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On January 8, 1935, Gladys Presley gave birth to twin boys in this room. Jesse Garon was stillborn. The other twin was named Elvis Aaron Presley.

Work was hard to find. When Elvis was about two and a half years old, Vernon lost the house for lack of payment.  At that time the family moved next door to live with Vernon’s parents, Minnie and Jesse.

Over the next few years Vernon and Gladys worked at various jobs in and around Tupelo. Gladys sewed for Reed Manufacturing and Tupelo Garment Company. Vernon drove a truck for L.P. McCarty and another wholesale company. He also did some sharecropping. The family moved several more times in Tupelo. When Elvis went from Lawhon to Milam School the family moved closer to Milam school.

He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948.  From September 1949 to January 1953 Elvis Presley and his parents, Gladys and Vernon, lived at 185 Winchester, Apartment 328 in Lauderdale Courts. "The Courts" proved to be a pivotal place for Elvis as he developed his unique style, for it was here where a shy Elvis would practice the guitar in the basement laundry room. He would also meet and play with the other musicians who lived in The Courts.  Elvis would stroll to nearby Beale Street and gain inspiration from famous blues artists. You could find him listening to records at Poplar Tunes record store around the corner and Sun Studio was just over a mile away. It was here, in this close knit community, that Elvis met girlfriends, attended Humes High and developed as a performer.  Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.

 His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977.