Elvis Failed His Music Class in High School

Elvis Presley’s music carried him to unprecedented levels of fame and success. He had 18 songs go to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and his albums sold rapidly. Just a few short years before his ascension to stardom, though, few people knew he liked to sing. Elvis said he even failed his music class in school.

Very few people Elvis knew loved music

Elvis grew up singing in church and around his home, but he didn’t speak of his hobby at school. He was quiet, so few of his peers knew much about him.

“I first realized that I could sing at about two years of age,” he said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick, later adding, “People would listen to me around the housing project where I lived, [but at school] nobody knew I sang.”

He hid his talent so greatly that he failed a music class. This comes as a surprise, as many people who knew Elvis as an adult said he had a natural ear for music.

“I wasn’t popular at school,” he said, adding, “I wasn’t dating anybody at that school. I failed music — only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show … It was amazing how popular I became in school after that.”

His friend recalled the shocked reactions of the audience at the talent show

Elvis’ classmate and future bodyguard, Red West, recalled the talent show well. He’d been friendly with Elvis but had no idea he could sing. When he got onstage, West was stunned.

“To be honest, I never thought he would have the guts to get out there in front of those people,” West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “He just never impressed me as being that brave. I never even knew he sang, but I was to get a surprise.”

West said the school could scarcely believe what they were hearing. Elvis even brought some people to tears.

“Hell, do you know while Elvis was singing the love songs, there was one lady teacher crying?” West said. “And there were other teachers who had tears in their eyes. When he finished his show, the kids went crazy; they applauded and applauded. They just went mad. He was an easy winner.”

Elvis’ father was wary about his son pursuing music

Elvis’ father, unlike his classmates, was long aware of his son’s talents. Still, he was wary of Elvis’ plans to pursue a singing career.

“My daddy had seen a lot of people who played guitars and stuff didn’t work, so he said, ‘You should make up your mind either about being an electrician or playing a guitar. I never saw a guitar player that was worth a damn.’”

In the wake of Elvis’ success, Vernon Presley came to laugh at his earlier warning.

“It’s funny, I say it to him every once in a while, and he just laughs about it, he gets embarrassed if I say it in front of somebody.”