Elvis Presley Trivia: With Buildings from Department 56 Original Snow Village and Christmas in the City

Elvis Presley, "Jailhouse Rock"
Album Cover, thanks to
Wikipedia for image.

The King of Rock.  "The King" is enough. Everyone knows it's Elvis.  And don't bother with the last name.  The list of his hits rolls through your memory:  "Can't Help Falling in Love;" "Don't Be Cruel;" "Heartbreak Hotel;" "Hound Dog;" "Return to Sender."  The list goes on and on, nearly 700 songs recorded, nearly 1 billion, with a "b," records sold worldwide, more than any other artist.  (You can click on this link to iTunes to hear a clip of each song, to revive your memory:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dont-be-cruel/id253614038?i=253614095&ign-mpt=uo%3D4)

Elvis Presley's debut album.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the image.

Elvis's birthday was January 8, and this blog is written to honor him. Dept. 56 also celebrates Elvis:  He was one of the most prolific, influential, successful, iconic performers in the history of music.  It wasn't just his recordings that were successful.  The King brought his music to the new world of television, made movies, and became a cultural icon. Here are 10 trivia questions that will help you revisit the world that Elvis helped create for all of us:




QUESTION #1:  This is easy!  What is the name of Elvis's estate?  What do you know about it?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Elvis Presley's Graceland" #55041

"Graceland" was the home that Elvis bought for himself and his parents in 1957.   Fans had  started to overrun their previous home in Memphis, so Elvis gave his parent $100,000 to find a better site, and to Graceland they moved.

Jungle Room in Graceland.
Thanks to Wikipedia for image.

Elvis put his own stamp on his new home, though many called his decorative style garish and tacky.  He directed and approved all the decor, made lists of food to be stored at Graceland, and created an unusual "family" to be installed around him, and it wasn't composed of just his relatives!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Elvis Presley's Graceland Ornament," #98790

It was in the "Meditation Garden" at Graceland that Elvis, his mother and grandmother, are all buried. A memorial to his twin brother, Jess Garon, also stands in the Garden.  It was also in Graceland that Elvis died on Aug. 16, 1977.

One of the most visited private homes in the U.S., Graceland welcomes over 600,000 visitors every year.













QUESTION #2:  What did Elvis like to drive?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Pink Cadillac Ornament," #98791

Another easy answer: Elvis liked Cadillacs and Harleys!  His most famous Cadillac may have been the 1955 Fleetwood he bought for his mother, Gladys, who actually never drove it.  While we all remember this car as pink, it was actually blue originally!  The pink version became an icon of not only Elvis, but also the entire decade of the 1950's, and some believe it to be the most famous car in the world.  If you want to learn more about ALL of Elvis's Cadillacs, click here:  http://elviscadillacs.tripod.com/

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Harley-Davison City Dealership," #59202

Elvis's love affair with the Harley-Davidson is equally celebrated.  One writer described it like this:  "As much as sequined jumpsuits and peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Elvis Presley loved Harley-Davidson motorcycles." Like his Cadillacs, Elvis would buy several, keep some, and give some away.

Elvis's parents, with 2 Cadillacs and his '56 KH.
http://www.scottymoore.net/elvisharley56kh.html

Elvis bought his first Harley in the early 1950's, and in 1956, just past his 21st birthday and days after he recorded "Heartbreak Hotel," he bought a KH model, the first of many.  For information on the Harley-Davidson Museum's exhibit of Elvis's Harleys, please click here:  http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/harleymuseumelvisexhibit.html

QUESTION #3:  How many platinum records did Elvis record?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Elvis Presley's Autograph," #55106

In 1992, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) posthumously awarded Elvis 110 gold or platinum, and multi-platinum albums and singles, the largest presentation in the history of the organization.  If you want to hear a YouTube clip of Elvis performing "Hound Dog," along with great hound images, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXiulKIgGpg 

QUESTION #4:  What is the TV show that first carried a performance of Elvis?

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"The Ed Sullivan Theater," #59233

I bet many of you guessed The Ed Sullivan Show.  But you're wrong!  In 1956 Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker, negotiated 4 appearances on CBS's "Stage Show," which became his first television gigs.  Elvis received $1250 for each of 4 appearances, with an option for 2 more.  His first show was Jan. 28, 1956, and Elvis appeared with Sarah Vaughan and comic Gene Sheldon.  Tommy Dorsey introduced Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle, who, in turn, introduced Elvis, who performed "Shake, Rattle, and Roll"  and "I Got a Woman."  If you would like to see both the introduction and the performance on YouTube, and you really should......click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll8AzKY3gh4

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Now Showing-Elvis Presley Sign," # 55105

Ed Sullivan actually didn't want Elvis to appear on his show at all!  However, when the Steve Allen Show, featuring Elvis, garnered twice as many viewers as his own show, Ed relented. He ended up paying  Elvis the vast sum of $50,000 for three appearances, starting Sept. 9, 1956.  Sullivan himself was unable to introduce Elvis on the first night, since he was in the hospital recuperating from a serious automobile accident.  Instead, Charles Laughton hosted the show, and cut to a stage in Hollywood, where Elvis actually performed.  Laughton said during his introduction, "This is probably the greated honor that I've ever had in my life." 60 million viewers watched the show!  For more information, click here:  http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/qt/elvissullivan.htm


QUESTION #5:  What were the influences on Elvis' Music?

Postcard of Beale St., Memphis, TN, in the 1950's/60's.
Caption reads:  "World renowned as the home of W.C. Handy,
Father of American Blues Music."
http://www.memphismemories.org/Topics/Nightlife/Downtown_Nightlife/Beale_Street/Beale_Street.php 

You could write a book about the influences on Elvis's music, and just as many about his influence on subsequent generations of music stars.  Suffice it to say here, Elvis was influenced by contemporary pop and country, gospel, and the black rhythm and blues music of the Memphis's Beale Street.  One writer described it like this: "During the jazz age of the 1920's-1940's, musicians flocked to Memphis, and to Beale.  B.B. King, Louis Armstrong, Memphis Minnie and Muddy Waters were just a few of the jazz and blues legends who helped create the style known as 'Memphis Blues"--a style that was born on Beale Street.  In fact, a young white boy from Mississippi named Elvis ended up making a name for himself in the music world, thanks to the influence of the soulful, sensual music he soaked in while hanging around the jazz clubs, smoking parlors and brothels on Beale in the 1950's."  (Source:  Alyson McNutt English:  http://www.frontdoor.com/city-guide/memphis-tn-usa/beale-street-the-history-behind-the-memphis-party-scene)   

QUESTION #6:  How Many Movies did Elvis Make?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Stardust Drive-In Theater," #55064

I bet you didn't get this!  Elvis made 31 movies!!  31! And that doesn't count two documentary films.  The first film was in 1956, "Love Me Tender," by Twentieth Century Fox.  That was soon followed in 1957 by "Jailhouse Rock," which featured co-star Jennifer Holden, and was put out by MGM.  For a list of all of Elvis's movies, click on this site:  http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/biography/elvis_presley_movies.shtml  In "King Creole' in 1958, Elvis starred opposite Walter Matthau, in a movie I am now going to rent!

We stayed at the Coco Palms on Kauai once, which is where "Blue Hawaii" was filmed.  Dilapidated now, the entire resort is boarded over and it is surrounded by a chain link fence.  It's just not right!

QUESTION #7:   When did Elvis serve in the U. S. military?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Brand New Recruit," #55152

Elvis served in the U.S. Army between March, 1958, and March, 1960.  He refused an offer to enlist in the Special Services to entertain troops and live in priority housing, and decided instead to serve as a regular G.I.  (Though, to be honest, his service was anything but ordinary.)  According to Wikipedia, during his military duty, he was stationed in Germany, where a number of things happened that had a profound effect on Elvis's life:  First, his mother, Gladys, died, leaving him bereft.  Second, he met, in Germany, his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu; and, Third, he began his drug use, that would ultimately be his downfall.

QUESTION #8:  Where were Elvis and Priscilla married?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Wedding Chapel," #54640

It most assuredly was not a chapel like this.  In fact, Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married May 1, 1967 in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.  The hotel no longer exists, but the site is now occupied by the Wedding Chapel at Planet Hollywood.

Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley Wedding,
Alladin Hotel, Las Vegas
Image from http://www.elvispresleynews.com/ElvisWeddingPhotos.html 

QUESTION #9:  When did Elvis die?
Elvis Aaron Presley died Aug. 16,1977. Jimmy Carter credited Presley with having "permanently changed the fact of American popular culture." The funeral was at Graceland on Aug. 18, and approximately 80,000 peopled lined the processional route to Forest Hill Cemetery, where Presley was laid next to his mother.  Both bodies were later reburied in Graceland's Meditation Garden.