Shake Your Hips to This Elvis Presley Quiz

In 1968, Elvis recorded the Beatles’ hit "Hey Jude" just six months after it was released, although his version didn't appear on an album until 1972's "Elvis Now." Elvis also did four other Beatles covers, although none of them were officially recorded for album releases. "Yesterday" and "Something" were tackled as part of live performances, while informal versions of "Lady Madonna" and "Get Back" were released on posthumous box sets.

The RCA TV shot by the gun-collecting rocker is on display at Graceland. Reportedly, Elvis shot at TVs regularly as a running gag with his friends, and kept a graveyard of ruined TVs in his backyard. At the time, he was famous for shooting the TV when fellow singer Robert Goulet was performing, but according to Graceland spokesman Kevin Kern, “Elvis just shot out things on a random basis.”

In 1955, Jonas Salk’s revolutionary polio vaccine was released. But many people were reluctant to get the shots — teen immunization was at only .6%. To help the cause, Elvis agreed to be photographed as he got vaccinated in October 1956. He also recorded pro-vaccine PSAs. In the next six months, youth vaccination rates rose to 80%. By 1963, New York City reported no new cases.

Elvis became eligible to appear on a stamp in 1987 — 10 years after his death — but some objected on the grounds of his drug use. However, in 1992, the idea was approved and the postmaster general made the surprise announcement that the public would vote on whether a younger or older Elvis would be depicted on the stamp. Eventually, more than 517 million of the popular stamps with a young Elvis were printed — three times the usual number.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon was promoting an aggressive anti-drug policy. Elvis had always been fascinated by policing, and that same year, he wrote to Nixon and asked the President to make him a “federal agent at large.” Elvis believed that he could infiltrate and fight drug crime among the counterculture, who he said did not view him as “the establishment.” When the two met in December, Elvis received an honorary badge.

Elvis made his way into five halls of fame, including Country, R&B, Rock & Roll, Gospel, and Rockabilly. Dubbed the King of Rock 'N' Roll, he had 114 top 40 hits, but his three Grammy Awards were for gospel music. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, almost 10 years after his death in 1977.

A Civil War ballad called “Aura Lee” might perk up the ears of any Elvis fan. The song was adopted and rebranded as “Love Me Tender” by a film producer named Hal Wallis. The 1956 Western musical, also titled “Love Me Tender,” marked Elvis’ movie debut, and he went on to star in 31 other films over the course of his life.

In 1960, Elvis became a seventh-degree black belt in karate after training in Memphis with Master Kang Rhee. Before that, he had trained with Hank Slemansky in the Chito-Ryu style, and was put through rigorous training to ensure that he earned the belt, rather than have it handed to him as some actors of the time had. Once he’d earned his seventh-degree black belt, Elvis opened the Tennessee Karate Institute.

“Stage Show” wasn’t the first TV program Elvis ever appeared on, but it was the first that reached a national audience. In 1956, Elvis appeared on “Stage Show” six times, which led to later appearances on “The Milton Berle Show,” “The Steve Allen Show,” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Sullivan commented that Elvis was his best experience with a big-name performer, proclaiming his success on camera.

Colonel Tom Parker remains a mysterious figure in Elvis’ story. The King was the infamous manager’s only client, and it was later revealed that he took 50% of the rock star’s earnings. He is credited with arranging all of Elvis’ movie and music deals, but possibly not going after an international career due to his own rumored illegal immigration from the Netherlands.

No one expected “Can’t Help Falling in Love” to become the hit it was. As the years went on, Elvis began closing many of his concerts with the song, including the last one he performed less than two months before his death in 1977. Those who saw that concert remarked that he performed the song with more energy than he’d had throughout his entire tour.

“Heartbreak Hotel” was one of the earliest songs Elvis recorded with RCA Records. Songwriters Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton promised the singer a million-selling single — and they delivered. After the song’s release, it became Elvis’ first big hit, and he played it several times on different TV programs.

Elvis’ family was far from wealthy, and receiving his first guitar on his 11th birthday in 1946 was a big deal. The guitar cost about $7 and kick-started a love of performing in a child who already adored music. Elvis’ love of music began during his days in church as a toddler and expanded throughout his life to include bluegrass, country, blues, and more.

In 1953, when he turned 18 years old, Elvis registered for the Selective Service System, making him eligible for the draft. Four years later, he was drafted. The Army initially offered him a role in special services, where he could serve by entertaining the troops, but Elvis declined under his manager’s advice. He served as a regular soldier and was honorably discharged in 1960.

Elvis was only married once, but he was known for connecting with many women throughout his career. One of his most famous relationships was with Ann-Margret, his costar in “Viva Las Vegas,” before he married Priscilla. Ann-Margret was the only woman Priscilla admitted she felt threatened by before her marriage to the King of Rock 'n’ Roll.

Elvis’ Las Vegas residency at the International (now Westgate) came in the wake of his big 1968 TV comeback special, and it lasted until the year before his 1977 death. The King performed twice a night — at dinnertime and at midnight — seven nights a week. He would finish at 2 a.m. and then host VIP guests at a post-show party.

In 1956, Elvis was accused of giving an obscene performance because he moved his hips suggestively during a performance on “The Milton Berle Show.” Though Elvis toned down his subsequent appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” Sullivan still received thousands of complaints. During Elvis’ January 7, 1957, appearance on the variety show, camera operators were told to shoot the musician from the waist up.

“He said that was the only thing he got any enjoyment out of, was eating," Elvis’ personal cook Mary Jenkins once said. Elvis loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches grilled in butter at all hours of the day, and even woke Jenkins to cook them late at night. Some recipes add bacon, but Elvis is not known to have done so. He preferred his bacon sandwiches with mustard.

When Elvis was an up-and-coming singer, he signed a contract to make regular appearances on the radio program “Louisiana Hayride.” However, by the time Elvis was scheduled to make his final appearance in December 1956, he was a global superstar. This became a problem, as the small Shreveport venue was soon packed with more than 10,000 hysterical fans. When they threatened to stampede, announcer Horace Logan assured them, “Elvis has left the building.”

Elvis bought Graceland for $102,500 in 1957 and lived there for the rest of his life. Only 22 years old at the time, Elvis had risen to stardom within the previous year. The former owners had named the mansion after a relative, and they, too, were a musical family, holding their own recitals in the home’s formal rooms. Elvis’ wife, Priscilla, lived there with him until their separation and eventual divorce.