On This Day - August 16th 1977
Elvis Presley, king of rock 'n' roll, dies.
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935. He began learning the guitar at age 11, and often busked around the Lauderdale Courts public housing development, where he lived during his teen years. At age 20, he signed with RCA records, and began to make the music charts regularly. During the course of his career, he had 146 Hot 100 hits, 112 top 40 hits, 72 top 20 hits and 40 top 10 hits. A strong television exposure followed, with appearances on shows such as the Ed Sullivan Show. His next step was movies: between 1956 and 1969, Elvis Presley starred in 31 films.
Elvis died at the age of 42 on 16 August 1977. He was found on the floor of his bedroom's bathroom ensuite, and was rushed to the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. However, he was pronounced dead on arrival. His post mortem stated that he had died of cardiac arrhythmia - a form of heart attack. His autopsy results will not be made public until 50 years after his death. Presley was originally buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis next to his mother, but after an attempted theft of his body, his and his mother's remains were moved to Graceland.