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Elvis biography - 1958
Elvis films and records for his fourth motion picture, "King Creole".
By the time King Creole was released in 1958, Elvis had already been inducted into the US Forces.
March 15, 1958
Elvis performs two shows in Memphis. These will be his last stage performances until after his army release in 1960.
March 24, 1958
After finishing his fourth film, KING CREOLE, Presley is inducted into the U.S. Army at the Memphis Draft Board and is assigned serial number 53310761. and began military service in Arkansas. He was away from the music scene and from the recording studios for two years, but his record company issued previously recorded material, keeping his image alive and keeping him on the charts with "DON'T", "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck", "Hard Headed Woman", "A Fool Such As I", A BIG HUNK OF LOVE, etc. His stint in the Army eded on March 1, 1960.
March 25, 1958
Elvis gets his famous G.I. haircut at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. A publicity photograph of the singer having his hair shorn symbolically commented on his approaching musical emasculation. Although rock 'n' roll purists mourned the passing of the old Elvis, it seemed inevitable in the context of the 50s that he would move towards a broader base appeal and tone down his rebellious image.
March 29, 1958
Private Presley arrives at Fort Hood, Texas for basic training and is stationed there for six months. His parents soon move to a temporary home near the base
June 10, 1958
After basic training, while on his first leave, Elvis has a recording session, his last until 1960.
July, 1958
"King Creole", Elvis's fourth motion picture opens nationally and the reviews are the best he would ever have for his acting. Its impressive list of co-stars and supporting cast includes Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger and Vic Morrow. It becomes a top five film at the box office. This Michael ("Casablanca") Curtiz-directed movie, set in New Orleans and based upon the Harold Robbins novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, will come to be regarded as Elvis's finest film, his greatest acting performance, and proof positive that he had the talent to have developed as a respected serious actor, though the realization of this desire would remain forever out of his grasp.
August, 1958
Gladys Presley becomes ill and returns to Memphis to be hospitalized with acute hepatitis. Elvis is granted emergency leave and arrives in Memphis on the afternoon of August 12th. He visits her that night, and the next day and night. A few hours after Elvis goes home to Graceland to rest, she dies in the early hours of August 14 at age 46. Her body lies in state at Graceland that afternoon. Services are at the Memphis Funeral Home on the 15th, with the Blackwood Brothers singing "Precious Memories" and "Rock of Ages", two of Gladys Presley's favorite hymns. She is laid to rest at Forest Hill Cemetery, a few miles down the road from Graceland. Elvis suffers the most overwhelming grief and despair of his life. He would never be the same after this. In later interviews, Presley would call her death the great tragedy of his life
August 25, 1958
Elvis reports back to Fort Hood.
September/October 1958
September 19, Elvis boards a troop train to New York, later boards the USS Randall, sails to West Germany, arriving on October 1. He will be stationed in Friedberg for 18 months, maintaining an off-base residence in Bad Nauheim, shared with his father and grandmother, and some friends from Memphis. He finds the fans in Europe to be as enthusiastic as those in America.