Elvis Biography as Told by His Parents

ELVIS BIOGRAPHY AS TOLD BY HIS PARENTS

Parents are usually proud of their children, then Gladys and Vernon were especially proud. Read excerpts of this rare 1956 recently discovered interview by mum & dad

Every teenager boy dreams of doing something terrific! Making that sudden and smashing success which will assure his place in the adult world. If he is so rash as to voice that dream he swiftly hears the adult counsel, "Don't kid yourself."

Yet, there was an 18-year-old lad, who lived in poverty, who dared to dream his dream and then one day in the summer of 1953 his dream came true.

At 21 Elvis Aron Presley has become a national legend. Parents gossip about him. Critics argue about him. Rock n roll fans love him. His name showed four hit records simultaneously, all in first place on Top, Tunes and Talent.

His is the fastest selling album RCA-Victor has ever issued. Sales of his "Heartbreak Hotel" are nearing the 2 million-dollar mark and his Hollywood screen test promises he will further enhance his fame when he becomes a motion picture star.

Most Broadway promoters agree, "This guy tops Sinatra! When bobbysoxers swooned in Times Square, everyone knows that response was hyped for Sinatra had one of the best press agent in the business, Presley hasn't even got a press agent. He's set the first all by himself. The guy's a natural!"

He also is a good son, a good neighbours, and a good citizen of Memphis, his beloved hometown. Tupelo, Mississippi where Elvis Presley was born is a small city in the heart of the cotton country a Deep South down.

It is difficult for a Northerner to understand the depth of the people's troubles after the Civil War. A few of the favored and fashionable surmounted their difficulties and flourished.

However others lived in genteel poverty and for most Southern folk all the signs of good living were lost. By the time the Depression of the 30's dumped an extra load on their backs many had found that their only defense was a fierce independence and strong family ties would allow them their only resource and joy.

It was in that setting that Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love Smith fell in love. "We