From a shy young boy to a global superstar, Elvis Presley changed the face of American popular culture when he burst on to the scene in the 1950s.

With chart-topping hits like Heartbreak Hotel and Jailhouse Rock, he became an emblem of youth rebellion, while his matinée idol good looks and charismatic stage presence attracted a devoted following that endures beyond his untimely death in 1977, aged 42.

From the two-room shack in Tupelo, Mississippi where he was born, to the Memphis mansion, Graceland, where he lived and died, we retrace his road to fame and the spectacular properties he picked up along the way. Click or scroll through to find out more... 

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on 8 January 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, just 35 minutes after his identical twin brother Jesse, who was sadly stillborn.

He formed a close relationship with his parents, Vernon and Gladys, particularly his mother, who according to reports, believed that “when one twin died, the one that lived got all the strength of both”. Gladys idolised her son and took him with her everywhere, even when she was picking cotton in the fields when Elvis was a baby.

Elvis was born in this two-room shack in Tupelo, built from scratch by his father Vernon, with help from his father and uncle, and a loan of $180 (£141) to pay for the building materials.

The tiny home with its white picket fence was just a stone's throw from the Pentecostal Assembly of God Church, which Elvis credited for his early spiritual and musical inspiration.

It's where the late, great singer first discovered gospel music and where he learned to sing and play guitar. No surprise then that the Tupelo Elvis Presley Fan Club is located just over the road.

Now known as Elvis Presley Drive, the street where his birthplace home is located has become a dedicated heritage site and museum for fans to get a real picture of where their 'King' was born and spent his early childhood.

One of the highlights is a reconstruction of the family's retro 1930s kitchen in all its former glory, complete with gingham table cloth, ironing board and even a baby's high chair.

The Presleys didn't stay long in this property however. In 1938 after Elvis’ father Vernon, an odd-jobs man, was jailed for eight months for altering a cheque from a one-time employer, the family lost their home and lived in several other dwellings in the area. 

One of them was this three-bedroom home in East Tupelo, which was built by Presley’s great uncle, Noah Presley, and was home to Elvis and his parents from 1943 to 1944. 

The home, which was originally at 1241 Kelly Street, not far from where Elvis was born, was sold at auction in 2022 for $46,000 (£36k), after being saved from the wrecking ball and meticulously disassembled and packed away by Elvis experts. 

According to Jeff Marren of Rockhurst Auctions, the new owner, who is California based, "plans on putting the house back together on his own property, dressing it in 1930s furniture and houseware and then adding other Elvis collectable items”.

The Hound Dog singer’s home was deconstructed board by board, then carefully stored and preserved in a 30-foot American Hauler Night Hawk Trailer after it was saved from demolition.

The dismantling of the home was supervised by Elvis experts, Chris Davidson and Stephen Shutts who filmed an hour-long documentary about the process of packing the historical home into the trailer for transportation and what they unearthed in doing so. Items included clothing, jewellery and concert merchandise, reports The Sun.

Elvis was 13 when his family moved from Tupelo to Memphis, Tennessee so that Vernon could find a better job. The move changed everything for the young Elvis, influencing his sound and style, while a talent show win at his school Humes High gave him the confidence he needed to jump-start his musical ambitions.

The family stayed at a couple of boarding houses in Memphis before moving into a public housing complex known as Lauderdale Courts in 1949. The former Presley home is marked by a commemorative plaque. Elvis soon began to stand out, not just for his good looks and cool clothes (bought on Beale Street, the heart of Memphis’s thriving blues scene), but for his original voice, inspired by the blues and gospel singing of the South.

Elvis formed a band, rehearsing in the basement and performing for neighbours on the front steps of his building. The Presleys’ apartment has since been restored to its original state, including the star’s teenage bedroom, along with family photographs and other memorabilia, a guitar and the singer’s Humes High School yearbook, report Fox Business.

The family had to move out in 1953 because their income exceeded the level allowed for residents of the housing project, but these days diehard fans can visit and even stay over for around $250 (£197) per night.

After working as a cinema usher and a truck driver, Elvis Presley met his first inspiration, Mr Sam Phillips, the owner of the Sun Record Company in 1953 (Sun studios, pictured, is still around today).

While his first recording in 1954, That’s All Right, failed to make the charts, his subsequent pelvic-thrusting performances which earned him the nickname ‘Elvis the Pelvis’, set him on the road to stardom.

Elvis soon attracted the attention of music entrepreneur Colonel Tom Parker, who, while being credited with making Elvis a star, is also considered a major factor in his destruction, due to his manipulative and controlling nature.

Within a year of the Colonel becoming his manager in November 1955, the young Presley had won his first six gold discs and an international reputation as the most exciting artist to hit the music scene in years. 

By the time the singer moved with his parents into this one-storey ranch-style property on Audubon Drive in March 1956, Elvis was a star and had his first number one song Heartbreak Hotel a month later.

Pictures of the house were printed in magazines and police were often called to deal with the mob of fans who lined the streets waiting for a glimpse of their heartthrob. This led to the singer selling the property after just 13 months.

Looking for a bigger more secluded property, where he could escape the constant fan invasion, Elvis purchased the Colonial Revival-style mansion on the outskirts of Memphis that would become Graceland for $102,500 (£80.5k) in March 1957.

That's around $1.1 million (£864k) in today's money. The purchase price included 'trading in' his Audubon Drive home to its owner Ruth Brown Moore. 

Set on 13.8 acres, Graceland would become his principal home for the rest of his life, and his final resting place. The star spent months renovating the property, creating a private retreat for himself and his family.

As well as his wife Priscilla and daughter, the late Lisa Marie, his parents Vernon and Gladys and grandmother Minnie Mae lived there, as did his aunt Delta. It was always full of people including members of his entourage, which included old pals, who were nicknamed the 'Memphis Mafia'.

Not long after the Graceland move, at the height of his popularity in 1958, Elvis was drafted into the US Army serving two years in Germany from March 1958 to 1960. Here he waves farewell to fans from the 'USS Randall' in New York City.

He had appeared in four films prior to his departure, including Jailhouse Rock and King Creole, but harboured a desire to become a serious actor and Hollywood star like James Dean and Marlon Brando. 

In Germany, Elvis met his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu, the 14-year-old stepdaughter of a US Air Force officer stationed there. He fell madly in love, persuading her father to allow her to move to Graceland in 1962, where she completed her senior year at the all-girls Immaculate Conception Cathedral High School in Memphis.

She is seen here aged 16, with a military policeman at Frankfurt Airport in March 1960, after saying goodbye to Elvis, who had returned to the States to be released from military service.

Elvis’ ambition to be a serious actor was thwarted when he returned from the army. The Colonel had signed him up to star in 27 movies, most of which were musical comedies, including G.I Blues and Blue Hawaii.

He had many hit records including It’s Now or Never and Are You Lonesome Tonight?, but he made his last public performance for seven years in March 1961, spending much of the following years in Hollywood, inhabiting some stunning properties including this Spanish colonial mansion in Bel Air. 

Built in 1931 by famed architect Wallace Neff, the 13,300 square-foot legendary property on Bellagio Road was the former home of Howard Hughes and Prince Rainier, who lived here when he was dating Grace Kelly.

Located in the so-called Platinum Triangle, which included Bel-Air, Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills, it is set on 1.5 acres of land, featuring gardens, a pool, and a tennis court. Elvis and Priscilla lived here from November 1961 to January 1963, before they were married.

While filming, Elvis lived in a rented property, 525 Perugia Way, Bel Air from 1960 to 1961 then again from 1963 to 1965. It was here that his famous visit with The Beatles took place on August 27, 1965.

The story goes that Elvis was watching television with the sound down when the band walked in. After a few minutes of silence, Elvis said if they didn’t have anything to say, he was going to go to sleep. Everybody laughed and the ice was broken, with the band and rockstar chatting and jamming all afternoon.

After a courtship of eight years, Elvis and Priscilla finally married in a candle and flower-filled suite at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas on 1 May 1967 in front of just 14 people.

Priscilla wore an off-the-rack Westwood dress with lace sleeves, and Elvis donned a black paisley silk brocade tuxedo. The Colonel arranged for the newlyweds to give a press conference before their reception for 100 guests, which featured a six-tier wedding cake.

The couple originally intended to marry at this vast mansion in Palm Springs, cancelling when their plans were leaked to the press. However, Elvis borrowed Frank Sinatra’s jet to fly his new bride to the property at 1350 Ladera Circle after the Las Vegas ceremony, reports the New York Post.

Dubbed the 'House of Tomorrow', it was designed by celebrated architect Robert Alexander and features a floating fireplace, rock walls and terrazzo flooring. The incredible master suite with stunning mountain views earned the property the nickname, 'The Elvis Presley Honeymoon Hideaway'.

The mid-century house was originally intended for Mr Alexander himself and his family but, tragically, the architect and his wife died in a plane crash in 1965. Shortly after his stay, Elvis rented the mansion for the sum of $21,000 (£16.5k) a year. 

The couple had one daughter, the late Lisa Marie Presley, who was born on 1 February 1968 at the Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, nine months to the day after her parents’ wedding. 

She is pictured here with her parents at just four days old. But where did the family call home?

The young family spent many happy days here at their Beverly Hills house on 1174 Hillcrest Road between 1967 and 1973 when Elvis owned it. Perched on a 1.18-acre promontory in a quiet cul-de-sac, it featured three bedrooms and five bathrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and sweeping views across the city down to the ocean. 

Elvis bought the property for $400,000 (£314k) from Hard Rock Cafe founder, Peter Morton, and it was last on the market for a whopping $30 million (£24m) in 2022 reports Ideal Home.

Though extensively renovated, it retains its original gates, where Elvis is said to have come and chatted to his fans who gathered there.

His neighbours at the time included Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Ray Charles, and Dean Martin. These days Jennifer Aniston and designer Vera Wang count amongst the residents of the exclusive Trousdale Estates enclave, which is also known as 'Billionaires' Row'.

After his film career began to dwindle in success, Elvis' comeback TV special Elvis aired on NBC on 3 December 1968. The episode is re-enacted by actor Austin Butler in the 2022 movie Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Some 42% of the total television audience tuned in, making it the most-watched show of the season. It marked the revival of the singer’s musical career, and two of his most timeless hits, 'In the Ghetto' and 'Suspicious Minds' featured on the subsequent studio album From Elvis In Memphis. Superstardom was assured.

The following year, in what was billed as his comeback tour, Elvis signed a deal to perform at the newly-opened International Hotel in Las Vegas, then the largest hotel in the world. It became known as the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel in 1971.

He lived here in the grand hotel suite from 1969 and performed some 837 shows, the last being in December 1976, a year before he died. “Elvis has left the building” is what they would announce as he was hurried off stage, past the fans, desperate for a glimpse of their hero.

The 5,000-square-foot suite at the then Hilton Hotel, where Elvis lived during those years, has long since been renovated.

Now the Tuscan villa at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, as the hotel is now known, is a popular place to stay for Elvis fans. Guests have reported feeling his presence during their stay, with some saying they had seen his image and heard his music when the radio was switched off. 

As his career continued to soar, Elvis' health began to decline with the pressures of constantly performing and a growing dependency on prescription drugs. A patriot and proud American, he was invited to the White House in December 1970 by Richard Nixon, who curiously presented him with an honorary Bureau of Narcotics badge.

In return, Elvis gave the President a mounted Colt 45. While not the first celebrity to meet a president, Elvis was about to break ground elsewhere...

Starring in his Aloha From Hawaii show in January 1973, Elvis became the first solo artist ever to perform a live concert that was broadcast worldwide via satellite.

An estimated 1.5 billion people watched the TV special which ended up being NBC’s highest-rated programme of the year and consolidated Elvis’ global appeal.

Sadly, in October of that same year, Elvis and Priscilla announced their divorce, having separated a year before. An unconventional marriage, during which Elvis is known to have had many affairs, their divorce was reportedly very civilised. 

The couple continued to maintain a friendship, sharing custody of their daughter, the late Lisa Marie. “I did not divorce him because I didn’t love him. He was the love of my life, but I had to find out about the world,” Priscilla said in a 2016 interview.

Nicknamed 'Graceland West', the Presley family typically lived in this Palm Springs palace for several months of the year. Elvis continued to do so after his divorce in 1973, adding another 2,000 square feet to the home, including a new bedroom and entertainment suite.

He had bought the house at 845 W. Chino Canyon Road in 1970 for $105,000 (£82k) and it was sold to Frankie Valli after his death. It was on the market in 2014 for almost $3 million (£2.3m) according to Forbes.

To the despair of his fans, Elvis’ health deteriorated in the later years of his life due to a diet of junk food and prescription drugs. He was hospitalised on several occasions and was rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital on 16 August 1977 and pronounced dead aged 42. 'Acute respiratory distress' was cited as cause of death.

Originally buried in a mausoleum in Forest Hills Cemetery in Memphis, he was moved to Graceland and was laid to rest alongside his mother and father and grandmother Minnie Mae.

In 1982 Priscilla announced that Graceland would become a memorial museum for the late singer and open to the public.

She was given control of Elvis Presley Enterprises and has since helped preserve Elvis' legacy, including by giving her blessing to the new 2022 biopic, Elvis, which has brought about a resurgence of interest in the singer amongst younger generations.

The second most visited home in America after The White House, Graceland has extended way beyond its original 13-acre plot, sprawling across 120 acres, with its own shopping centre, 450-room resort hotel, car parks and a motor museum.

Some 600,000 visitors make the trip every year to visit this monument to his memory, which includes rooms like this dining room, set up as it might have been when Elvis was alive.

The décor in Graceland reflects the height of fashion in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Beautiful stained glass panels depicting peacocks stand out behind the large cream couch and comfy-looking armchairs.

The vintage living room also features one of the three fireplaces in the mansion.

The house evokes fond memories of Elvis, not least for his former wife Priscilla, who recalls in this 2022 interview, evenings spent in the piano room.

“After returning from late nights at the movies, Elvis and I would go there, and he would spend hours singing gospel music,” she says. “There was nothing but laughter. So much so, there were times that Elvis would be on the floor laughing to tears.”

The Graceland tour includes Elvis’ parents’ bedroom, the kitchen, TV room, pool room, his father’s office, the trophy building, the racquetball building and the meditation garden, where Elvis and his family are laid to rest.

Elvis was closely involved in the décor and employed local interior designer George Golden to bring his vision to life. The famous Jungle Room, seen here, was tiki-themed and added to the back of the house in 1965. It's where Elvis made his last recordings in 1976.

As well as the mansion itself, visitors can immerse themselves in the life of the singer by taking a spin around the Presley Motors Automobile Museum, which features some of his favourite cars, including his pink Cadillac (seen here), a 1975 Dino Ferrari and a 1973 Stutz Blackhawk. 

A range of exhibitions showcase different aspects of the star’s life, using archive material and memorabilia, whilst his passion for a luxury flight can be explored by stepping aboard some of his private planes.

This includes the Lisa Marie, which was named after his daughter and has its own living room, conference room, bedroom and features gold-plated seat belts. Poignantly, its last flight was to take Priscilla and Elvis’ good friend George Hamilton to his funeral. 

After sitting abandoned in the desert for nearly 40 years, another one of Elvis Presley’s private jets, a 1962 Lockheed 1329 JetStar, sold at auction in early January 2023 for $260,000 (£204k). Elvis originally bought the plane in 1976, just one year before his death, for $840,000 (£669k), or around $4.4 million (£3.5m) today, according to Robb Report.

“Elvis loved planes and this was one of them,” Priscilla Presley told the packed auction house. In its prime, the plane could reach speeds of 565mph with a range of 2,500 miles and is capable of accommodating up to nine passengers and three crew members.

Back in Graceland, the sole heir to her father’s world-famous Graceland estate, Lisa Marie Presley sadly passed away on January 12 2023, at the age of 54 after suffering a cardiac arrest and being rushed to the hospital. 

The only child of the iconic singer and Priscilla, she was a celebrated singer and songwriter in her own right. 

Lisa Marie had two children with her first husband, Chicago-born musician Danny Keough, who she divorced in 1994. Her eldest daughter, Riley Keough, is an actress and model, but her son, Benjamin Keough, died of suicide in 2020 at the age of 27.

Presley subsequently married singer Michael Jackson, actor Nicholas Cage, and finally, guitarist and music producer Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twin daughters, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood.

Lisa Marie was laid to rest in Graceland’s Meditation Garden, interred beside her son, Benjamin.

The Garden is also the final resting place of Elvis, his parents Gladys and Vernon, and his grandmother Minnie Mae. The Meditation Garden receives thousands of visitors every year, all eager to pay their respects to the 'King' and his family.

After Lisa Marie’s passing, her eldest daughter Riley Keough inherited Graceland and the Promendade Trust which controls it. Bought by Elvis for $102,500 (£80.5k) in 1957, the historic landmark is now said to be worth at least $10 million (£7.7m), and probably much more.

Lisa Marie had inherited the estate directly from her father, who passed away when she was only nine years old. The estate was placed in trust until she reached 25. "It is absolutely 100 percent mine, and it has always been mine, Graceland," Lisa Marie told Entertainment Tonight in 2013. "It will always be. And when it is no longer mine, it will be my children's. And that is that."

The ownership of the iconic property was thrust into doubt in May 2024 however, when a company calling itself Naussany Investments and Private Lending claimed it had lent Elvis’s daughter Lisa Marie $3.8 million (£3m) in 2018, with her father’s historic home as collateral.

The company claimed Lisa Marie was due to pay off the loan by May 2022, and after several attempts of trying to procure the funds, announced its intention to sell Graceland to the “best and highest bidder” on 23 May, reports The Daily Mail. 

Riley filed a lawsuit alleging Naussany presented fraudulent documents relating to the loan and asked a Memphis judge to block the sale, reports AP News.

Thankfully, the sale was blocked, with Riley alleging her mother’s and other signatures present on the documents had been forged. 
“It’s a scam,” Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ former wife declared on social media.

Most remarkable is that just days later, a self-proclaimed 'Nigerian scammer' stepped forward and proudly took credit for the failed attempt to auction off Graceland, explaining he and his team often scam the vulnerable and the elderly, reports The New York Post.

“We figure out how to steal,” the individual wrote to the NYT in Luganda, a Bantu language spoken in Uganda. “That’s what we do. I had fun figuring this one out and it didn’t succeed very well,” he said.

By his death in 1977, Elvis had come a long way from his impoverished childhood home in Tupelo. From his birthplace shack which, he later marvelled, could fit snugly inside the living room of his Graceland mansion, Elvis and his achievements had come to personify the American dream.

It may be decades since his death, but his spirit lives on within the walls of Graceland and in the hearts and minds of his fans. 

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