More than thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley remains indelibly etched in to the American psyche. As the Elvis of myth – an embodiment of the American Dream in the flesh- has become synonymous with Elvis the man, the subject of countless books, articles and songs, it has become increasingly hard to discern who Elvis really was. By combining obsessive research with absorbing writing, Adam Victor, author of the bestselling The Marilyn Encyclopedia, sifts through the competing versions of events throughout Elvis's life and traces a young man's path to immortality.

The Elvis Encyclopedia, the product of over six years of research, was created to help bring order to the massive amount of material written about Elvis Presley. In doing so, it stands as the most comprehensive book about his extraordinary life and legacy ever published. Below is a quiz based on information from The Elvis Encyclopedia designed to test your basic knowledge about Elvis and his life. Learn the answers and so much more by picking up your copy of The Elvis Encyclopedia!

Answer the following by choosing either a, b, c, or d:

1. What did Elvis pay for Circle G Ranch? 
        a. $36,000
        b. $437,000
        c. $1,000,000
        d. 128,000

2. What was Elvis’s job before cutting his first record in 1955? 
        a. delivery truck driver for Crown Electric
        b. worked in a sewing factory with his mother
        c. a line cook at the local diner
        d. he cut lawns for the local neighbors

3. What was Elvis’s first appearance on national television and when? 
        a. “Louisiana Hayride” on KWKH March 5, 1955
        b. “The Roy Orbison Show” on KOSA May 31, 1955
        c. “Stage Show” on CBS January 28, 1956
        d. “Milton Berle Show” April 1956

4. Between which two celebrities is Elvis’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? 
        a. Gary Cooper and Milton Berle
        b. Jack Lemmon and Ronald Regan
        c. Fred Astaire and Ingrid Bergman
        d. Ray Charles and Vivian Leigh

5. How many of the following women did Elvis marry?  Magdalen Moran, Dixie Locke, June Juanico, Anita Wood, Priscilla Beaulieu, Linda Thompson, Ginger Alden 
        a. three 
        b. two
        c. one
        e. six

6. What did radio personality, Dewey Phillips, call Elvis when spinning his record on the radio for the first time? 
        a. Elton Preston
        b. Eli Preistly
        c. Elia Priest
        d. Ellis Perry

7. What was Elvis’s favorite alias to use when traveling? 
        a. Tom Wilson
        b. John Carpenter
        c. Jon Burrows
        d. Lucky Jackson

8. Which of Elvis’s movies was the only one to premiere in New York City?
        a. Viva Las Vegas
        b. Love Me Tender
        c. Jailhouse Rock
        d. Blue Hawaii

9. Of what was Elvis made honorary captain in 1956? 
        a. Louisiana Hayride
        b. The Tupelo Rotary Club
        c. The Mississippi State Baseball Team
        d. Louisiana State Highway Patrol

10. What was one of Elvis’s earliest gifts to his mother after giving her the famed pink Cadillac?
        a. a vacuum
        b. an electric mixer
        c. a house
        d. a washer/dryer set

11. How many number one singles made it to the Billboard Charts in Elvis’s lifetime?
        a. 10
        b. 38
        c. 57
        d. 17

12. What was the name Elvis gave to the pitched firework battles he regularly held in the Graceland grounds over the Christmas and July 4th holidays? 
        a. Spectacular Spectacular
        b. Sparkle Show
        c. War
        d. Lisa Marie’s Fireworks


The above is excerpted from the book The Elvis Encyclopedia
by Adam Victor
Published by Overlook Duckworth Press; October 2008;$65.US/$71.50CAN; 978-1-585-67598-2
Copyright © 2008 Adam Victor

Author Bio
Adam Victor is a writer and translator and the author of The Marilyn Encyclopedia. The Elvis Encyclopedia is his biggest project to date, the distillation of more than six years of research in libraries, film and audio archives, and private collections. The result is the most comprehensive book on Elvis ever published. Adam Victor lives in Italy with his wife and son.

Quiz Answers: b, a, c, d, b, a, c, b, d, b, d, c