Missing our king

By Jerry Fink (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

Jan. 8, 1935 - Born in Tupelo, Miss.

1948 - Family moves to Memphis.

July 5, 1954 - Sun Records owner Sam Phillips teams Elvis with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. They record "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right," his first single on the Sun label. Flip side: "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

July 30, 1954 - Plays the Overton Park Shell in Memphis. He's so nervous that he can't stop shaking his left leg. Girls go wild.

Oct. 16, 1954 - First appearance on the Louisiana Hayride, a popular country radio show out of Shreveport.

August 1955 - Colonel Tom Parker becomes his manager.

Jan. 27, 1956 - "Heartbreak Hotel" is released. It becomes Elvis' first gold record.

April 23, 1956 - First Las Vegas performance. Elvis, 21, is billed as "The Atomic Powered Singer" at the New Frontier Hotel.

Sept. 9, 1956 - First appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Elvis sings "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Ready Teddy" and "Hound Dog."

Nov. 16, 1956 - Premiere of his first movie, "Love Me Tender."

Jan. 6, 1957 - "Waist up" Elvis on Ed Sullivan.

March 1957 - Buys Graceland.

December 1957 - Drafted. He was inducted in March 1958 and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, for six months.

Aug. 14, 1958 - His mother, Gladys Presley , dies.

Oct. 1, 1958 - Arrives in Germany. Stationed in Friedberg for 18 months .

March 5, 1960 - Discharged.

March 21, 1960 - Receives his first degree black belt in karate.

March 25, 1961 - Elvis performs at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, his last non-movie performance until his 1968 television special .

July 1963 - Elvis spends several weeks in town filming "Viva Las Vegas," which co-starred Ann-Margret.

May 1, 1967 - Elvis marries Priscilla Anne Beaulieu in a small private ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel. He was 32; she, 21.

Feb. 1, 1968 - Lisa Marie Presley born.

June 27-30, 1968 - Tapes TV special, which airs Dec. 3. NBC called it "Elvis" but most fans know it as "The '68 Comeback Special."

July 31-Aug. 28, 1969 - Elvis breaks Las Vegas attendance records during a four-week, 57-show run at the new International Hotel. He records his first live album, "Elvis in Person at the International Hotel," and the documentary, "Elvis: That's The Way It Is," during this engagement.

Dec. 21, 1970 - Elvis drops in on President Nixon at the White House.

Aug. 9, 1971 - Elvis returns to the International, now the Las Vegas Hilton. He signs a five-year contract to perform twice a year at the Hilton.

Aug. 2-12, 1976 - His last engagement in Las Vegas.

June 26, 1977 - His final concert is at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

Aug. 16, 1977 - Elvis dies at Graceland.

Sept. 8, 1978 - Elvis' father, Vernon Presley; Priscilla Presley; and Hilton President Barron Hilton unveil a 400-pound bronze statue at the Las Vegas Hilton.

March 1, 1998 - Rusty Wallace drives an Elvis-themed Ford Taurus in the NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The car was presented to Graceland on what would have been Elvis' 64th birthday.

$12.95

Cost of his first guitar, bought in 1946 at the Tupelo Hardware Store.

$17.50

Tickets to dinner show at the Hilton, including lobster or steak in the 1970s.

31

Number of movies made between 1956 and 1969.

837

Consecutive sold-out shows at the International and Hilton.

$55,000

Amount he spent on the Potomac, former presidential yacht of Franklin Roosevelt, in 1964.

$43.7 million

Worth of show tickets sold in Las Vegas (about $250 million in 2007 dollars).

409-52-2002

His Social Security number.

"Don't Be Cruel" (1956)

"Heartbreak Hotel" (1956)

"Hound Dog" (1956)

"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" (1956)

"Love Me Tender" (1956)

"(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" (1957)

"All Shook Up" (1957)

"Jailhouse Rock" (1957)

"Too Much" (1957)

"Don't" (1958)

"Hard Headed Woman" (1958)

"A Big Hunk O' Love" (1959)

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (1960)

"It's Now or Never" (1960)

"Stuck on You" (1960)

"Surrender" (1961)

"Good Luck Charm" (1962)

"Blue Christmas" (1964)

"Suspicious Minds" (1969)

"I Forgot to Remember to Forget" (1956, Country)

"Loving You" (1957, Black)

"Wear My Ring Around Your Neck " (1958, Black)

"Can't Help Falling in Love" (1962, Adult Contemporary )

"(Such an) Easy Question" (1965, Adult Contemporary)

"Crying in the Chapel" (1965, Adult Contemporary)

"I'm Yours" (1965, Adult Contemporary)

"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1970, Adult Contemporary)

"The Wonder of You" (1970, Adult Contemporary)

"My Boy" (1975, Adult Contemporary)

"Moody Blue" (1977, Country)

"Pledging My Love" (1977, Country)

"She Thinks I Still Care" (1977, Country)

"Way Down" (1977, Country)

"Guitar Man" (1981, Country)

"A Little Less Conversation" (2002, JXL)

"Rubberneckin' " (2003-04, Paul Oakenfold)

It's been 30 years since Elvis Presley died.

On Aug. 16, 1977, the 42-year-old legend was found dead on the floor of a bathroom of Graceland in Memphis, Tenn.

Fans will remember him in many ways. Some will sit at home and spin Elvis' No. 1 hits or play his movies. Others will opt to listen to musical tributes from the likes of Paul Simon ("Graceland"), Marc Cohn ("Walking in Memphis"), Warren Zevon ("Porcelain Monkey"), Mojo Nixon ("Elvis Is Everywhere") and Gillian Welch ("Elvis Presley Blues").

But this is Las Vegas, and Elvis lives!

You can go out and celebrate The King's death at some of events scheduled for Thursday: