Today in Elvis History

It’s June nineteenth, and on this day in 1959… Vernon Presley returned to Memphis from Germany to handle family business, including renewing the license plates on Elvis’s fleet of luxury cars. But it…

It’s June eighteenth, and on this day in 1964… *Viva Las Vegas* opened in theaters across the United States. Though its release schedule was unusual—first premiering months earlier in the Far East, t…

It’s June seventeenth, and on this day in 1933… Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love Smith hitchhiked twenty miles from Tupelo to Pontotoc, Mississippi, to elope. Seventeen-year-old Vernon claimed to…

It’s June sixteenth, and on this day in 1976… the growing isolation surrounding Elvis Presley became undeniable. Even Colonel Tom Parker couldn’t reach him. Parker wrote a letter expressing his conce…

It’s June fifteenth, and on this day in 1961… *Wild in the Country*, Elvis Presley’s seventh film, premiered in Memphis. Based on a novel by J.R. Salamanca, the film marked a more dramatic turn for E…

It’s June fourteenth, and on this day in 1963… Priscilla Ann Beaulieu graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Though Elvis chose not to attend the ceremony to avoid cr…

It’s June thirteenth, and on this day in 1962… NBC-TV contributed twenty-five hundred dollars to the city of Tupelo, Mississippi, to help create a park beside the humble two-room house where Elvis Pr…

It’s June twelfth, and on this day in 1968… Elvis Presley’s twenty-seventh film, *Speedway*, premiered in Charlotte, North Carolina—appropriately set against the backdrop of the Charlotte 500 stock c…

It’s June eleventh, and on this day in 1957… RCA Victor officially released Elvis Presley’s double-sided single “Loving You” backed with “Teddy Bear.” Within a week, the record had sold over 1.25 mil…

It’s June tenth, and on this day in 1965… *The New York Times* reported that Elvis Presley’s gospel single “Crying in the Chapel” had reached number one on the British Hit Parade. The achievement mar…

It's May 2nd, and on this day in 1960, Elvis Presley began principal photography for his fifth film, *G.I. Blues*, at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The movie, set in post-World War II Germany, feat…

It's March fifteenth, and on this day in 1965, Elvis Presley began filming *Harum Scarum* and, during this period, became deeply involved with the Self-Realization Fellowship—an interfaith spiritual …

It’s June ninth, and on this day in 1972… Elvis Presley held a press conference at the New York Hilton, kicking off one of the most iconic moments of his career. Just hours later, he took the stage a…

It’s June eighth, and on this day in 1971… Elvis Presley was honored by his hometown in a lasting way. The Memphis County Commission, with support from Mayor Henry Loeb, officially renamed a portion …

It’s June seventh, and on this day in 1957… Elvis Presley was making his way home to Memphis by train after filming in Hollywood when he tried to contact his former girlfriend June Juanico—only to fi…

It’s June sixth, and on this day in 1968… Elvis Presley was in Los Angeles, deep in rehearsals for his upcoming television special at the offices of Binder-Howe Productions, when the news came that S…

It’s June fifth, and on this day in 1956… Elvis Presley shocked the nation with his appearance on *The Milton Berle Show*, broadcast live from NBC Studios in Los Angeles. After being introduced by Be…

It's June fourth, and on this day in 1960, Elvis Presley was visited on the set of *G.I. Blues* by three Scandinavian princesses. The royal encounter was a highlight during filming, and that evening,…

It's June third, and on this day in 1953, Elvis Presley received his high school diploma at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. Dressed in a dark suit and tie, the future King of Rock and Roll graduated fro…