Elvis Presley Timeline: 1960

A historical Elvis Presley timeline of dates and important events

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Here's a handy database of dates and events in Elvis Presley's life during 1960. You can also find out what else Elvis was up to in 1960 and in all the years of his life.

January 5: Elvis goes on leave for twelve days.
January 8: Elvis celebrates his 24th birthday while stationed in Germany, culminating in a transatlantic phone interview with Dick Clark for ABC's American Bandstand.
January 12: Presley travels to Paris again to take in the nightlife, but also to attend karate classes with instructor Jurgen Seydel.
January 20: Elvis is promoted to Sergeant and given command of the 3rd Armored Division reconnaissance unit.
February 11: Elvis throws a party at his residence in Bad Nauheim to celebrate the arrival of his sergeant's stripes.
February 26: The first step in the singer's discharge from the Army occurs: Elvis receives an order redeploying him to New Jersey's Fort Dix on March 3. Elvis calls American girlfriend Anita Wood to tell her the good news -- but not Priscilla.
February 29: Billboard reports that Elvis has already sold more records than any artist in history -- 18 million.
March 1: At a press conference, Elvis is given a certificate of merit from the Army as he prepares to leave for America.
March 2: Along with 79 other soldiers, Elvis Presley boards a plane for McGuire Air Force base in New Jersey. Priscilla, dubbed "the girl he left behind" by Life magazine, is there to see him off.
March 3: Weathering a snowstorm, Elvis' plane arrives at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Another press conference is held, then a party. The Colonel attends, as does Nancy Sinatra, whom Elvis had met while at a USO show.
March 5: At 9:15 am, Elvis Presley is officially discharged from the United States military (though he will remain on reserve for another four years). He collects a final paycheck of nine dollars and eighty-one cents and boards a train for Memphis.
March 7: Elvis' train arrives at Memphis, also in a snowstorm, and is driven back to Graceland in a Memphis PD squad car. The singer holds yet another press conference, this time at Graceland; Anita Wood joins him later.
March 8: Elvis visits the grave of his mother, Gladys, for the first time.
March 20: Studio musicians in Nashville who have been told they will be working with country singer Jim Reeves are surprised to see Elvis arrive instead for his first recording session in over a year and a half.
March 21: Presley boards a train for Miami to tape the Frank Sinatra TV special Welcome Home, Elvis, on the 26th.
April 8: In Memphis, Elvis buys a diamond necklace for Anita Wood.
May 2: Elvis begins filming on his next movie, G.I. Blues.
May 5: Elvis registers his only complaint about one of his singles, worrying that "It's Now Or Never" has a different mix than it had originally.
May 6: Presley calls Priscilla in Germany and, for the first time, sounds dissatisfied with the songs he's being asked to sing, specifically complaining about the soundtrack for his new film.
May 12: The Welcome Home, Elvis special airs on ABC, pulling in a 41.5 share.
May 28: Elvis visits Vegas and his entourage, for the first time, is dubbed the "Memphis Mafia" due to their penchant for wearing long coats and dark glasses.
June 27: Colonel Parker backs Elvis up on his dissatisfaction with "It's Now Or Never," demanding that it be remixed yet again.
July 3: Vernon, Elvis' father, marries Davada "Dee" Stanley in her hometown of Huntsville, AL. Elvis, who has never approved of Dee or his father's decision to remarry, does not attend, but rather goes boating on Memphis' McKellar Lake. The new couple live at Graceland for a short while but soon move to a separate Memphis home.
July 4: Elvis rents out an amusement park for the first time -- the Memphis Fairgrounds.
July 21: Presley receives his first-degree black belt in karate.
August 1: Elvis begins filming in Hollywood for his next movie, Flaming Star, a more dramatic film with almost no singing.
August 8: During a recording session for the Flaming Star soundtrack, Elvis once again complains that the songs are not up to his usual standard, asking that two even remain unreleased. (They're released anyway.)
August 12: Vernon gives up all legal claim to Graceland so that Dee will never inherit it.
September 9: While in Hollywood filming Flaming Star, Elvis voluntarily leaves his suite at the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel after noise complaints about his entourage. He instead rents a house at 525 Perugia Way in Bel Air. Price: $1,400 a month.
September 19: Elvis complains yet again about the mix on his latest single, this time "Are You Lonesome To-Night?"
October 8: Elvis returns to Vegas on vacation.
November 1: Back in Memphis, Elvis visits St. Joseph's hospital to offer condolences to the wife of Paul Woodward, an Inspector for the Memphis PD who has just passed away from a heart attack.
November 9: In Hollywood, Elvis begins filming his seventh movie, Wild In The Country.
November 26: Elvis and the "Mafia" take another Vegas break.
December 2: Elvis calls Priscilla and invites her to Graceland for the Christmas holidays. She arrives on December 8.
December 4: Through Colonel Parker, Elvis is signed on to a benefit concert in Hawaii to raise funds for the USS Arizona memorial. (The battleship was one of several sunk during Pearl Harbor.)
December 23: Elvis finishes filming Wild In The Country.
December 25: Elvis, along with Priscilla and his family, spend their first Christmas together at Graceland since the death of Gladys Presley.