Elvis on Tour

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. Within a year, RCA would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll, though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound of African-Americans led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of the White American youth. In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. Some of his most famous films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating habits severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.

John Richard Wilkinson was an American singer and guitarist best known for performing with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and The Greenwood County Singers in 1964. After Wilkinson once performed on a television show in Los Angeles, he received a phone call from Elvis who asked him to join his TCB Band. He went on to perform more than 1000 times with Elvis as his rhythm guitarist until Elvis died in 1977

Vernon Presley was a family man who dedicated himself to providing a wholesome atmosphere for his son and wife. Born into a poor farming family in Fulton, Vernon Presley began doing various jobs to make ends meet. He decided to start driving a truck for a local grocery store in order to support his wife, Gladys, and new son, Elvis Presley. Later, he proudly became a deacon at a local church. While Vernon decided to stay behind the scenes when his son became successful, he managed his overall career and expenses from his estate in Graceland. Throughout their lives, the father-son duo was inseparable. Following Elvis’s early death, Vernon took over the role of his executor. Unfortunately, he died shortly afterwards, leaving behind a pleasant joint legacy with Elvis.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Red West (born 1936) is an American actor, film stuntman and songwriter. West was born Robert Gene West in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Lois and Newton Thomas West. He was a close high school friend of rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. An excellent athlete and former U.S. Marine, West played football for his high school and junior college teams and was a boxer in the Golden Gloves championships. Today, he is probably best known to American film audiences for his role as Red in Road House, alongside Patrick Swayze. Description above from the Wikipedia article Red West, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Jerry Schilling is an American talent manager, best known for his association with Elvis Presley and as a member of Presley's Memphis Mafia from the latter part of the 1960s. His other clients have included the Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis and Lisa Marie Presley.

Charles Franklin Hodge, better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and best friend of Elvis Presley, and lived at Graceland.

Born Gladys Love Smith on April 25, 1912, Gladys Presley grew up far away from the fame and fortune that her son would one day achieve. The daughter of a cotton farmer, she grew up in Mississippi. On one fateful day in the early 1930s, Gladys met Vernon Presley at church. Though she was four years older, they lied about their ages in order to get married in 1933. When it came time for her to give birth on January 8, 1935, tragedy struck. Gladys had twins, but the first boy, Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn. Only the second boy, Elvis Aaron Presley, survived.

Edward Vincent Sullivan was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate.