Hi, this is Elvis Presley. I just got in Hollywood by Delta Airlines, and there's a nice crowd out here at the airport and A lot of newspaper reporters and photographers and everything and it really makes me feel good because you know This is the place of places out here What have I been reading in the fan magazines about your acting abilities? There have been a lot of articles come out that I was gonna Imitate or copy the the late James Dean or something like that, but I've never thought about it although James Dean was one of the greatest actors I've ever seen he and Marlon Brando and a whole bunch more I could call over But I'm not I'm not gonna try to copy anybody. In fact, I don't even know whether I can act or not I'm just gonna give it a try. Did they tell you at the studio that they thought you were a good actor? well No, they didn't say I thought I was good they just told me that my test turned out real well I thought you were gonna make a picture at Paramount first. What are you doing at Fox? I was supposed to have made for Paramount first, but something happened. Mr Wallace said he didn't want to make anything until December until December. That's right Do you think you'll make a film for Paramount then? I am pretty sure we I don't know what it'll be yet Where did you go to high school? Humes High School in Memphis. Have you ever gone to any college of any kind? No, where'd you go to school in the early years? I went to grammar school in Mississippi, Tupelo, Mississippi Do you really have four cars? Yeah one of them's Pink one's blue and two of them's white. Are they all Cadillacs? No one of them's a Lincoln Continental What's the other car you have? I have a Messerschmitt a Messerschmitt. What is that? Is that a car? It's a three-wheel car a German made. Which one do you like the best of all of them? Motorcycle. Is that right? How tall are you? Six feet even. How much do you weigh? 180. Blue eyes, right? Greenish blue. Yeah Tell us about this sideburn business. So why did you decide to start growing sideburns? I just always wanted to grow them when I was growing up. I always admired sideburns How old were you when you first let him start growing? When I was only to grow I was I guess I was about 17 Do you have any brothers or sisters? No, I don't Elvis, where do you live at home in Memphis? Where do I live at home? I live at home. No, I mean, do you have your own house or apartment? Oh, yes, we have a house in Memphis. You and your parents? Yes. And you actually do ride these motorcycles? Yeah. Do you own one? Yes Harley Davidson That's my favorite sports motorcycle riding. Do you horseback ride at all? Not very much. I'm gonna have to learn Now we've heard you like amusement parks tell us about that They just amuse me because it's so much to do and take your mind off everything. What do you like to do there most? No, I try to win prizes when playing their crooked games Don't print that really please. I'm just kidding. Now. You don't actually have a girl right now. Is that true? Not a special girl. I'd date a few different ones But no, no nobody in particular. I read somewhere that you have a girlfriend that you've been dating three years. Is that true? It's very untrue. I've never dated a girl three years. I've never dated one three months Were you ever in love at all? I thought I was when I was growing up, but I wasn't you know When you're growing up you you sometimes think you're in love. You sometimes think that this is this is it You'll never find another one, you know But then you grow up and you laugh at yourself, right? Do you think you're any different now than you were two years ago a year ago? You mean as far as character concerned or what as far as the way you feel now in comparison to when you were a nobody Oh, I don't feel a bit different I'm just I'm just like I was I mean in other words, of course, I guess everybody says this a lot of people change but But actually I have one. I've never even felt the change. The only thing I felt is that Is is happiness that things have gotten better for me that that God has blessed me and that he's Given me a lot of things that a Lot of the people would like to have I mean that I would like to see other people have in other words I wish that everybody could have You know luxuries in life But I guess that's impossible Do you consider yourself to be religious? Well, I don't attend church regularly or regular or nothing like that, but I'm a true believer of God if that's what you mean I believe that all good things come from God. When did you first start singing? Do you call it singing the stuff you do I call it singing? Yeah, that is what you call it, right? Well, I've sold five million records. Somebody calls it singing. I Mean this is what the critics say. I guess you read this all the time. Well, I'll tell you This is the only thing I can this is the only explanation I've got for it is People always I get a lot of criticism for the actions I use on stage I Have been doing it for two years I've been doing the same thing for two years and it just got in the last four or five months that I've got criticism. I Guess it's because my records have become Bigger and everything in other words the the more popular you are the more criticism you get but In other words people can stay home and hear you sing But when they pay their money to come out and see you on a personal appearance that those those people want to see a show They come out to see some action and if I stood up in front of an audience and did nothing but saying if I didn't put on a show and if I didn't Act like I enjoyed what I was doing They wouldn't come out to see me the next time I went back Do you really enjoy being up there on the stage as much as you seem? I get such a thrill out of it till I wear myself completely out And sometime we have three or four shows a day and it's the same thing as a fighter going into the ring three times in one night And not many fighters will do it. Were you self-conscious when you first started? I mean, did you have stage fright at all? Well, I still do you still do I still do and I've been in front of a lot of audiences But I always get nervous. Are you nervous throughout the show? After the first couple of songs, I feel okay But I always go out with it with the part of my mind are they gonna like me Well, they gonna throw rocks at me or something like that. Tell me about the craziest audience you ever had Craziest audience one of the craziest Well, I've run across quite a few crazy on it. I'm not crazy audience. I don't I don't mean that. I mean, I wrote unusual kind of wild and exciting I Couldn't tell you no one particular place because it's happened Quite a few times. In fact, it happens more that way than it does Conservative type audience because any anywhere you get a bunch of young people together. There's gonna be excitement Do you remember the first time you performed in front of an audience? the first time I performed See In my life you mean yeah, I mean is there any time that stands out as being the first time? You had to get up there. Yes I was in front of an audience and at a fairground when I was 11 year old it was a fair an annual fair and they had a talent contest and I sang a song called old ship story of a dog And I sang it and I won. I won fifth prize. I won $5 It's the first time where was this? It was in Tupelo, Mississippi It's the first time that I ever sang in front of an audience. Were you nervous? I was shaking like a leaf How did the song go over? I didn't have any music or anything. I couldn't get anybody to play for me I couldn't play anything myself. So I just went out and sang it and I Believe that they felt soft on me back there and it's why they're letting me win fifth, right? because I was I Was scared so bad. Do you think your style of singing is different than anybody else's or do you follow a pattern? Do you say sing like Johnny Ray for instance? No No, I don't pull my hair and roll on the floor you feel that this is your style alone the way you sing Well, I mean, I I don't know. I have never heard a style like it. I mean I'm not saying it's good or nothing like that. I mean, I have never heard anything and I never copied anybody. I Just originated it accidentally more or less. I just When I'm when I was called to make my first record I I went into studio and I started singing I started jumping up and down and I Mean and I wasn't even aware of it. My legs were shaking all over and And then after my first record became a hit well, I was on this big jamboree in Memphis and an open-air theater and I came out on stage and I was scared completely stiff and in my in my band We all look like a bunch of dead people We're scared so bad. I guess we're four or five thousand people in in the audience and and We Telling me here that we're running out of time. Well, let me let me go ahead and finish this Anyway, I came out on stage and I was uh, and I was singing a Couple of these rock and roll songs and the audience got to holler and squealing with me and they had been very quiet through the whole Show and I was the last one on the show And they had been very quiet and the audience started squealing and I left the stage and they kept calling me back And I didn't know what I was doing that they liked because I didn't I never even thought about And my manager told me go he said go back out there and do just what you've been doing So I asked him I said, what have I been doing? And he said you've been shaking all over He said your legs have been shaking with the music and your eyes twitching your shoulders twitching and everything. And so I Stuck with it and I've been doing it ever since You