January 8, 1935: Elvis Aron Presley is born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis was a twin, but his brother was stillborn. He had no other siblings.

January 1946: Elvis receives his first guitar from his parents -- he had asked for a bicycle, but they couldn't afford it.

1948: Elvis and his parents move to Memphis, Tennessee, where he is exposed to the blues and gospel sounds that would influence his musical style. He spends much of his spare time during high school hanging around the black section of town, absorbing blues on Beale Street.

June 1953: Elvis graduates from high school and gets a job driving a truck.

Summer, 1953: Elvis makes his first recording, paying $4 at Sun Studios' Memphis Recording Service to cut "That's When Your Heartaches Begin."

January 4, 1954: He returns to the shop, recording "Casual Love Affair" and "I'll Never Stand in Your Way." This time he meets owner Sam Phillips, who will eventually assemble Elvis's first backup band and launch his career.

October 2, 1954: Elvis makes his first -- and last -- appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, where legend has it that the Opry's talent director advises him to go back to driving trucks.

Early 1955: Colonel Thomas Parker enters the Presley cavalcade, helping his manager make some tour arrangements.

May 13, 1955: Presley performance in Jacksonville, Florida, results in a riot -- Elvis's first.

1955: Sun Studio sells RCA Victor its contract with Elvis Presley. Sun gets $25,000, Elvis $5,000 from the deal. Elvis buys his mother a pink Cadillac with the advance.

November 20, 1955: Elvis signs his first contract with RCA Records.

1956: Elvis starts working in the studio with the Jordanaires, a gospel quartet and popular country back-up group. They would be his main back-up band until the late 1960s, and would appear with him in several films.

January 27, 1956: The single "Heartbreak Hotel" is released. It spends eight weeks at number one on Billboard's pop singles chart, and becomes Elvis's first gold record.

March 1956: Parker officially becomes Presley's manager, with a contract giving him 25 percent of Presley's earnings.