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Elvis Presley Elvis Presley is known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." He transformed the world with his new kind of music, trademark pelvic gyrations, and rebel image. Music history was changed forever. Elvis Aron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley on January 8, 1935, right after his twin brother Jesse Garon. Jesse died at birth. He was buried in an unmarked grave in their town, Tupelo, Mississippi. Their mother often said, "when one twin died, the one that lived got all the strength of both" (Daily 14). Elvis's parents, Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love Smith, were very poor. They both dropped out of high school before graduating. At the age of fifteen, Vernon's father kicked him out of the house. He was working as sharecropper when he married Gladys. Gladys also came from a family of poor sharecroppers. Her father died when she was a teenager. She helped support her family by working behind a swing machine for thirteen dollars a week (Daily 13,14). Vernon and Gladys moved into a small house in East Tupelo, a poor section of Tupelo, Mississippi, where sharecroppers and poor factory workers lived, separated from the rest of the town by a levee and a set of railroad tracks. Vernon had built a sturdy two room home on Old Saltillo Road that included a porch and outhouse. Outside they kept a cow and some chickens. They didn't own much (Gentry 25). Their home had dirt floors, no electricity, or running water. The Presleys were poverty stricken just like most families at this time during the low point in the Great Depression (Daily 14). The Presley family never forgot their stillborn son, Jesse Garon, Elvis's identical twin brother. They annually visited Jesse's grave on Elvis's birthday. The hardship of losing a child brought the Presleys closer together as a family. Gladys showered all her love and attention on Elvis. They were unusually close (Daily 16). The death of Elvis's twin made Gladys excessively fearful and protective about Elvis's health. She was never able to have another child, and she focused all of her maternal energy on Elvis (Gentry 27). A Tupelo neighbor of the Presleys said, "Gladys thought he was the greatest thing that ever happened and treated him that way. She worshipped that child from the day he was borned to the day she died" (Daily 16). As a boy, Elvis was quiet, shy, and polite. He was an average student with few friends. Elvis hated the idea of hunting. His favorite pastime was reading comic books, especially Captain Marvel, and day dreaming about the future. He had an active fantasy life, imagining himself to be successful, famous, and rich. Young Elvis was always attracted to music, although his parents were not musicians. Elvis and his mother were addicted to country programs. The two radio junkies especially listened to a show called the "Grand Ole Opry," broadcasted live every Saturday night. He also listened to hillbilly music on Tupelo station WELO (Daily 16,17). The Presley's attended the Tupelo First Assembly of God church every Sunday. They both had good voices, which ran out together during Sunday services. Neither of them joined the choir, though (Gentry 27, 28). In 1937, when Elvis was three years old, Vernon was sent to jail. He and two friends had sold a hog for $4, trying to keep their families fed. Disappointed with the small amount, Vernon altered the check to read $40. At their trial, friends, neighbors, and church members all pleaded with the judge to let the men go, but in the end they were all sentenced to three years of hard labor at Parchman Farm State Penitentiary, the most infamous prison in the nation (Gentry 29).
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