1958: an utterly insane year in the life of Elvis Presley
Out of all the famous musicians who graced the initiation of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley certainly had one of the most eventful lives out of all of them.
A lot of the time, when people think of Elvis, they think of his free-flowing hips, sweet-sounding voice, and killer vocals, but there was a lot more to him than just his performance style. Sure, it was his music that propelled him to fame and that made him a household name around the world; however, he didn’t live a life purely in the spotlight as soon as he became famous, quite the opposite.
His life was one littered with ups and downs, both professionally and personally. Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this was in 1958, when he had some great success as an actor but then hit one of his lowest points on a personal level, and all of this happened within the span of a few months – even for a rockstar in the ‘50s, 1958 was a particularly eventful year for the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’.
Things really kicked off for Elvis in March, when he finished filming on the movie King Creole, and while he didn’t know it at the time, this would prove to be one of the greatest films he’d ever make – Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, got him in movies because he thought rock music was just a phase and was worried the money would soon dry up, and as such, while production companies were happy to cast Elvis, there were a lot of pictures he starred in that left a fair bit to be desired. This wasn’t the case for King Creole, though, as the picture would see Elvis be welcomed into the world of Hollywood with open arms thanks to his great performance.
Not that Elvis could enjoy any of this moment, though, because as soon as he finished working on the film, he had to join the army. On March 28th, he went to Fort Hood in Texas, where he would spend the next few months completing basic training. From a Hollywood set to an army basic training camp, it didn’t feel like life could be any more chaotic for Elvis, but then July and August came along.
July was a success. His movie was released, and what he thought had been a good performance was confirmed as such. He starred alongside a pretty stellar cast, and his performance in the movie showed that while his features in films started as a bit of a cash grab, there was no denying that he had a place in the movie business if he wanted it.
August was a much more difficult month for Elvis. He was always incredibly close with his family, particularly his mother, and she was taken ill on August 8th. She had been staying in Texas, near where Elvis was doing basic training, but was taken to Memphis when her health took a turn for the worse. Elvis went home to visit her, and a few days later, she passed away at the age of 46.
With hardly any time to mourn, Elvis was back at basic training before being shipped to New York, followed shortly afterwards by a trip to Germany. He was stationed in Friedberg for the next 18 months, when he realised that his fame had travelled around the world, as fans of his in Europe acted with just as much energy and enthusiasm as those in the US did.
1958 was, without a doubt, one of the most chaotic years of Elvis’s life. He made his greatest ever film and began to understand just how famous he was as he met fans from overseas. However, that success was overshadowed by a stint in the army and the passing of his mother. Talk about 12 months of highs and lows, Elvis Presley didn’t know what to make of 1958.
