The King of Rock and Roll!

by Evelyn J. Mocbeichel

As a huge fan of Elvis Presley way back from my early teen years, to the present, I listen to his music on a fairly regular basis. I also recall special dates relating to him like his birthday and unfortunate too early passing. His birthday falls in January and there were several documentaries shown on various networks as well as running some of his many films made over the span of his career. Naturally any Elvis fan would be honest and admit that these “fluff” films were all created with a similar formula, which was just to highlight his singing talents.  He starred in 31 of these films and of course, always got the girl at the end. By the way, Viva Las Vegas co-starring Ann Margaret was the highest grossing of these films. The storylines and plots were thinly created and featured an attractive young actress to play the love interest and dance with Elvis as he performed his music. It didn’t matter that these films were hastily put together; often producing three movies a year, diehard fans went to see them nevertheless. This included me and my teenage girlfriends, also adoring Elvis fans! After seeing the films we rushed out to buy the 45 rpm of one of the film’s songs that became a hit. By the way, Elvis had 18 songs that hit the charts at number 1 out of the 149 he recorded and were hits. Here is a trivia quiz for Elvis fans.

  1. What were Elvis’ parents’ first names?
  2. What was the first recording studio to sign him to a record deal?
  3. What was Elvis’ first recorded song?
  4. What kind of flashy car did he buy his mother after signing a deal with RCA?
  5. What television show featured Elvis performing only showing him waist down, eliminating his famous wiggle?
  6. What was the name of the manager than many feel took advantage of Elvis financially and professionally?
  7. What country was Elvis stationed when he was drafted into the army?
  8. Elvis bought a private plane and named it after his daughter. What was her name?
  9. Elvis’ favorite sandwich was?
  10. Elvis taped a concert in 1973 at a convention center that was the first program ever to be beamed around the world by satellite. Where was this concert seen by millions of viewers around the globe filmed?

Answers: 1. Gladys and Vernon 2. Sun Records 3.That’s All Right 4. A pink Cadillac 5.The Ed Sullivan Show 6. “Colonel” Tom Parker 7. Germany 8. Lisa Marie 9. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich 10. Hawaii (If you got all the answers correct, you are also a big fan of ELVIS!)