Because of all that he accomplished during his life, Elvis Presley is one of the most well-known names in the entertainment business. However, prior to the money and the fame, Elvis was raised in extreme poverty as a result of his parents’ struggles to make ends meet. Gladys and Vernon Presley
In 1933, the two individuals were introduced to one another in a Pentecostal church in Tupelo, Mississippi. Gladys, who was 22 years old at the time, was five years older than Vernon, who was 17, and she worked at a local textile factory as a sewing machine operator. On the other hand, Vernon would resort to whatever means necessary to increase his financial standing.
They wed each other in the same year and moved into a two-room shanty that lacked power and running water shortly after their wedding. Gladys eventually became pregnant with twins, but her family was unable to provide the financial means necessary for her to get the appropriate medical treatment.
Unfortunately, on January 8, 1935, there were issues during her delivery, and they were forced to contact a doctor, who was finally paid for by a charity. Unfortunately, Elvis’ twin brother Jesse did not survive birth and was laid to rest in an unmarked grave at the cemetery near their home.
During this time, Gladys had also lost a significant amount of blood, and she was transported to the hospital with her son Elvis, who had managed to survive. After Gladys was discharged from the hospital, she decided against going back to work at the textile factory and instead went to pick cotton, which was a more physically demanding job. However, this presented her with the opportunity to bring Elvis along with her.
Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse for the family when Vernon was sentenced to three years in jail for manipulating the amount of money that was due to him on a check. Elvis was only three years old at the time of the incident.
Gladys was left to shoulder the whole of the burden for Elvis when Vernon was sentenced to jail. Because she was unable to pay the monthly rent for the home, she and her family had to move out.
Until 1943, when they were finally able to settle down in a home in East Tupelo, Mississippi, the mother and boy were forced to migrate from one house to another many time.
They found refuge in the home that Vernon’s uncle Noah Presley had constructed in the late 1920s for his son Eack and which eventually became their home. Elvis Presley spent his boyhood in the house with the cobalt blue boards and the white window frames. It was there that he and his parents experienced some degree of consistency.
Following Vernon’s release from jail, Gladys and Elvis moved in together in this home and made it their home for the next several years. The home where Elvis Presley was born is situated in East Tupelo at 1241 Kelly Street, and it is only around the corner from the house where 1241 Kelly Street is located.
Even though Elvis spent his childhood with both of his parents, he had a stronger connection to his mother, Gladys, than he did to his father, Vernon. When he was a kid, he never stopped thinking that he would be the one to get his parents out of poverty. Once, when he heard his parents fret about money for rent, he told Gladys: “I’m going to be the one.”
“Don’t be concerned, Mom. When I’m old enough, I’m going to get you a nice home, pay off everything you owe at the grocery store, and purchase two Cadillacs—one for you and Daddy, and one for me. I’m going to treat you like royalty.”
When Vernon had to travel to various states for business, Elvis and his mother would share a bed and talk to each other in their own baby language. This would occur anytime Vernon slept in the same room as the three, regardless of where they resided.
Gladys was also quite devout in her religious beliefs, and whenever she and Elvis would lie in bed together, she would tell him tales from the Bible that were written for children. She would tell the legends of Joshua fighting at the wall of Jericho and Jonah being swallowed by a whale. Jonah was one of her favorites.
She inspired him as a youngster to have faith that he was meant for better things, and she was certain that despite the fact that his brother had passed away, Elvis would mature with the added characteristics that his sibling had had.
When Elvis accompanied his mother to her job and the sun began to shine at two o’clock, he would make a promise to his mother that he would one day buy her a beautiful home and settle all of her outstanding bills at the food shop.
Elvis and his mother had such a strong bond that anytime they wanted to communicate, they would place their faces very close together, call one other by endearing nicknames, and utilize hand signals. Some of Gladys’s neighbors claim that she began worshiping Elvis from the moment he was born, which provides another piece of evidence of how closely the two were related.
Gladys has always feared being apart from her son, and ever since he was born, she has done all in her power to limit the amount of time that they are ever separated to no more than five minutes at a time.
Gladys experienced excruciating agony whenever Elvis was absent from her life. Although it’s natural for moms to feel protective over their children, most of them eventually outgrow that feeling as their children become older, but Gladys’s fear never went away at the prospect of Elvis ever abandoning her.
At the age of 19, Elvis Presley began his rise to popularity after being signed to a record company in Memphis known as “Sun.” He would perform at the Grand Ole Opry, which is a country and western event that takes place once a week and is aired live on the radio.
The whole of Elvis Presley’s earnings from the concert were sent to his parents, who placed them all in a container for safekeeping. Elvis Presley had already made good on his pledge by the time he became 20 years old and was taking care of his mother and father.
In 1956, with the success of his debut single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” he was able to purchase a house in the ranch-style on Audubon Drive, which is located in a peaceful residential neighborhood in Memphis.
The singer moved in with his parents, but his mother found it difficult to adjust to life in such a large mansion, especially given the circumstances of where they had come from.
Although it was suggested that she would grow acclimated to living in the home, Gladys never did. She continued to make comments on how the house looked like a castle despite the fact that she was living there. Gladys would often have new neighbors over for a glass of lemonade and a swim in their pool shortly after the family moved into their new home.
Elvis Presley and his parents were caught off guard when admirers began paying visits to their home and scaling the fence in an attempt to get a glimpse of the King. In addition to this, Gladys’s neighbors began to voice their concerns about the location of her laundry facilities.
At some point, the locals got together and began putting up a petition demanding that the family leave the area immediately. During this moment, Elvis was able to listen in on his mother while she spoke on the phone.
“I truly do wish that we were living in poverty once again.”
Elvis’s heart was broken by the comment, and as a result, he decided to relocate his mother and father to Graceland, a mansion located in Memphis. There, Elvis’s mother could have as much solitude as she desired.