In the middle of the 20th century, many actors and other big personalities were drafted army and give their service to the nation in U.S. Elvis Presley was also one of them, in 1958 he turned to the army and spent his two years there. To know his deeds in the army and why he joins the army, read this complete article.
Training in Fort Hood
In 1956, Presley entered into 21 and this is an age at which everyone is eligible to draft. His manager Colonel Tom Parker, knows well what he has to do to get a good fan following for Elvis. To start his training he went to Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis for some important basic information.
In 1957, he was selected for 1-A by Memphis Draft Board, it was publicized that he received his selection notice. After knowing this news his fans got worried and the army offered him many levis options to perform such as in Los Angle but Parker suggest he serve as a regular soldier.
Parker said, “Taking any of these deals will make millions of Americans angry”.
But in 1958, in his latest film that time “King Creole” he want an extension and wrote letters to the draft Board but they denied it clearly. After some more debts through letters, he gets an extension as Milton Bowers, head of the Draft Board said, “would have automatically gotten the extension [anyway] if he hadn’t been Elvis Presley the superstar”.
In this film, Elvis wanted to prove himself after spending two years away from the limelight. And after seeing his performance in King Creole, Alanna Nash stated, “the performance that would forever define his potential”.
Two weeks later his physical test was taken and he was selected with the number 53310761. By bus, he went to Fort Chaffee and spent four days then send to Fort Hood, Texas. There he join Company A, 2d Medium Tank Battalion, Elvis finished his training, and now he become a sharpshooter. His friends such as Alan Fortas, Eddie Fadal, and Bill Norwood always said he felt nervous about his career.
Elvis Presley’s Career in Army
Elvis, a famous American singer join the army in 1958. And he provided his service to the nation as a regular army. After completing his training in Fort Hood, he was signed by the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, at Ray Barracks, Germany. Before leaving Fort Hood he attend a meeting arranged by Parker, where he went on a ship for Germany.
There he made a friend named Charlie Hodge, his wish is also to become an entertainer before drafting. Charlie request him to entertain all troops but Parker denied him clearly from any public shows. So, Charlie invites him to come with him for work after retirement. Then USS General George M. Randall visited Germany and offered Elvis again special Servies but he denied it quietly. At the time of discharge from Germany RCA decided to premiere the album of Elvis Press Conference day titled Elvis Sails.
The cost of this is $ 0.22 per copy and Fox also $ 200,000 fee for his first film and a $ 250,000-second film. Paramount also signed him, and G.I.Blues agreed with him for $ 175,000. But with all this, he is not happy, as he wrote every time he missed his mother.
During their army career, Elvis recorded some songs with Piano, later these were released under the titles Private Presley and Home Recordings. To start his career RCA producer Steve Sholes and Freddy Bienstock prepared a list for the next two years. During his army career, he give ten hit songs including “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck”, “Hard Headed Woman”, and “One Night” in 1958, and ” A Fool Such as I” and at number one “A Big Hunk of Love” in 1959. RCA also released his album named “Elvis Golden Records.”
In 1960, before his discharge in a press conference, Presely questioned why he served regular more solid avoid Special services. He answered, “I was in a funny position. Actually, that’s the only way it could be. People were expecting me to mess up, to goof up in one way or another. They thought I couldn’t take it and so forth, and I was determined to go to any limits to prove otherwise, not only to the people who were wondering but to myself”.
2 march Elvis says a final goodbye to Germany and back home and at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey Parker welcomed him. A huge crowd was there to see him.
Elvis was first exposed to Karate in 1958 after he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany.#ElvisPresley #King #RockNRoll #Karate #Dance #Move pic.twitter.com/YVb4r1n2Iz
— Elvis Presley (@ElvisPresley) June 28, 2021
After discharge, he gets so much respect that he deserves actually. People loved him more than previously and his career is on high peek at that time. Hope you like it. Stay tuned for more updates like this.