On July 4th, 1954 when a young truck driver with a tough exterior, slightly long hair, flashy clothes and a crooked half smile entered Sun Records to record a Christmas song for his mother. Sam Phillips head of the Sun Records knew he had found what he was looking for. He believed that if he could find a singer who identified with a huge audience of teenagers, but could move and sound like a rhythm and blues singer, then he could make millions and even billions of dollars. He certainly found what he was looking for in Elvis Presley, a star who even to this day is referred to as “The King of Rock and Roll”. During his lifetime, is believed that he sold over 1 billion records and earned more awards and chart-topping positions than any other artist in history. 

It all began during a recording break at an impromptu rendition of an old R&B song by Al Crudup called That's Alright Mama. When Phillips realized that it was the sound he was looking for, he asked if he could re-record it, and within days of playing it on air at a local radio station, it became one of Elvis’s first overwhelming successes.

Elvis then began appearing regularly in local venues with two other musicians. It is said that his first shows, Elvis’s legs shook uncontrollably with nerves, causing teenage girls to “go crazy”. These moves became an Elvis trademark and along with some other cowboy antics, were incorporated into his shows.

By 1956 -57, Elvis had become a national star and teen Idol. He sang in primetime television shows, debuted on popular local radio stations, and performed with unprecedented riot-filled success. His first movie called Love Me Tender made $1,000,000 within three days of being launched. All the singles in that year went gold and included such hits as Heartbreak Hotel which sold more than $1,000,000 in just a few hours, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, My Baby Left Me, Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock and Hound Dog. 

Between 1958 and 1960 Elvis joined the US army and served in Germany. His fans were still able to see him in many films he had made prior to leaving. When he came back he had recorded a number of other hits such as Are You Lonesome Tonight, Can't Help Falling In Love, Return To Sender And Suspicious Minds. 

As Elvis aged, he became increasingly more unfit on stage and died in 1977 of a drug overdose. Today, even more than 40 years after his death millions of people from all over the world still pay homage to his memorable artists at his former residence called “Graceland”.