Elvis' Army Years
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 ended on March 1, 1960Elvis Takes His Oath
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' 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' 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
June, 1959
On a two-week leave, Elvis visits Munich, then goes clubbing in Paris, which includes a visit to the Lido
Colonel Parker has continued to keep Elvis' career alive with promotions and hit record releases
November 1959
Captain Joseph Beaulieu is transferred from Texas to Weisbaden Air Force Base near Friedberg, accompanied by his wife and children, including his fourteen-and-a-half-year-old stepdaughter, Priscilla Ann. (Priscilla is the only child from Ann Beaulieu's marriage to her first husband, James Wagner, a Navy pilot who was killed in a plane crash when Priscilla was an infant.) Through a mutual friend, Priscilla is invited to a party at Elvis's home soon after her arrival in West Germany. They meet, and the rest is history
Back in America, the Colonel kept his absent star's reputation intact via a series of films, record releases and extensive merchandising. Hits such as 'Wear My Ring Around Your Neck', 'Hard Headed Woman', 'One Night', 'I Got Stung', 'A Fool Such As I' and 'A Big Hunk O' Love' filled the long, two-year gap, and by the time Presley reappeared, he was ready to assume the mantle of all-round entertainer
January 20, 1960
Elvis is promoted to SergeantElvis Shows Off His Sergeant Stripes
March 1960
Elvis leaves West Germany on March 1, arriving in New Jersey the next day for a press conference, and is officially discharged from active duty on March 5, 1960. He boards a train for Memphis, arriving on March 7
Press and crowds of fans are everywhere for this historic series of events. He holds a press conference at Graceland in his father's office behind the mansion on March 8. He had served his country just like any other GI, with no special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him. These two years away from his career have been a time to mature. He has also worried constantly that his lengthy absence might have damaged his career progress. He needn't have worried. He has yet to see his greatest stardom.
The change was immediately evident in the series of number 1 hits that he enjoyed in the early 60s. The enormously successful 'It's Now Or Never', based on the Italian melody 'O Sole Mio', revealed the King as an operatic crooner, far removed from his earlier raucous recordings. 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', originally recorded by Al Jolson as early as 1927, allowed Presley to quote some Shakespeare in the spoken-word middle section as well as showing his ham-acting ability with an overwrought vocal
Late March, 1960
Elvis has his first post-army recording session. On March 21st he receives his first degree black belt in karate, an interest he developed while in the army. On March 26 he tapes a special "Welcome Home, Elvis" version of Frank Sinatra's ABC-TV variety show, for which he is paid a record sum for a single variety show appearance
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