The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley was born 85 years ago

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — The man known as “The King of Rock and Roll” was born on this day…85 years ago.

Elvis Presley, who became a phenomenon in the 1950’s was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a two room house built by his father.  The house is now a tourist attraction in Tupelo.

The Presley family eventually moved to Memphis, Tennessee and that’s where Elvis made his first recordings in 1953. In August of that year, Elvis stopped by the offices of Sun Records to record a couple of songs for his mother.

He returned to Sun to make other recordings but it wasn’t until July of 1954 that a last minute attempt to make a hit record came about. The song was “That’s All Right”.

It became a regional hit throughout the southern U.S.

Presley eventually signed a deal with RCA Records and scored his first big national hit, “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956.

Over the years, more than 100 of his singles landed in the Billboard Top 40.

18 of them going to Number 1.

He went on to star in several movies. Jailhouse Rock, Blue Hawaii and Viva Las Vegas were just a few.

Presley died in 1977 at the age of 42.

A week long 85th birthday celebration is taking place at Graceland, his home in Memphis.