1Elvis' Chimpanzee
Elvis’ chimpanzee 'Scatter' drank beer and whiskey and pulled clothes off the women. He bit people and went bathroom into his hands and threw it during parties. Elvis's friend Lamar Fike once electrocuted Scatter with a cattle prod and he even claimed Elvis once assaulted him with a pool cue.
2. In 2012, a librarian at a high school in Tupelo, Mississippi discovered a library card in the back of an old book signed in 1948 by a then 13-year-old Elvis Presley. It is the oldest known autograph by Elvis.
3. When Elvis Presley was filming the movie, “Blue Hawaii,” he performed a benefit concert to raise money for the memorial to the USS Arizona, which had been sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was one of the longest concerts of his career and he refused to comp tickets and even made admirals pay full price to attend the show.
4. When Elvis Presley made his 3rd appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, he was only filmed dancing from the waist up because of a rumor that he had been hanging a small soda bottle down his pants "to create the illusion of a large, swinging endowment."
5. In 1974, Presley expressed interest in covering Dolly Parton's "I will always love you". Even though Dolly was initially thrilled about the proposal, she refused it when she found out she would have to sign over half of the royalties to Elvis.
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6When Elvis Almost Drowned
Later in his life as Elvis Presley battled with his addiction of prescription meds, Linda Thompson one day found him so drugged up that he was unconsciousness, passed out, and drowning in a bowl of chicken noodle soup. She immediately sprang into action, held his head up by his hair, and started to clean his throat, pulling out chunks of food.
7. Elvis Presley received many death threats. Once he went on stage with two guns, hidden in his right boot and waistband. Once he even used his karate skills to eject an invader off the stage.
8. One night, Elvis Presley flew to Denver and back because he was craving for a sandwich named “Fool’s Gold Loaf.” It’s an 8,000 calorie sandwich which is made from a hollowed-out loaf filled with an entire jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon.
9. Elvis Presley once released an album named “50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong,” which is also known as “Elvis’ Gold Records, Volume 2.”
10. When Elvis Presley met President Nixon at the White House, he asked for a DEA badge because he believed “With the federal narcotics badge, he could legally enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any drugs he wished.”
11Elvis' Beatles Hate
According to the National Archives that maintains the record of the meeting between Elvis Presley and President Nixon at the White House, Elvis said, “The Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit.” He claimed that “the Beatles came to this country, made their money, and then returned to England where they promoted an anti-American theme.”
12. During his visit to the While House in 1970, Elvis Presley brought in a commemorative Colt .45 gun to gift to President Nixon, much to the dismay of the Secret Service.
13. After seeing Elvis in a concert in Las Vegas, Liberace suggested ‘The show needs more glitz.’ He advised Elvis to wear flashy costumes. Elvis took the advice and began sporting gold lame jackets and jeweled white jumpsuits.
14. Elvis Presley was an official captain of the Memphis Police Department and even had dashboard police lights for his cars. In the 1970s, he was known for pulling people over and lecturing them on safety before giving them an autograph and letting them go.
15. Elvis Presley allied himself with FBI director, Edgar Hoover and once encouraged him to have John Lennon thrown out of the US. Presley was annoyed with Lennon because of his anti-war stance. Lennon hated President Lyndon B Johnson for raising the stakes in the Vietnam War.
16Elvis' Black Belt
Elvis was quite gifted in martial arts. He reached the level of First-Degree Black Belt. His instructor said, “In martial arts, he wasn’t Elvis, The Entertainer. He was Elvis, The Black Belt, with 15 years of experience.”
17. In January 1964, Elvis Presley bought President Franklin D Roosevelt's yacht, USS Potomac (AG-25) for $55,000. He later gave it to St. Jude's Children Research Hospital for a fundraiser and sold that hospital for $65,000.
18. When Elvis Presley’ girlfriend tried to introduce him to Scientology, he said, “f*ck those people as there’s no way I will ever get involved with that son-of-a-b*tchin’ group. All they want is my money.”
19. Two months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Elvis Presley recorded a live tribute song featuring direct quotes of MLK called “If I Can Dream” and overruled his manager to perform it as the finale to his comeback special over “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
20. Elvis Presley, throughout his entire career, performed in only 3 venues that weren't in the United States. The 3 venues were all in Canada. Presley performed in them during brief tours in Canada in 1957.
21Evlis' Seattle Concert
On Sept 1, 1957, Elvis asked his audience at a Seattle concert to please rise for the national anthem. He picked up his guitar, leaned in, shook his hips, and began his biggest hit "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog." The crowd went wild. A 14-year-old named James (Jimi) Marshall Hendrix took notes of the set-list.
22. Elvis Presley's first major record deal came in 1956 when several labels began to show interest in him. Three record labels made offers of $25,000 but Elvis ended up signing with RCA Records who offered $40,000.
23. In the year 1954, as a teenager, Elvis Presley played his first and only show at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. He was subsequently kicked out of the venue by management because they didn’t like how he was playing country music. He vowed never to return.
24. Elvis Presley's hit song "Polk Salad Annie" actually refers to "sallet", which means cooked greens, but record companies used the word "salad" instead. Thinking that you can eat Polk salad (uncooked pokeweed) has led to a number of poisonings.
25. The first record Elvis ever released was so popular that a local radio station ended up playing it 18 times in a row because listeners kept asking to hear it again. The song was requested so often that the DJ literally just played it on repeat for the final 2 hours of his show.
