What You Might Not Know About Elvis Presley

Today would have been Elvis Presley's 79th birthday. We lost him way too soon. We know a lot about him but here is some things that you might now have known about the King.

1) You know he loved his mom, Gladys. He bought her Graceland and a pink Cadillac. You may not know that at her funeral in 1958, he tried to jump into her grave. He also carried her nightgown around with him for a few days.

2) He was a very spiritual man. I think his gospel albums are some of the best ever made. You might not know that Elvis was known for singing gospel songs for hours after some concerts. He said that it brought him great comfort and sometimes sang until dawn.  Obviously before "Elvis has left the building."

3) He made 31 movies over 13 years. He loved his early stuff but hated most of his later films. In "Stay Away, Joe" he sang to a bull.

4) Elvis's gold suit was real. He had it designed for the opening date of a 10 city tour in 1957. It cost $2,500. During the show, he fell to his knees and left a pile of gold leaves on the stage. He was told never to do that again.

5) We know he gyrated on the Ed Sullivan Show.  What you might not know is that Milton Berle was the one who may have started it all. He was on Milton's show in 1956. He asked Elvis to perform without his guitar, reportedly saying, "Let 'em see you, son." Elvis' gyrating hips caused outrage across the U.S. and within days he was nicknamed "Elvis the Pelvis."     

Happy birthday Elvis and thanks for the memories.