The True Story Behind Elvis Being Drafted Into the Army
On Dec. 20, 1957, Elvis Presley traded his status as “King of Rock ’n’ Roll” for that of general inductee when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.
It wasn’t exactly a welcome Christmas gift.
At the time, the 22-year-old sex symbol with the velvety vocals was a fledgling movie star and a global-sensation singer. But he was also a wildly controversial figure for his pompadour haircut, oozing sensuality and swiveling dance moves. Though Elvis’ money-minded manager, Colonel Tom Parker, scrambled to keep Presley out of the rank-and-file, the pair ultimately knew that doing so would brand Elvis a dodger. And his reputation would suffer further as middle-aged filmgoers and record buyers watched their crewcut sons march off to war.
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Elvis put on a brave face through the induction process, but privately he simmered with worry. Four of his songs reached No. 1 in 1957 alone, and Jailhouse Rock was a current box office smash. Elvis knew his detractors would relish his absence from Hollywood and the pop music scene, especially since Parker refused Army performances with no resulting royalties.
What the newly minted Private Presley didn’t know was that as he settled into Army life in Germany, the tide was turning at home. Colonel Parker was armed with a trove of unreleased material. Elvis recorded five new songs between basic training and reporting for active duty. And — perhaps most importantly— older generations who once viewed Elvis as a teen-bating, gyrating delinquent, now viewed him through the rosy lens of his commitment to his country.
His audience broadened and his records continued to sell
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Between his induction and discharge, Elvis enjoyed ten Top 40 hits, including “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck,” “Hard Headed Woman,” “One Night,” and “[Now and Then There’s] A Fool Such As I.” The first of his “hunk” songs, “A Big Hunk o’ Love” — not to be confused with the hunka-hunka “Burning Love” — even topped the Billboard Top 100 for two weeks in 1959.
During the star soldier’s service, RCA also released Elvis’ Christmas Album — which remains one of the bestselling Christmas albums in the world — plus several compilation albums of his previous material. The studio also delivered two soundtrack EPs from King Creole, which followed Jailhouse Rock into theaters just as Elvis shipped out overseas. Both the film and its music were desperately important to Elvis. He worried that if rock ’n roll was just a fad or his emerging movie stardom waned, this movie and its music could be his swan song.
Of course, it wasn’t.
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Elvis emerged from the Army in 1960 a more mature young man and broadly talented artist. He quickly released timeless, introspective ballads such as “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and lovestruck barnburners like “It’s Now or Never” and “Surrender.” Hollywood also welcomed him back with open arms. Elvis made more than two-dozen more films before the ’60s came to a close.
“People were expecting me to mess up, to goof up in one way or another,” Elvis told Armed Forces Radio and Television the night before he left Germany for home, where he’d remain in the Army reserves for four more years. “They thought I couldn’t take it and so forth, and I was determined to go to any limits to prove otherwise — not only to the people who were wondering, but to myself.”
Remind 
Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
February 2024
"Long live rock," we like to say, but how did it come to life? Revisit the memorable moments, music and movies that made teens go beat crazy back in the 1950s.
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