Death of his beloved mother

Definitely the most important woman in Elvis's life was his mother.She definitely was the most influential who encouraged Elvis to show his talent. He had an incredible strong relationship with Gladys. She cherished him very much, sometimes too much. With his first check, he gave his mother a pink Cadillac, but Gladys feared that fame might destroy his son, and she was against him becoming famous...Only six after entering the army, his dear mother died of a heart attack caused by hepatits. Elvis was asleep when his father called him, and told him that his mother past away. Gladys died on August 14th 1958. Elvis was devastated. He rushed in hospital and when he entered in his mother's hospital room, he cried and prayed over his mother's lifeless body. Days after his death, he would just walk around, not talking to anyone. Her death was definitely the greatest impact in his life. He was never the same Elvis after her death.

photos via: Google photos

Achieving his dreams in 1955

By 1955 Elvis achieved his dream of being a professional singer even though

he was still mostly uncategorizable and already engendering controversy

 for his wild onstage movements and unbelievable charisma.
 

1955 was the year Elvis hit the road, creating his overnight sensation by rocking out at seemingly every state, high school, and military base from Dallas to Cleveland. Success came quickly, of course, but it came with riots, new love affairs, questionable business practices, the death of an icon, and Cadillac's literally on fire from overuse! But the records show that Elvis' path to stardom, while quick, was not without a ton of work on his part -- having found a musical home at Sun and a touring band that understood his mix of country, blues, R&B, and pop, Presley spent almost every single day of the year working it, touring from New Mexico to Cleveland to the Florida Everglades and performing anywhere that would have him.