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Thursday, August 16, 2012

35 Years Ago Today

Popular music icon Elvis Presley dies in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42. The death of the "King of Rock and Roll" brought legions of mourning fans to Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. Doctors said he died of a heart attack, likely brought on by his addiction to prescription barbiturates.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jesse, died during the birth. Elvis grew up dirt-poor in Tupelo and Memphis and found work as a truck driver after high school. When he was 19, he walked into a Memphis recording studio and paid $4 to record a few songs as a present to his mother. Sam Philips, the owner of the studio, was intrigued by the rough, soulful quality of his voice and invited Presley back to practice with some local musicians. After Philips heard Elvis sing the rhythm-and-blues song "That's All Right," which Presley imbued with an accessible country-and-western flavor, he agreed to release the rendition as a single on his Sun Records label. The recording went to the top of the local charts, and Presley's career was launched.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was 12 years old at the Gaithersburg Skate Park in Gaithersburg MD when I heard the news. Do you remember where you were?

Anonymous said...

Yes I do remember. I was also 12 yrs old and was sitting in my aunt's living room when we heard.

Anonymous said...

And Keith Richards rocks on, who would have thunk it?

Anonymous said...

I was walking into our living room to watch the Monkees reruns with my sister when she screamed Elvis is dead, won't forget it

Anonymous said...

I guess I must be the only non-Elvis fan!!! Oh well, Life goes on - I'll take Bob Segar, Journey, Styx anyday!! No offense but, his movies were not all that!!