Have a Job You Love (or "Don't Do a 'Normal' Job"!)

As I mentioned in another post on my blog, Elvis was born Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8th 1935. His youth was a life of poverty, rarely having enough to get by despite his family’s best intentions. Luck was rarely on their side and bad stuff did happen, such as when his father, Vernon, was imprisoned after forging a check. Still, Elvis went to church with his overly religious mother to hear gospel music. Furthermore, he listened to country music on the radios and heard the blues the local blacks would play. When Elvis was older, his parents saved enough to buy him a guitar. Music and singing became a regular part of Elvis’s life and when he was ten, he won second place in a talent show, winning a five dollar prize and free admission to certain fairground rides.

But even so, Elvis went through the regular school system. He wasn’t exceptional, but he did earn his diploma from Humes High School in 1953. And, like every other kid who gets out of the school system, he now had a greater problem – what to do next.

His father had got into trucking and so did Elvis. But this wasn’t anything special even back in the fifties so, meanwhile, the king-to-be also took an apprenticeship to become an electrician – a well-paid but normal job.

This might have been all for the rest of Elvis’s life ­­­– perhaps still physically the same and good-natured, but unremarkable and at the very most a sought-after tradesman. Then something incredible happened in 1953; Elvis took action and went to Sam Phillips’s small Memphis studio which allowed customers to pay to record themselves. Elvis allegedly went in to create his mother a birthday present. He sang a version of “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartache Begins”. The recording is still available, not the best by far, but you can still hear Elvis emerging through the verses as he backs himself up on acoustic guitar.

Perhaps it wasn’t the best recording, but Sam Phillips liked what he heard and, in 1954, called Elvis back to meet a couple musicians of his, Scotty Moore and Bill Black. They jammed around a bit and eventually, after a few months, created their first local hit, a cover of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s Alright Mama”. Elvis realised he preferring exploiting his talent in music more than anything he’d done before so gradually he stopped truck driving and halted his apprenticeship. Remember, this is the 50’s – the music business certainly wasn’t any safer then. If anything, it was probably harder to promote yourself then than now (no internet…). But Elvis burnt the ships and focussed on what he loved to do, did it as best as he could and created history along the way.

Elvis’s Lessons

Ø There will always be others to take ‘normal’ jobs. Exploit your talents, do what you love and be the best you can possibly be at it and you’ll do your bit in changing the world. And if you want to work 9 to 5 in office for the rest of your life – as long as you’re still exploiting your talent, doing what you love and being the best you possible can be – that’s fine, too.

P.S. If you're interested in hearing Elvis singing "My Happiness" in the recording from that first fateful day when he walked in to Sun Studios back in 1953, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKTdFrFFdLM

Welcome to Graceland, Ontario!

Welcome to Graceland, Ontario, a tribute to the life of Elvis Presley by a Canadian fan (with the inspiration of his English teacher’s mark book). Starting from his early beginnings, we’ll work our way through the King’s early years, take a bend during his Hollywood stint. Later, we’ll hit Las Vegas and stop by to watch the world’s first internationally broadcast concert (among other glam events involving Elvis) and relate all of the above to timeless lessons that can help you and your success.

The point of this blog isn’t to simply recount Elvis’s life as that’s been done in tons of books and blogs over the internet. What we want to do at Graceland, Ontario is look at the life of one of the most successful men in not only popular music but popular culture. Then we’ll analyse what success principles he showed to get where he was at his peak and how violating some of these principles hurt him and ultimately led to his death.

Beginning of History Lesson

For those of you who aren’t crazy Elvis fans (and I’m sure there are a couple of you out there), Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on the 8th of January, 1935. He led a generally unremarkable existence until 1953 when he walked into the lobby of Sun Studios in Memphis to record a couple songs as birthday present for his mother. He must have done something right because in 1954 Sam Phillips contacted Elvis and asked him to come back to the studio to do more singing. Phillips hooked Elvis up with Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass and the group, after lots of practice, found they worked together well. They had a local hit with a cover of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s Alright, Mama” later in 1954 but were going on to bigger things.

In late 1955, with the help of his new manager, Colonel Parker, Elvis secured a record contract with RCA. He recorded his first LP, Elvis Presley, and had his first number one, national hit with “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956. Several hits and a major controversy concerning his onstage movements later, Elvis got into the movies. Starting with Love Me Tender in 1956 he was later to record thirty three movies for MGM (two of which were concert documentaries).

Elvis served a stint in the army from 1958 to 1960 and was honourably discharged as a sergeant. There were doubts whether he could make a comeback but, following an appearance on The Frank Sinatra Show, the world was certain that Elvis was back.

He met the Beatles in 1965, was married to Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967 and, when he became sick of movies, did the TV Special Elvis (later known as the Comeback Special) in 1968. He returned to touring in 1969 and was famous for his shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas (later to be the Las Vegas Hilton).

Elvis had a daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968 and one of his biggest hits ever with “Suspicious Minds” in 1969. Two live concert films of Elvis were made at this time, Elvis ­– That’s The Way it Is at the International in 1970 and Elvis on Tour in 1972. Elvis first sang in Madison Square Garden in ’72 and, in 1973, Elvis sang in the first globally broadcast concert, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii.

But it was not all sunshine and roses for the king, as fans called him at this point. Elvis’s marriage with Priscilla broke up in1973 and he was never the same afterwards. His last top ten hit in the U.S. was “Burning Love” in 1972 and he gradually developed a prescription drug dependency. This combined with his growing weight problems and other health issues led to his tragic early demise at 42 on August 16th, 1977.

Elvis’s legend has grown in death and Graceland, Elvis’s mansion, after being opened as a museum in 1982, receives over 600,000 guests a year. Nearly 35 years after his death! Elvis had a hit with a remix of “A Little Less Conversation” by JXL in 2002, twenty-five years after his death and he still gathers fans through mediums such as, you guessed it, the internet.

End of History Lesson

Now, a couple FAQ’s: Why "Graceland, Ontario"? Well, because Graceland is the name of Elvis’s iconic mansion (just in case you didn’t pick that up during the history lesson) and I live in Ontario, so it makes sense… kind of. Going on, does Graceland, Ontario really, geographically, exist? Well, possibly but to my knowledge no, so picnicking is not an option. Furthermore, do I live in Graceland, Ontario? Please refer to the previous question for an answer. Isn’t it weird when you have to ask another question to understand an answer? Man, now I’m over-complicating things and, as my English teacher says, that’s not a good thing (she also says I do it a lot, but la-de-dah).

So, buckle up for the ride of your life as we follow the exciting paths of Elvis Presley. Pay attention − questions will be asked (eventually…).

P.S. Gotta take time to thank http://www.freeclassicimages.com for the photos. You guys are life savers!