Elvis Presley Timeline: 1971

A historical Elvis Presley timeline of dates and important events

Here's a handy database of dates and events in Elvis Presley's life during 1971. You can also find out what else Elvis was up to in 1971 and in all the years of his life.

January 8: Elvis goes on another spending binge, purchasing a number of law enforcement-related equipment, including guns, holsters, handcuffs, flashing lights, and a police radio for one of his cars.
January 9: Elvis is voted one of the Most Outstanding Young Men of the Year for 1970 by the national board of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (known as the Jaycees). It would become one of Presley's most treasured achievements, honoring as it does men who have made the most of America's "free enterprise" system. He will bring the award with him wherever he tours for the rest of his days.
January 16: Having worked tirelessly on his speech the night before, Elvis attends the press conference for the Jaycees award at the Holiday Inn Rivermont in Memphis, stating, in part, "I don't go along with music advocating drugs and desecration of the flag. I think an entertainer is for entertaining and to make people happy." After a $2000-a-plate dinner and a speech by future President George H.W. Bush, Elvis gives his address, in which he quotes a favorite Roy Hamilton R&B tune, "Without A Song": "When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times. These gentlemen over there, these are the type who care, are dedicated. You realize if it´s not possible that they might be building the Kingdom, it´s not far-fetched from reality. I learned very early in life that: ‘Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend, without a song.' So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you."
January 26: Elvis opens his new show at the International. New material includes "The Impossible Dream" and his showstopping "How Great Thou Art."
January 27: The singer orders new female versions of the famed TCB pendants, entitled TLC, for "Tender Loving Care."
February 1: Daughter Lisa Marie attends the evening show at the International for her third birthday.
February 19: A fan rushes the stage unexpectedly at tonight's show, startling Elvis so badly that he bumps into the microphone and chips his tooth.
February 24: With old grudges apparently now forgotten, Elvis and Priscilla attend the opening of Ann-Margret's new show at the International.
March 1: An increasingly concerned Elvis orders cameras installed in every room at Graceland, all leading to four monitors installed in his bedroom.
March 8: In Memphis, Elvis and Priscilla attend the second Ali-Frazier fight. Elvis shows up wearing his "World Championship belt" for attendance from the International.
March 16: Elvis attempts several folk songs at tonight's recording session, but cuts the session short early, complaining of pain and inflammation in his eye, eventually diagnosed as secondary glaucoma.
March 29: Elvis visits the studio of Master Kang Rhee, a local martial arts expert. Rhee presents the King with a fourth-degree black belt.
March 31: Colonel Parker inks a new deal with RCA that will allow for three new releases per year on the label's budget Camden imprint. The albums will feature ten tracks, mostly movie leftovers and some previously released material.
April 10: In Los Angeles, the Presleys and the family of Memphis "Mafiosi" Jo Esposito organize an Easter Egg Hunt for their children.
April 13: Priscilla, at Elvis' urging, begins to take karate classes.
May 12: Elvis revisits Sri Daya Mata's Self Realization Fellowship Center in Los Angeles for the first time since 1965.
May 15: Sensing his reluctance, producer Felton Jarvis decorates the recording studio at RCA with fake presents and a decorated tree in order to get Elvis in the mood to record his next Christmas album tonight.
May 16: At tonight's session, Elvis attempts a rare off-the-cuff jam with the band, resulting in a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." An edited version will eventually be released on the box set Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential 70's Masters.
June 1: Elvis' Tupelo birthplace is opened to the public for the first time.
June 10: Presley records what would become his signature song for his last days, Paul Anka's "My Way."
June 29: The Memphis City Council votes to change Elvis' home street, Highway 51 South, to "Elvis Presley Boulevard."
July 5: Elvis begins rehearsals for a new engagement at the Sahara in Lake Tahoe, NV.

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