1948
The Presley family makes a critical move to Memphis, Tennessee, the self-proclaimed birthplace of the blues. A budding musician, Elvis spends much of his spare time on Beale Street listening to famous blues musicians.

1953
Elvis pays $4 to make his first studio recording, a version of "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" at Sun Studios' Memphis Recording Service.

1955
Sun Studio sells RCA Victor its contract with Elvis Presley for $30,000. The King gets $5,000 of that money and buys his mother a shiny pink Cadillac with the advance.

1956
Elvis belts out "Heartbreak Hotel" with the help of the Jordanaires, a gospel quartet, on background vocals. The song is released in 1956 and lingers eight weeks at the No. 1 spot on Billboard's pop singles chart. In March, the King's first full-length album, "Elvis Presley," becomes his first gold album. In June, Elvis appears on the Milton Berle Show where he grinds his hips to the rhythm of his song "Hound Dog." The teens in the audience go wild at his sensual performance and his popularity is boosted internationally. In August, Elvis begins shooting his first movie, "Love Me Tender," for Paramount.

1957
Elvis purchases Graceland for $100,000.

1958
Elvis enters the Army after being drafted, and he is shipped to Bremerhaven, West Germany.

1959
Elvis meets Priscilla Anne Beaulieu at a party in West Germany.

1960
Elvis is discharged from the Army.

1967
Elvis and Priscilla exchange vows in a private wedding ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1968
Priscilla gives birth to the couple's only child, Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis also stars in an NBC comeback television program where the King croons hits like "Hound Dog" and "All Shook Up."

1972
Elvis has his last top 20 hit with "Burning Love," which hit number 2.

1973
Elvis says aloha from paradise when he tapes a concert in Hawaii that, when broadcast later in the year, reaches more than 40 nations and 1 billion viewers, according to Presley publicists. In October, Elvis is hospitalized with recurring health problems, and Elvis and Priscilla divorce.

1977
A June concert in Indianapolis is the King's last concert performance. In August Elvis is pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Congestive heart failure is blamed for the musician's death, but a follow-up investigation found that drug abuse might have at least contributed to his death. Presley is buried at Forrest Hills Cemetery, but his body is later moved to Graceland.

1982
Graceland is opened to the public after going through a $50,000 face-lift. Priscilla's investment in the refurbishing of Elvis's digs increased the value of his estate to more than $10 million.

1985
Priscilla provides a personal view of her marriage to the King in her autobiography "Elvis and Me."

1994
Daughter Lisa Marie unites two musical families when she weds pop music idol Michael Jackson.

1997
Fans commemorate the 20th anniversary of Elvis's death, and the first Elvis club, "Elvis Presley's Memphis," opens on Beale Street in Memphis.

1998
The Country Music Association posthumously inducts Elvis into its Hall of Fame. The award is presented by country music stars Wynonna Judd and Travis Tritt and was accepted by Priscilla.

2002
Elvis tops British charts 25 years after his death when a remix of his 1968 song "A Little Less Conversation" is released. The King now has more No. 1 hits than any artist in the pop chart's 50-year history.