presley — a field hand and a sewing machine operator living in a two-room wood-frame house on the wrong side of the tracks. His twin brother Jesse died at birth, a loss that cast a long shadow over the family. Gladys quit her factory job to focus on raising Elvis, walking him to school well into his teens.
Neither parent was particularly musical, but the church was. By age 8, Elvis was singing hymns at the First Assembly of God revivals. At 10, he won his first contest at the Lee County Fair with “Old Shep” — a song about a dog — and walked away with $5 and unlimited carnival rides.
When Elvis was 12, Gladys scraped together $12.95 for his first guitar. He couldn’t read music, so he taught himself by ear, soaking up the radio — Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff and B.B. King all left their mark alongside the gospel he’d been singing since childhood. That mix of country, blues and church music would become the blueprint for everything he’d later record. In 1948, Vernon Presley moved the family to Memphis, chasing better prospects.
High school at Humes was quiet by most accounts — Elvis made few friends, kept his hair longer than most and stood out mostly for his clothes. His one real moment came at a senior talent show, where he played guitar and drew an encore from the crowd.
After graduating, he cycled through jobs as an usher, a factory hand and a Crown Electric truck driver at $35 a week. Part of that went home to his mother. Some of it went toward a better guitar. And in the summer of 1953, $4 of it went to the Memphis Recording Co., where he cut “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartache Begins” — just his voice and a guitar, pressed onto a acetate disc.
That recording — and Elvis’ persistence — eventually caught the attention of Sun Records president Sam Phillips. What came next is the part everyone knows: “That’s All Right” on one side, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” on the flip, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips spinning it on his Red Hot and Blue show and 5,000 advance orders before the record even shipped. Young Elvis had become something else entirely.
Below, we’ve gathered childhood and teen photos of Elvis alongside excerpts from a 1977 Atlanta Constitution retrospective that trace his early years — from that two-room house in Tupelo all the way to Sun Records.
- Hardcover Book
- Gaar, Gillian G. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
The life of young Elvis Presley
Excerpted from an article by Tina McElroy, The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) August 27, 1977
In 1933, a 13-dollar-a-week field hand married a sewing machine operator in Tupelo, Mississippi. Vernon Presley and his wife Gladys (three years older than her husband) lived on the wrong side of the tracks in a two-room wood-frame house where winds whistled through the cracks.
Two years later, on January 8, their son, Elvis Aron Presley, was born. His twin brother was dead at birth.
Elvis Presley’s life from 1935-1948
During this period, Elvis began receiving the attention and love from his family that his fans in later life were to continue.
His mother quit her job at the Tupelo Garment Co. to give Elvis all her attention. He accompanied her on short walks to the corner store and she walked him to school until his teens.
Although neither of his parents showed a talent for singing, by the time he was 8, Elvis was singing hymns at revivals and at the First Assembly of God Church.
At 10, he entered and won his first singing contest at the Lee County Fair. He took a prize for singing “Old Shep,” a sad tale about a dog. His prize — $5 and all the free rides he wanted.
When the fledging singer was 12, his doting mother saved $12.95 and bought him a guitar. He could not read music, but he taught himself to play by listening to country music on the radio. The music of Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff and B.B. King had as much effect on Elvis and his music as did the hymns.
In 1948, Vernon Presley, broke and out of work, packed up his family and few belongings and moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
The Presley family in front of their house in Tupelo around 1940
A young Elvis Presley in 1939
Elvis Presley’s life from 1948-1954
In the fall of 1948, young Elvis entered Humes High School. What followed were four years of unspectacular activity. He majored in shop, made few friends and attracted attention with his longer hair, sideburns and bright clothes. His one spark came as a senior in a talent contest. His guitar-playing and singing drew cheers from the student audience and a request for an encore.
After graduating, 18-year-old Elvis took a succession of jobs: as a Memphis movie theater usher, as a factory hand at the Precision Tool Co., and as a truck driver with the Crown Electric Co. But he had not forgotten his dream of stardom.
Part of his $35-a-week salary as a truck driver went to his mother, some paid for a better guitar, and in the summer of 1953, $4 of it was used in probably the best way possible: At the Memphis Recording Co. to record his first songs.
On one side, Elvis, with only his guitar for accompaniment, recorded “My Happiness,” on the other, “That’s When Your Heartache Begins.” This record along with another and Elvis’ persistence were enough to persuade Sun Records president Sam Phillips to call him in to make a demonstration tape.
With “That’s All Right” on one side and “Blue Moon of Kentucky” on the flip, Elvis was on his way. Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips played a dub of the record on his Red Hot and Blue show. And the pioneers of Elvis fan clubs across the country ordered 5,000 copies by the time the record was released.
A pre-teen Elvis Presley with his mother Gladys Presley
Young Elvis Presley with his father Vernon Presley
Elvis Presley from 1955-1958
During this period, the country really became aware of Elvis. Manager Col. Tom Parker took over his career and moved him from Sun Records to RCA.
He skyrocketed past the point of fame to the title of King with such hits as “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Love Me Tender” and “Heartbreak Hotel.” He also shocked parents and delighted fans with his pelvic writhing in concerts and on the stage of the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956.
That was the year he made his first picture, “Love Me Tender.” “Loving You” and “Jailhouse Rock” followed in 1957, In 1958, it was “King Creole.”
Along with the growing fans, gold records and success in movies came the mansion in Memphis (Graceland) for his parents and entourage, the Cadillacs, sports cars and Lincoln Continentals, and the thousands spent on clothes.
Young Elvis Presley recording in 1956
Young Elvis with a hound dog in 1957
2 Responses
Nice collection of pictures! You can already see by the 1939 pic how handsome Elvis was going to be. He already had the sneer! I tweeted your site @Popspeaking
Very good article on Elvis. I am a new Elvis fan and looking for anything I can find on him. What a gorgeous man and so talented. Enjoyed all the pictures and the comments by Pat Boone, etc. I got to go to Graceland this year and would love to go back. Elvis loved people and never turned a fan down that was asking for an autograph or a picture. I think there are thousands of pictures of this man. I think he gave half his fortune away to charities, paid for children’s operations, gave hundreds of Cadillacs away. This is what drew me to this man was his humanity to others. His voice is a blessing. I love his religious albums. Thank you.