Five things you never knew about Elvis Presley
Discover more about the King.
It's Elvis Week 2024, so we thought we would share five eye-opening facts, or as we like to call them: Elvis epiphanies.
From performance locations to hairdressing secrets, we hope you enjoy diving into the life of the King.
First-home buyer
How old were you when you purchased your first home? For Elvis, whose career had taken off in 1954 when he was just 21 years of age, he bought his legendary, white-columned Memphis mansion Graceland when he was just 22. At the time of purchase, the property was around 14 acres and slightly over 10,000 square feet. These days, the site occupies more than 17,500 square feet.
The US is home
There’s no denying it. Over the years, Elvis has achieved (and maintained) success in countries all around the world. Although 40% of the artist’s music sales have been outside of the United States, during his career, he never actually performed outside of North America and Canada.
Jet-black hair
The King is famed for his smouldering looks, in part due to his dark black hair that was characteristically slicked back into a 1950s pompadour. But did you know that his hair was naturally less striking? He had it dyed black in order to add more of an edge to the mousy brown hair he had inherited.
Military service
While it’s difficult to imagine Elvis in any career other than music and show business, he actually served in the US army. What’s even more interesting is that he had already achieved a high level of fame when he began his two years of active army duty. During the late fifties, he served in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Division in Friedberg, a town in Bavaria, Germany.
No singer-songwriter
Unlike many singers on the charts these days, Elvis was no singer-songwriter. Across his dazzling 24 years in the industry, he recorded 600 tracks, despite never writing any of the lyrics. The man sure knew his strengths! You can listen to him work his magic with our Presley-dedicated playlist here.
If you’d like to follow in the footsteps of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, be sure to check out our Elvis Presley’s Memphis, New Orleans & Nashville tour or The Ultimate Elvis Presley & Dolly Parton Experience.
