September - "Elvis" the Movie

(Don’t worry – no spoilers here!)

We thought that the movie was fantastic, made about the whirlwind life of one of the most prominent musicians of the century, and did him a great deal of justice. It gave a lot of background in understanding how Elvis got to where he did. They showed the different sides of two men who together made musical history. We thought the acting was wonderful, not to mention Austin Butler’s singing and dancing! The casting was excellent, as were the sets, the costumes, the make-up, the cinematography, and the sound. These elements coupled with the fast pace of the movie all made it a very enjoyable experience. We highly recommend that you see it if you haven’t yet.

We did not learn the following things from the movie, but here are…

10 things that you might not know about Elvis

1. Elvis was the cousin of a US president.

Presley was the sixth cousin once removed of President Jimmy Carter. Both were descended from a German immigrant named Valentine Pressler who had come to New York in 1709.

2. Elvis was the top U.S. taxpayer in 1973.

Perhaps due to the influence of his manager Col. Tom Parker (who was an illegal immigrant from the Netherlands and didn’t want any extra attention from the IRS), Presley often refused to take advantage of tax deductions and typically overpaid his income tax bill.

3. Elvis didn’t like burnt bacon sandwiches…

According to his cook, Mary Jenkins Langston, the rumor that Presley liked burnt bacon sandwiches is untrue. “He liked his bacon very crisp,” she corrected.

4. … but loved a good sandwich so much that he once flew across the country for one.

Some guests who were visiting Presley told him about a sandwich from their hometown and he became curious to try it. The party boarded his private jet and flew from Memphis to Denver, where the sandwiches were delivered to the hangar at 1:40 am. Known as a Fool’s Gold Loaf, the sandwich consisted of peanut butter, jelly and a pound of bacon stuffed inside a hollowed loaf of French bread.

5. He was a natural blonde.

Although his black pompadour is iconic, it wasn’t natural. He was born with blonde hair that eventually darkened to a medium brown. He began dying his hair black as a teenager to toughen up his image.

6. He had a black belt in Karate.

Introduced to Karate after he was drafted into the army, Presley enthusiastically studied the martial art, achieving black belt status in 1960. He was a student of the style known as American Kenpo and eventually attained an 8^th degree black belt in 1974.

7. He was not particularly known for his songwriting skills…

Despite recording over 700 songs during his career and occasionally receiving co-writing credit on some of them, Presley’s true strength was in performing, not songwriting. Most of his involvement was adding an occasional word or phrase, but sometimes it was simply a business arrangement in exchange for recording a new writer’s song. 

8. … and in the 8^th grade, he received a C- in music.

According to his music teacher, the young Mr. Presley had no aptitude for singing. He responded by bringing a guitar to school the next day and singing the recent hit, “Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me.” It didn’t change her opinion.

9. Elvis was a football fanatic.

Quoted as preferring “rugged sports” like boxing and karate, Presley claimed to love football most of all. On Sundays, his three televisions would all be tuned to NFL games. He also frequently received game films directly from teams and pro-football pals.

10. He had a brief tryst with Marilyn Monroe.

According to Presley’s former agent Byron Raphael, the two greatest icons of the 1950s had one date at the height of their fame. When he asked Elvis about Monroe a few days later, the King replied, “She’s a nice gal, but a little tall for me.”

Source: 10 Things You Might Not Know About Elvis - Legacy.com