8th January: Elvis Presley

Today would have been Elvis Presley's 80th birthday. So here are 10 lesser known facts about The King:

1. Elvis is a Norse name, meaning "all wise".
2. Elvis had an identical Twin brother, Jesse Garon, who was stillborn, so Elvis grew up as an only child.
3. He didn't have naturally Black hair. As a child he was blond, and as an adult, his natural colour was brown. He dyed his hair with Miss Clairol 51 D, “Black Velvet." He even used shoe polish on occasion. He dyed his eyelashes, too.
4. Although famous worldwide, Elvis never performed outside North America. It has been suggested that the reason for this was that his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was an illegal immigrant from Holland and he feared being deported or not being allowed back in to the USA after a foreign tour.
5. Like  Michael Jackson, Elvis had a pet chimpanzee. His was called Scatter, and had a penchant for drinking Bourbon and looking up women's skirts.
6. Elvis was a black belt in karate.
7. He hated fish to such an extent that his wife Priscilla was banned from eating it at home in Graceland.
8. He was distantly related to two US Presidents: Elvis was a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s great-great grandfather, Isaiah Harrison, and a distant cousin of Jimmy Carter.
9. His first ever recording was a present for his mother. He paid a studio $4 to let him press two songs: My Happiness and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin. His first commercial single was That’s All Right
10. At school, Elvis failed a music class, and when he sang in a talent contest, he didn't win. But he was the first member of his family to get a high school diploma.