- 1955
Touring with Jim Ed and Maxine Brown, Elvis had a second appearance at the Catholic Club, Helena, Arkansas. Sonny Trammell and Leon Post appeared on this show. Also, Howard Serratt, a local performer
- 1956
Elvis appeared at the Humes High School, Memphis, unscheduled and he performed there for about 10 minutes at a Father’s Night show.
- 1957
Like the day before Elvis again went to Radio Recorders. This time from noon to 11.00 p.m.
Among the songs he recorded was Peace In The Valley, which Elvis had already performed at the Ed Sullivan show. Take My Hand, Precious Lord was also recorded today.
- 1958
Elvis arrived in California to begin pre-production on King Creole, his second Paramount picture.
- 1961
The movie “Flaming Star” opened in London.
- 1962
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley moved to #1 on the Easy Listening chart.
- 1964
Elvis sent a telegram to the Colonel: “Regarding the Beatles.
I feel the same way as you feel about them, I just hope the fans over here are as good to them as the fans in England are to me. Sincerely yours, Elvis Presley.”
This appeared to be a “canned” telegram.
- 1969
Elvis Presley begins a ten-day recording session that will produce his final US number one record, “Suspicious Minds”. The tracks are laid down at American Sound Studios in Memphis and mark the first time The King has recorded in his hometown since his Sun Records days in 1956.
Producer Chips Moman and the searing band of musicians he had assembled at American Sound Studios were waiting for the arrival of Elvis Presley and his notorious retinue.
Elvis had a cold when he first arrived at American that night and was a bit taken aback by the studio’s condition, which was run-down enough for a host of rats to feel comfortable taking up residence; ‘What a funky studio!’ he announced, responding to hearing rodents scuffling around.
For their part, the musicians weren’t overly impressed about working with someone of Elvis Presley’s stature, having already worked with many big names by then. But they were surprised by the charisma he exuded before work even began. ‘You’d know he was in the room when he walked in’, said Reggie Young. ‘You hear stories about people that have that effect on people, and I never thought anything about it. But Elvis really did. He just kind of commanded his space. You definitely knew he was there’.
Elvis quickly won the musicians’ respect for how hard he worked. With the first song, Long Black Limousine, which Elvis turned into an impassioned soul shout, they were convinced. His vocals were recorded as the musicians worked out a song’s arrangement, with the understanding that he’d recut a final vocal later.
Nonetheless, he gave his all during the early takes, with sax player/arranger Glen Spreen marveling at how he’d effectively give a full performance in the studio, even standing behind a baffle. ‘He was back there just like he would be onstage, doing gyrations and the whole thing – because that was just the way he sang’, Spreen told biographer Peter Guralnick. And despite his cold, Elvis himself felt re-energized by his work in the studio.
Chips only recorded three songs that evening, Long Black Limousine by Bobby George and Vern Stovall, that Chips introduced, This Is the Story by Arnold, Morrow, and Martin, from Freddy Bienstock and H & R and Wearin’ That Loved On Look by Dallas Frazier and Al Owens, which Lamar had brought in. Even so, the session didn’t break up till four the next morning and everyone seemed satisfied. On the ride back to Graceland, Elvis turned to the guys in the back and told them what seemed obvious. ‘Man, that felt really great. I can’t tell you how good I feel … I really just want to see if I can have a number one record one more time’. He later said he never worked harder in the studio than he had during the sessions at American.
Chips would later remember actually sensing Elvis’ presence when he arrived in the parking lot.
- 1970
Elvis was at RCA Hollywood rehearsing for his second Las Vegas season.
- 1971
Back in Los Angeles, Elvis obtained more firearms as well as 22 additional TCB pendants.
- 1972
Elvis began with the rehearsals for the upcoming Las Vegas engagement at RCA Studio C on Sunset at 7.00 p.m. He worked with the rhythm section for 6 hours on both this and the following night and even for 3 hours in the weekend.
- 1973
Elvis Presley receiving an award, from Matt Esposito, manager of the H.I.C. in the late evening, before his Aloha Concert.
- 1974
Elvis was in LA.
- 1976
Vacation in Vail, Colorado.
The Lone Ranger
After a skiing accident at Vail Colorado, with Dr. Nick’s (George Nichopoulos) son Dean needing medical attention, Elvis, Dr Nick and Dean went to the local hospital. (Date unknown).
George Nichopoulos: ‘Finally we arrived at the hospital. I pulled out my Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card with Elvis Presley Enterprises printed on it and handed it to the busy receptionist.
She must have thought she was being cute, ’cause she smirked back, ‘Yeah. So where’s Elvis?’
Still wearing his ski mask, Elvis looked all around, left and right, up and down; then he answered mischievously, ‘He’s here … somewhere’, ‘And who are you?’ the receptionist shot back. ‘The Lone Ranger’, Elvis replied matter-of-factly. But she had already returned to her paperwork, paying no attention to the silly masked man. (X-rays showed Dean’s knee was badly sprained and bruised with contusions.
From the book: The King and Dr. Nick by George Nichopoulos.
- 1978
Elvis Presley‘s version of Paul Anka’s “My Way” goes Gold five months after the King’s death.
Elvis had included the song in the 1973 Aloha concert and sang it many times in concert, in the defiant spirit intended by writer Paul Anka (Canadian), and sometime in 1974, Elvis started singing it in defeat.
“My Way” reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in late-1977/early-1978 (higher than Frank Sinatra’s peak position), number 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and went Gold for its successful sales of over half a million copies. The following year the single reached number 2 on the Billboard Country singles chart but went all the way to number 1 on the rival Cash Box Country Singles chart. In the UK, it reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart.
- 2001
TV Guide issued a set of 4 commemorative Elvis Presley covers.
- 2005
A report showed that more songs had been written about Elvis Presley than any other artist. It listed over 220 songs including: ‘Graceland’ by Paul Simon, ‘A Room At The Heartbreak hotel’ by U2, ‘Calling Elvis’, Dire Straits, ‘Happy Birthday Elvis’, Loudon Wainwright III, ‘There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis’, Kirsty MacColl, ‘I Saw Elvis in a UFO’, Ray Stevens. ‘Elvis Has Left the Building’ by Frank Zappa and ‘My Dog Thinks I’m Elvis’ by Ray Herndon.
