Elvis Presley: 10 Facts About The King of Roc 'n' Roll

Dubbed The King of Roc ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley remains one of the most iconic musicians who ever lived. The manner in which he gyrated his hips and his iconic black hair are just some of the outstanding qualities Elvis had.

Here are 10 interesting fact you probably didn’t know about Elvis Presley

1. When Elvis was born, he had a twin brother. Unfortunately, his brother didn’t make it due to a complicated birth. This made Elvis mother become so attached to her only surviving son that when she died in 1958, he expressed so much sorrow that funeral guests became worried.

2. Though elvis had various romantic relationships with women throughout his lifetime, he took vows with only one woman, Priscilla Beaulieu. When they got married, Priscilla was 10 years younger than the then 24-year-old Elvis. Today, this age gap would have been considered illegal.

3. The first thing Elvis ever wanted to purchase was a gun. However, his mother convinced him to get a guitar instead. He learned to play the guitar immediately and also exhibited a talent for singing. He singing was so incredible that when he was 12, he got an offer from a radio station to sing at one of their shows which. Elvis, however, declined this offer due to a surprising reason; shyness.

4. As a child, Elvis was a loner. He was often made fun of by other children for playing the guitar and they referred to him as “trashy”. They allegedly threw rotten fruits at him and damaged his guitar strings. Yet, there were a few “good eggs” who saw how much Elvis loved his guitar and contributed money to buy new strings for him. These students would probably have been proud when Elvis turned out successful.

5. At the age of 19, Elvis was already on his musical career path, but he faced a major rejection. He auditioned to join a gospel Quartet called Songfellows, but he was turned down (if only they knew!).

6. Elvis was actually a blonde but he began dyeing his hair black from a young age. He used shoe polish to dye his hair which was a cheaper alternative to shoe dye.

7. Unknown to many at that time, Elvis never wrote any of his songs. Irrespective of this, he was so talented that he had the ability to make any song he sang his won.

8. He earned a notorious reputation due to the way he gyrated his hips while performing on stage. This was considered “offensive” by many at that time. On one occasion, Juvenile Court Judge Marion Gooding threatened to arrest Elvis after attending one of his concerts. He warned the singer to desist from performing those moves and announce he would only tolerate limited-side-to-side movements.”

9. While Elvis was in the army, he took a liking for karate. He would exhibit his karate skills on stage and went on to receive a black belt.

10. According to Priscilla Presley, Elvis never saw her without makeup on. In her words, “Some men can’t have truth. I always had a little bit of makeup. He never wanted to see me getting dressed; he wanted to see the end result. Men don’t want to see what a woman has to go through to get where she is, they want to see the product, the result.”

What other Elvis Presley facts do you know? Tell us in the comment section below.