Tuesday Trivia: How Well Do You Know the King?

Entertainment 6 Minutes

Elvis Presley, one of the most recognizable musicians of all time, undoubtedly earned his nickname as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” He’s the man who revolutionized American pop music by melding country, gospel, and R&B styles. He was also a major movie star and a beloved sex symbol whose onstage moves, highlighted by those showstopping hip gyrations (hence his other nickname, “Elvis the Pelvis”), inspired generations of performers and flustered his critics.

Decades after his death in 1977 at the age of 42, Elvis Presley continues to sell albums around the globe and remains an indelible influence on the entertainment industry. Read on to learn more about Presley’s life and career.

Elvis Presley is closely associated with Tennessee, but he was born in Mississippi.

Though he’ll forever be associated with Memphis, Tennessee, home to his Graceland mansion, Elvis Presley was actually born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. It was there that Presley began to sing and play guitar, sometimes even bringing the instrument to school to play gospel music for his classmates. It wasn’t until 1948, when the future King was 13 years old, that the Presley family moved to Memphis.

Music critics were fairly cruel to Elvis Presley in the early days of his career.

Though Presley is one of music’s most respected icons now, early on in his career, many critics mocked everything from his voice to his explicit dancing. “He cannot sing and his whole performance is crude and disgusting,” columnist Dorothy Ricker wrote in the Tampa Bay Times in 1956, before predicting that “in a comparatively short time he will be forgotten.” (Oops!)

In an October 1957 column, Paul Coates of the Los Angeles Mirror went so far as to write that he’d like to “smack that sneer off [Elvis’s] face and send him out for a haircut.”

The cover of Elvis Presley’s debut record influenced another classic rock album.

Elvis’s self-titled debut album, which was released in 1956, included classic hits like “Blue Suede Shoes” and his rendition of Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti.” Its cover imposed Presley’s name in simple green and pink font on a candid photo of him singing, eyes closed and mouth agape, while strumming a guitar. Another classic album cover paid tribute to this debut decades later: The Clash’s 1979 album London Calling depicts bassist Paul Simonon smashing his own instrument alongside similar text.

Elvis Presley’s identical twin brother died at birth.

Elvis had an identical twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, who was stillborn. He was buried in a cemetery near the Presleys’ Mississippi home soon after they were delivered.

A TV appearance earned Elvis Presley the nickname “Elvis the Pelvis.”

Presley’s stage persona drew as much attention as his music, especially after he suggestively gyrated his hips while singing “Hound Dog” on the June 5, 1956 edition of NBC’s The Milton Berle Show. The performance earned the 21-year-old the nickname “Elvis the Pelvis,” along with the ire of multiple religious leaders and critics in the media. At the same time, it also gained him the admiration of even more young fans.

Elvis Presley bought Graceland when he was 22 years old.

Elvis’s Memphis mansion, known as Graceland, is now a museum devoted to “The King,” who died there in 1977. Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to see Presley memorabilia and walk through the mansion’s famously campy, tiki-influenced Jungle Room, where Elvis held some of his final recording sessions. Elvis was just 22 when he bought the estate in 1957 for just over $100,000. The mansion itself was named after Grace Toof, one of the original owners.

Elvis Presley got special permission to postpone his Army service to film King Creole.

Elvis received his Army draft notice in December 1957, much to the dismay of the legions of fans who wrote to the military urging that their hero be excused from service. He was granted an eight-week deferment to finish filming the movie King Creole before starting basic training in March 1958. Presley, who was clear that he didn’t want any special treatment, spent two years in the Army, including 18 months in Germany, where he was promoted to sergeant. His service even inspired the hit musical Bye Bye Birdie, about a teen idol named Conrad Birdie being drafted into the Army.

Elvis Presley’s love of fatty foods was prodigious, especially if bacon was involved.

Elvis is famously associated with a sandwich made with peanut butter, bacon, and banana, then pan-fried in butter like an even fattier grilled cheese. It wasn’t his only extreme dietary indulgence, though: “The King” also enjoyed deep-fried pickles and is said to have once flown from Memphis to Denver just for a massive Fool’s Gold Loaf sandwich, which involves stuffing a pound of bacon, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly inside a buttery loaf of hollowed-out French bread.

Elvis Presley had a habit of shooting at appliances and other household items.

Most famously, Elvis once opened fire at a Graceland television that was showing a performance by crooner Robert Goulet. Years later, Graceland spokesman Kevin Kern told the Associated Press that the incident was nothing against Goulet personally, saying, “Elvis just shot out things on a random basis.” (In a sort of strange twist, Priscilla Presley ended up starring opposite Goulet many years later, in 1991’s The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.)

Presley also built a firing range at Graceland and reportedly had a habit of floating flashbulbs in his pool and shooting at them as he indulged on watermelon.

Elvis Presley appeared in more than 30 movies throughout his career.

Elvis appeared as an actor in 31 movies between 1956 and 1972, including Jailhouse Rock; G.I. Blues; and Girls, Girls, Girls. The films and Presley’s performances were often panned by critics, but at the peak of Elvis’s career, they brought his devoted fans to movie theaters in droves—then to record stores to pick up the soundtracks that accompanied the movies. In all, only one of Elvis’s movies lost money at the box office: 1961’s Wild in the Country.

Elvis Presley’s Daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, has her own music career.

While she’ll forever be known as Elvis Presley’s only child (and for marriages to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage), Lisa Marie Presley is also a musician in her own right. She has released three albums, including the 2003 gold-certified release To Whom It May Concern, and has collaborated with a wide array of musicians, including Smashing Pumpkins lead Billy Corgan, rock icon Pat Benatar, and even Elvis himself, who posthumously joined his daughter for a duet of “Don’t Cry Daddy,” thanks to some clever editing of the original recordings.

Elvis Presley’s photo with Richard Nixon is one of the most requested at the National Archives.

Once called a threat to American decency, Elvis wrangled a meeting with President Richard Nixon in 1970. “I’m on your side,” Presley told the president, while clad in a distinctive purple velvet suit. Nixon also arranged for Elvis, who collected police insignia, to get a souvenir badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. “The narc badge represented some kind of ultimate power to him,” then-wife Priscilla Presley wrote in her memoir. In 2015, the U.S. National Archives confirmed that the photo of Elvis and Nixon shaking hands gets more requests for reproduction by the public than any other in its collection.

Elvis Presley had a black belt in karate.

While stationed in Germany with the Army, Presley began studying karate, which would remain a passion for him throughout his life. He was awarded his seventh-degree black belt in 1972, and he used his knowledge of the fighting technique to choreograph combat scenes in his movies. He would even show off some of his moves on stage during concerts.

Elvis Presley’s Manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was only kind of a colonel.

Elvis’s career was managed by Colonel Tom Parker, known for his strict control over his performances and for taking half of Elvis’s earnings as his fee. (“He takes 50 percent of everything I earn,” Parker quipped of Presley.) Despite being called “Colonel,” Parker never came close to the rank when in the Army. It was an honorary title he received from country singer and songwriter Jimmie Davis after Parker aided Davis’s successful bid for Louisiana governor.

Elvis Presley had an eclectic pet menagerie at Graceland.

Once he moved to Graceland, Elvis had no shortage of animals on site, from donkeys and a monkey to more conventional pets like dogs and horses. There was even a mynah bird that learned to mimic strings of profanity while hanging around Elvis and his friends. Visitors to Graceland can see the horses the museum keeps today in honor of Elvis and his array of animals.

Elvis Presley had one of the most successful concert residencies in history.

The singer of “Viva Las Vegas” once performed a now-astonishing 636 sold-out shows at Vegas’s International Hotel, appearing twice a night, seven days a week beginning in 1969. The appearances cemented a career resurgence that began with a comeback special, which aired on NBC in 1968. Years after Elvis and other early rockers had yielded the pop charts to newer acts like The Beatles in the early ’60s, “The King” was back.

Elvis Presley never performed outside of North America.

Although his music remains popular around the world, Elvis Presley almost never performed abroad. In fact, his only appearances outside the United States were all in Canada. The reason why is unclear, although it’s often been suggested that the decision may have been related to the uncertain immigration status of his longtime manager, Netherlands-born Colonel Tom Parker.

SOURCE: MENTAL FLOSS

https://www.mentalfloss.com/authors/steven-melendez

Thank you…thank you very much…

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Published by pat frederick

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205 thoughts on “Tuesday Trivia: How Well Do You Know the King?”

  4. “Dr. Joseph Ladapo Answers Whether COVID Vaccines Can Change Human DNA”
    THE VIGILANT FOX
    JAN 16, 2024

    “The Pfizer COVID-19 “vaccines” forced on humanity were not the same ones used in Pfizer’s clinical trials. There was a “bait-and-switch.” The public received vials contaminated with plasmid DNA.

    Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo says there is “zero question” that the mRNA shots could change people’s DNA. Moreover, he said, “I think it’s probably likely that that is, in fact, happening.”

    Clip w/transcript from Tucker’s interview: https://vigilantfox.substack.com/p/dr-joseph-ladapo-answers-whether

    Liked by 1 person

  6. “Ethics Complaint Filed Against Ketanji Brown Jackson”
    Date: January 16, 2024
    Author: truenewstoday1

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “A complaint against Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is presently being reviewed by the Committee on Financial Disclosures at the Judicial Conference. The complaint claims that Jackson neglected to include her husband’s salary in her financial disclosures. The Center for Renewing America (CRA), a conservative policy organization, filed the case, which charges Justice Jackson with “willfully failing to disclose” for more than ten years certain facts regarding her husband’s malpractice consultancy revenue.

    The Judicial Conference, which oversees federal courts, received the complaint from the Center for Renewing America last month. On December 21, the allegation was formally referred to the Financial Disclosures Committee for a comprehensive investigation.

    Russ Vought, the president of CRA and a former top official in the Trump administration, responded by expressing hope that the Judicial Conference will thoroughly look into Justice Jackson’s ethics issues and stressing the significance of not holding judges to a double standard. According to CRA’s complaint, the Judicial Conference ought to forward the case to Attorney General Merrick Garland for possible civil enforcement and an investigation into Jackson’s alleged ethics infractions.

    The complaint states that federal judges have a legal duty to reveal a spouse’s source of income if it exceeds $1,000. Although Jackson acknowledged the money in previous reports pertaining to her nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the complaint states that she neglected to reveal her husband’s malpractice consulting payments in later files.

    Justice Jackson admitted to omitting information on her 2020 revised disclosure form, but Vought noted that there was a dearth of information on the precise years that her prior files had excluded her husband’s consulting pay. This, according to the former head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is a “willful” breach of the law.

    The CRA complaint coincides with attacks on conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito for failing to disclose trips funded by friends who donate to the Republican Party. The Supreme Court is now closely examining Justice Jackson’s case, which prompted the release of a new “Code of Conduct” in November. The introduction of the code aimed to elucidate the ethical principles and standards that regulate the behavior of the members of the Court, eliminating any uncertainties regarding their compliance with these regulations.

    It is unclear how Justice Jackson will address the accusations and whether the complaint will have wider ramifications for the Supreme Court’s ethics standards while the Judicial Committee conducts its investigation.”

    Liked by 1 person

  7. “The Epstein PSYOP Benefitted Trump”
    CLANDESTINE
    JAN 16, 2024

    “Quick observation: The media’s psyop attempt to associate Trump with Epstein’s crimes… it failed. Trump is MORE popular. The Epstein docs ended up boosting his support by exonerating him, and exposing Clinton. Their plan backfired. The lies didn’t stick, and citizen journalists used the opportunity to educate the public on the mountains of evidence of Clinton/Deep State affiliation with Epstein, pedophilia, and satanism.

    We were dropping red-pill nukes all over the Internet, exposing truth to hundreds of millions of eyeballs. Our research and knowledge resonated with the public far more than the MSM lies did. Hence why they desperately did not want Elon to buy Twitter, because none of this happens without Elon leveling the playing field.

    The results from Iowa prove we are winning the information war and that we have substantial control over public perception. MSM rendered ineffective.”

    Like

    1. WOW!
      lol
      i just shoveled some more–the snow that came off part of the roof.
      there is a ton hung up above the side door…lol…when that comes down? man it will be heavy–cuz that’s up there since the last snowfall!!
      and it’s rained since then

      Liked by 1 person


  11. “Nice weather for some horseback riding…”

    “The Hideout”

    “No worries…just getting a drink!”

    Ohhh, sweet! 1966 Buick Wildcat

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The judges condemned Smith’s violation of executive privilege by searching former President Donald Trump’s Twitter files.

      “Holy sh*t: 4 judges on DC appellate court just delivered a scorching smack down of Special Counsel Jack Smith, Judge Beryl Howell, and Judge Florence Pan for search of Trump’s Twitter file,” reported Julie Kelly.

      “The Special Counsel’s approach obscured and bypassed any assertion of executive privilege and dodged the careful balance Congress struck in the Presidential Records Act,” she added while citing a user named @FamilyManAndrew.

      The court document states: “This case turned on the First Amendment rights of a social media company, but looming in the background are consequential and novel questions about executive privilege and the balance of power between the President, Congress, and the courts.”

      “Seeking access to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter/X account, Special Counsel Jack Smith directed a search warrant at Twitter and obtained a nondisclosure order that prevented Twitter from informing President Trump about the search,” the judges added. “The Special Counsel’s approach obscured and dodged the careful balance Congress struck in the Presidential Records Act. The district court and this court permitted the arrangement without any consideration of the consequential executive privilege issues raised by this unprecedented search.”

      “We should not have endorsed this gambit,” the judges added.

      “‘Any court completely in the dark as to what Presidential files contain is duty bound to respect the singularly unique role under Art. II of a President’s communications and activities’ by affording such communications a presumptive privilege,” the judges added, citing the legal precedent in United States v. Haldeman.

      In December, Special Counsel Jack Smith announced that he intended to use the former president’s extracted Twitter files and phone data as evidence in his Jan. 6 trial in Washington D.C. on March 4, the day before Super Tuesday.

      As reported by Politico, “Special counsel Jack Smith has extracted data from the cell phone Donald Trump used while in the White House and plans to present evidence of his findings to a Washington, D.C. jury to demonstrate how Trump used the phone in the weeks during which he attempted to subvert the 2020 election.”

      Data from the ex-president’s phone, Politico added, “could reveal day-to-day details of his final weeks in office, including his daily movements, his Twitter habits and any other aides who had access to his accounts and devices. The data, for example, could help show whether Trump personally approved or sent a fateful tweet attacking his vice president, Mike Pence, during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.”

      According to the court filing, the government had submitted a notice of an expert witness who has retrieved the former president’s cell phone data and location data.

      The Government expects that Expert 1 will testify about his/her use of ArcGIS (Geographic
      Information Systems) software to create a map of the Google location history data produced in response to a search warrant. Specifically, Expert 1 plotted the location history data for Google accounts and devices associated with individuals who moved, on January 6, 2021, from an area at or near the Ellipse to an area encompassing the United States Capitol building. His/her testimony will describe and explain the resulting graphical representations of that data, and it will aid the jury in understanding the movements of individuals toward the Capitol area during and after the defendant’s speech at the Ellipse.

      Jack Smith is not only targeting Donald Trump’s communications from his time as commander-in-chief, while attempting to undercut his claims of executive immunity, however. He is also targeting millions of Trump supporters.

      In late November, it was revealed that DOJ prosecutors collected a massive collection of data about the former president’s social media activity—including information on every account that liked, followed, or retweeted him.

      An extensively redacted search warrant was revealed as a result of a judge’s ruling on November 17, which came after a consortium of media organizations filed an application in August for the warrant and other data to be made public.

      Twitter appears to have provided the DOJ with vast volumes of material under compulsion.

      Special Counsel Jack Smith sought, and appears to have gotten, information on all users Trump followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked, as well as all users who followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked Trump.

      Smith also requested that Twitter provide information on “all lists of Twitter users who have favorited or retweeted tweets posted by [Trump], as well as all tweets that include the username associated with the account (i.e., ‘mentions’ or ‘replies’).”

      The DOJ’s request also wanted information on Trump’s geolocation, private messages, search history, and contact information.

      The warrant’s release comes after Twitter objected to the search warrant as well as an accompanying gag order, claiming that the gag order violated the company’s First Amendment right to communicate with Trump and that Trump may have legal standing to use executive privilege to block the warrant.

      Twitter’s challenge to the DOJ was eventually unsuccessful, with Obama-appointed District Judge Beryl Howell fining the firm $350,000 in February for failing to fulfill a deadline for complying with the order. All of Howell’s rulings were upheld by an appeals court.

      Even more chilling, not only did Jack Smith seek to violate Donald Trump’s reasonable expectation of privacy in search for a crime, he wanted to do it in secret.

      “Based on ex parte affidavits, the district court found probable cause to search the Twitter account for evidence of criminal offenses. Moreover, the district court found that there were ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that disclosing the warrant to former President Trump ‘would seriously jeopardize the ongoing investigation’ by giving him ‘an opportunity to destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior, [or] notify confederates,’” the appeals court noted.

      It is now abundantly clear that Special Counsel Jack Smith not only violated Donald Trump’s individual rights, as well as that of millions of Twitter users, in their reasonable expectation of privacy, but also his executive privilege as a President of the United States.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. ENTIRE ARTICLE @ Breitbart: “The establishment is reportedly in the beginning stages of plotting what appears to be a military coup against former President Donald Trump if voters reelect him as commander-in-chief. The plot highlights the extent to which the establishment fears Trump’s potential return to power. If Trump wins reelection, he vowed to deconstruct the administrative state — the apparatus of unelected bureaucrats who create binding rules with, without, or against the law.

    “[B]racing” for Trump’s victory amid positive polling, the coup would appear under the guise of Trump allegedly converting “the nonpartisan U.S. military into the muscular arm of his political agenda,” NBC News reported Sunday.

    The establishment worries “there may be nothing stopping a president from mobilizing the military to intervene in elections, police American streets or quash domestic protests” and that “the military’s role is unique in that soldiers and sailors are trained to obey the commander-in-chief but are told not to follow illegal orders.”

    The establishment’s reported coup includes “legal action” against Trump and “quietly devising plans to try to foil any efforts to expand presidential power, which could include pressuring the military to cater to his political needs.”

    — “We’re already starting to put together a team to think through the most damaging types of things that he [Trump] might do so that we’re ready to bring lawsuits if we have to,” Mary McCord, executive director of the Institution for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, told NBC News.

    — “He’s going to be one creative motherf—– when it comes to trying to figure out how to abuse it [power]. Whatever your guess is, open up your imagination a little more,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) told the outlet.

    — “He’s a clear and present danger to our democracy,” added William Cohen, a former Republican senator from Maine and defense secretary in the Clinton administration. “His support is solid. And I don’t think people understand what living in a dictatorship would mean.”

    Republicans are highly critical of the plot, suggesting it would be an unconstitutional coup against the president. “NBC reports the left is plotting ways to have [the] military not be under civilian control,” Fox News contributor Molly Hemingway posted on X. “This dangerous and unconstitutional usurpation of power is being framed by NBC as good because it will undermine Trump if he is freely and fairly elected by Americans.”

    Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist, said Democrats will justify immoral acts against Trump to preserve their power. “Whenever Democrats accuse Trump of doing something, it’s a guarantee that Democrats are planning to do that very thing against Trump,” he said. “Which means Democrats are preparing to use the military to steal the 2024 election and prevent their opponents from lawfully taking power.”

    Far-leftist organizations, many law firms, federal agency bureaucrats, and establishment lawmakers comprise the administrative state. Trump refers to the administrative state as the “swamp” and the “deep state.”

    The administrative state uses its rule-making ability to essentially usurp the separation of powers between the three branches of government by creating a so-called fourth branch of government not created by the Constitution.

    “We will demolish the deep state,” Trump said at a Michigan rally in June. “We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. And we will throw off the sick political class that hates our country,” he added.”

    Liked by 1 person

  18. NF: I’m so sick and tired of people ignoring the reality – it was NOT primarily about slavery!!!

    “‘The View’s’ Sara Haines Says White Kids ‘Should Feel Bad’ About Slavery, Fellow Co-Host Pushes Back”
    NICOLE SILVERIO, MEDIA REPORTER, January 15, 2024 12:37 PM ET
    FONT SIZE:

    Entire article @ the DC: “The View” co-host Sara Haines drew pushback Monday after she said white children “should feel bad” about slavery. Co-host Ana Navarro marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day by accusing conservative politicians of seeking to placate outraged parents who want to protect “their poor little white kid.”

    “Black history and other things — banning books — has been weaponized for political purposes to drive people to the polls based on outrage because my poor little white kid is feeling bad because he’s learning about slavery,” Navarro said. “That’s ridiculous. Learning about history should not make anybody feel bad—”

    “Well, it should make you feel bad,” Haines interjected. “No,” Navarro responded.
    https://rumble.com/v475i4u-the-views-sara-haines-says-white-kids-should-feel-bad-about-slavery-fellow-.html
    “But it’s important that it makes you feel bad,” Haines persisted.

    “I don’t think it should make you feel bad. I mean, I don’t think a white child that’s had nothing to do with slavery should feel bad about slavery. I think we need to learn history so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes about history,” Navarro shot back.

    Navarro then continued to push her claim that Republicans want to erase the history of black Americans and the civil war. She accused Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of wanting to teach “that there was a positive side to slavery,” referring to Florida’s curriculum, which notes that some slaves were able to acquire practical skills during their enslavement.

    Navarro also criticized Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for failing to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War during a recent campaign event. Haley later said she did not mention slavery because she was trying to explain “what [the Civil War] means for us today.” Navarro also took a shot at former President Donald Trump, who said at a Jan. 6 campaign rally that Abraham Lincoln could have prevented the Civil War through negotiation.

    The co-hosts have also raged against DeSantis’ administration for rejecting an Advanced Placement (AP) African American History course after finding that it contained elements of critical race theory. The course included a unit on “Black Queer Studies” and a book by Eduardo Bonilla Silva which “examines in detail how Whites talk, think, and account for the existence of racial inequality and makes clear that color-blind racism is as insidious now as ever.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. i want to ask these dipshits…if a white kid needs to feel black because of slavery—what should i black child feel because some blacks OWNED slaves too? they want to pick and choose to suit them. wash themselves clean but they are also guilty.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Well, I’ll be darned! Guess who just showed up on my patio??? Yep – it’s Wheezer! I’ve been keeping the afghan up over the doors because they are so cold and I heard a sound. I’ve peeked out a couple of times before when I heard a sound – this time it really is him! He is happily chowing down!

    Liked by 1 person

  22. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

        1. I’m okay…getting out in this snowy icy weather is a challenge.
          hubby is getting better every day i think…
          getting back to his old self but i am still watching him for any sign that shit they gave him int he hospital did any damage elsewhere in his body.

          Liked by 1 person

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