In the summer of 1947, a woman walked into a drug store in Memphis, Tennessee, to drop off film to be developed when she realized she had one exposure left.
She noticed a young boy outside the drugstore and asked him to pose with his bicycle so she could finish the roll and turn it in.
Only years later did she realize that it was a 12 year old Elvis Presley.
At age 12, Elvis lived with his parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley, in a modest rented house at 510 1/2 Maple Street in East Tupelo.
The family had faced financial struggles since the Great Depression, including Vernon’s intermittent unemployment and legal troubles (he served eight months in prison in 1938 for check forgery when Elvis was just 3).
Gladys, deeply protective after the stillbirth of Elvis’s identical twin brother, Jesse Garon, in 1935, devoted much of her attention to her only surviving child. She quit her job at the Tupelo Garment Company to focus on him, walking him to school and rarely letting him out of her sight.
The Presleys were part of a tight extended family network, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living nearby.
They attended the Assembly of God Church regularly, where Elvis was exposed to gospel music—singing hymns and participating in revivals from as young as age 8.
This religious influence would later shape his musical style, blending gospel with country, blues, and rhythm and blues.
In late 1946 (when Elvis was 11, turning 12 shortly after), Gladys convinced him to forgo a bicycle he wanted and instead buy a guitar for $12.95 at the Tupelo Hardware Company.
This gift was a turning point, as Elvis had shown early interest in music. He began learning chords from family members, neighbors, and local musicians like Mississippi Slim (a DJ and performer who gave him lessons and even scheduled him for radio spots).
By age 12 in 1947, Elvis was already performing locally.
He sang at church events and participated in amateur radio broadcasts on WELO’s Saturday Jamboree from the Tupelo Courthouse, starting around age 8 but continuing through his pre-teen years.
His first notable contest appearance was at age 10 in 1945, singing “Old Shep” (a tearful country ballad about a boy’s dog) at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, where he placed fifth and won $5 in ride tickets—broadcast live on WELO. This built his confidence, though he was often shy and introverted off-stage.
