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Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny two-room house.
He had a twin brother, but the baby did not live.
The family was very poor.
As a boy, Elvis sang in church, where he first felt the power of music.
For his eleventh birthday he wanted a bicycle or a rifle, but his mother bought him a guitar instead.
That guitar changed the world.
In 1948 the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
At eighteen, Elvis paid a few dollars at a small studio to record two songs for his mother.
The man who ran the studio, Sam Phillips, never forgot the shy boy's voice.
In 1954 he called him back, and together they made a record.
It was something new: country music mixed with the blues.
By 1956 Elvis was famous everywhere.
His song Heartbreak Hotel went to number one, and teenagers screamed at his concerts.
When he sang, he moved in a wild new way.
Older people were shocked, and one television show filmed him only from the waist up.
But the young loved him. Soon everyone was calling him the King of Rock and Roll.
In 1958 Elvis had to join the army, and he served for two years in Germany.
When he came back, he made films and sang for huge crowds.
In Las Vegas he wore a white jumpsuit covered in shining stones.
But behind the lights, the years of hard work and worry wore him down.
On August 16, 1977, Elvis died at his home, Graceland.
He was only forty-two.
Even today, Elvis is one of the best-selling singers of all time.
Fans still visit Graceland from every corner of the world.
In 1971, when he was given a big award, he spoke about his life:
'When I was a child, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero.
So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times.' The dreamer from Tupelo had made his dream come true.
