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01
Elvis’s personal entourage were called the Memphis Mafia and received matching diamond and gold rings featuring a thunderbolt and the letters TCB for Take Care of Business. He was buried wearing one of these rings.
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02
The Beatles visited America in 1965 and specifically asked to meet Elvis. On August 27, 1965, they spent an evening at his home in Bel Air, California, where they talked, sang, and laughed together.
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03
When an opera singer told Elvis he sang like a hillbilly and needed lessons, Elvis replied, Thanks for the advice, but how many of the thousands of people out there tonight came to hear you sing?.
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04
In the early 1960s, Elvis performed a concert in Hawaii and donated the proceeds to help build the USS Arizona memorial.
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05
He won three Grammy Awards, all for his gospel music.
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06
Elvis has sold 1.8 billion records worldwide, more than any other artist or music group.
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07
He once had to leave a Connie Francis concert because hearing the song Mama reminded him of his mother, Gladys Presley, who had recently died.
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08
From the time they met until his death, Elvis always sent a roomful of flowers to Ann-Margret whenever she opened a show in Las Vegas.
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09
Elvis is one of only a handful of artists inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.
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10
He suffered from chronic insomnia.
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11
In 1973, Elvis met with Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. Plant was so awestruck he could barely speak. Elvis traded his $5,000 gold and diamond watch for Jones’s $10 Mickey Mouse watch, breaking the ice.
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12
Elvis disliked confrontation and would ask friends to fire his manager Tom Parker, but never did it himself.
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13
He is a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s great-great-grandfather, Isaiah Harrison.
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14
In 1973, Elvis was the biggest taxpayer in the US.
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15
In 1975, he purchased an electric wheelchair for a poor black East Memphis woman and personally sat her in it. He also gave her teenage daughter a car after she admired it.
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16
On his last full day of life, August 15, 1977, he tried to get a print of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope to show his daughter Lisa Marie.
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17
His last film, Change of Habit 1969, dealt with social issues like autism, rape, and mob violence, reflecting his attempt to be relevant.
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18
Elvis owned one of the world’s first mobile phones, after seeing Sean Connery use a car phone in From Russia with Love. His phone was in a suitcase-sized case.
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19
The very last song he sang in public was Can’t Help Falling In Love at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977.
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20
Graceland is the second most-visited place in the United States after the White House.
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21
He earned a black belt in karate in 1960.
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22
His four favorite films were Rebel Without a Cause, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dirty Harry, and Bullitt.
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23
His 29¢ commemorative postage stamp issued in 1993 sold more copies than any other stamp in US Postal Service history.
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24
After seeing him in concert, Liberace suggested adding flashy costumes; Elvis adopted gold lame jackets and jeweled white jumpsuits.
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25
He was known for his generosity, often giving away possessions to anyone who admired them.
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26
He made the first ever music video with Jailhouse Rock in 1957.
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27
In 1977 alone, his personal physician Dr. George Nichopoulos prescribed at least 10,000 doses of various drugs for him. The doctor’s license was later revoked.
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28
The last song he sang was Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain at home, playing piano, on the evening of August 15, 1977.
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29
He held the world indoor attendance record for a concert at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit on December 31, 1975, with 62,500 fans and a box-office take of $850,000.
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30
Elvis was a good friend of Johnny Cash, dating back to their Sun Records days.
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31
He had glaucoma in the 1970s.
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32
He bought Graceland on March 19, 1957 for $102,500. The mansion has 23 rooms and 13.7 acres.
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33
He once gave a robe to Muhammad Ali with The Peoples Champion stitched on the back.
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34
His mother gave him his first guitar in 1947 as a birthday present.
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35
He was a huge fan of TV shows The Jeffersons, Good Times, Happy Days, and Flip.
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36
Most of his films were not critically acclaimed, but he received good reviews for Flaming Star and King Creole.
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37
The last film he saw in a theater was The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.
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38
Many fans consider his 1969 recording sessions at American International Studios in Memphis to be among his greatest work.
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39
In 1969, he received a death threat and carried a Derringer pistol in his shoe during his Las Vegas opening.
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40
He was originally considered for the role in A Star Is Born 1976 but turned it down because his manager demanded top billing.
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41
When Clark Gable died, Elvis was given his dressing room at MGM studios.
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42
He earned an estimated $4.5 billion in his lifetime.
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43
A remix of A Little Less Conversation was featured in Ocean’s Eleven 2001 and became a #1 hit over 20 years after his death.
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44
His funeral procession on August 18, 1977 consisted of 49 cars led by 11 white Cadillacs, his favorite car.
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45
He has more multi-platinum album sales than any other performer, with 12 albums selling over two million copies.
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46
Heartbreak Hotel spent 17 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s country chart and 10 weeks on the Hot 100 in 1956.
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47
After an attempted body theft, his remains and his mother’s were re-interred in the Meditation Garden behind Graceland on October 2, 1977.
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48
His all-time favorite horror movie was Black Christmas 1974; he watched it every Christmas.
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49
He helped support an All-Negro Day at the Memphis Zoo in 1956.
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50
He was a distant cousin of US President Jimmy Carter, who said after his death, ‘Elvis Presley’s death deprived our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable.
