‘90 for 90’ Graceland exhibit offers new Elvis artifacts
by January 25, 2025 3:20 pm 202 views
To honor Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday this year, a new exhibit with artifacts that have never been viewed by the public will be on display at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn.
It was the moment Gladys and Vernon Presley had been waiting for. She was set to give birth to the couple’s first child in the early morning hours on Jan. 8, 1935. Exuberance turned to horror.
The couple’s first little boy, Jessie, was stillborn. The infant was placed in a box and taken to the kitchen. Vernon and his brother had built the ramshackle house in east Tupelo, Miss., the year before for only $180. It had no running water or electricity.
There was little time to mourn. A second child was on the way. Elvis Aaron Presley was born 35 minutes later. After the death of his brother, Elvis would remain an only child. Gladys and Vernon never had another.
That one child would become one of the greatest musicians and one of the most recognizable cultural icons of all-time.
His adult home, Graceland, has been turned into a modern-day Mecca for rock ‘n’ roll fans from around the world. The mansion and adjoining grounds of numerous museum-like displays tell the life and story of the man dubbed “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
To honor his 90th birthday this year, a new display with artifacts that have never been viewed by the public will be exhibited at the complex, Graceland Marketing and Promotions Events Specialist Alicia Dean told Talk Business & Politics.
“The new ‘90 for 90 Exhibit’ features 90 curated stories told through items specially selected from the over 1.5 million artifacts housed at the Graceland Archives at Elvis’ iconic home in Memphis. These artifacts, each with a unique story, range from iconic items easily recognizable by fans to rare, personal pieces that capture moments in Elvis’ life that were out of the spotlight,” she said.
One of the first pieces in the exhibit is the first photograph ever taken of Elvis. It includes his mother and father.
“This is the earliest known photo of the Presley family and is cataloged as inventory No. 1 in the Graceland Archives Collection database. This is the original black and white photo found inside the family’s steamer trunk. The exact date of the picture is unknown, but Elvis appears to be 2 or 3 years old. This photo captures an early moment in the life of this young family,” according to the Graceland archives.
Other exhibit items include his social security card, high school diploma, toys, and other knickknacks from his youth.
Elvis grew up in poverty in Tupelo, but the family’s fortunes took a slightly better turn when they moved to Memphis when he was in his early teens. He often walked Beale Street, the cultural heartbeat of the city, and listened to the many black musicians who performed in the clubs along the thoroughfare.
Recording pioneer Sam Phillips had a strong fondness for African-American music and thought it would do well with white audiences, but the problem was getting it to them.
Presley recorded an acetone in 1953 at Sun Records hoping its patriarch would take note of his unusual voice. No call came. He returned, guitar in hand, to the studio sometime in early 1954. The lead secretary, Marion Keisker, had a few questions for him.
“What kind of a singer are you?” she asked.
“I sing all kinds,” he said.
“Who do you sound like?” she asked?
“I don’t sound like anybody,” he replied.
During the next week or so, Presley sang several ballad songs with several local musicians, but it wasn’t going well. Then on July 5, it happened. Tired and frustrated, Phillips and the other musicians decided to take a break. Presley, to lighten the mood, started jumping around singing a blues tune called “That’s All Right.”
Phillips was stunned. He didn’t expect him to know the African-American song and the way he sang it was different than anyone he’d ever heard. His youthful exuberance was intoxicating. Phillips had found his conduit between the two cultures. He needed a white musician singing African-American themed songs to immerse the two cultures.
Elvis soon was all over the radio airwaves and playing gigs throughout the South, including many stops in Northeast Arkansas. He played in Bono, Jonesboro, Newport, Pocahontas and others.
Major hits such as “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Blue Suede Shoes” catapulted him to greater heights. Despite his fame, he was drafted into the Army and entered into service on March 24, 1958. He was inducted and received his first military haircut at Fort Chaffee, Ark., near Fort Smith, and stationed in Germany.
In August of that year, he was granted special leave when it was revealed that his mother was dying of heart failure. She died on Aug. 14 of that year, two days after he returned home. She was 46.
He had always been close to both his parents, especially his mother. At Gladys Presley’s graveside in the Forest Hill Cemetery, he sobbed uncontrollably. “Goodbye darling. Goodbye,” he reportedly said.
One of the new “90 for 90 Exhibit” displays is some of the more than 100,000 letters Elvis received after the death of his mother.
Throughout the years, his fame would grow, and he became an actor in numerous movies. He also became known for his eating habits, time he spent with his friends and family, and his many hobbies. One of his hobbies that is rarely talked about and one he tried to monetize was racquetball. A display explores his love for the sport with several rackets.
“In the 1970s, Elvis picked up racquetball as a hobby. And, like many Presley hobbies, he went all out turning this one into a business venture. Presley Center Courts in Memphis was founded in 1976, and the business plan was to open a nationwide chain of branded racquetball and spa facilities. The company broke ground on clubs in Memphis and Nashville, and these paddle rackets were the commemorative rackets created for these groundbreaking events,” the archive noted.
Elvis would die at Graceland in August 1977. He was 42.
The yearlong exhibit will run through December 2025.