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March 1960
Elvis leaves West Germany on March 1, arriving in New Jersey the next day for a press conference, and is officially discharged from active duty on March 5, 1960. He boards a train for Memphis, arriving on March 7. Press and crowds of fans are everywhere for this historic series of events. He holds a press conference at Grace Land in his father's office behind the mansion on March 8.
He had served his country just like any other GI, with no special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him. These two years away from his career have been a time to mature. He has also worried constantly that his lengthy absence might have damaged his career progress. He needn't have worried. He has yet to see his greatest stardom.

Late March, 1960
Elvis has his first post-army recording session. On March 21 he receives his first degree black belt in karate, an interest he developed while in the army. On March 26 he tapes a special "Welcome Home, Elvis" version of Frank Sinatra's ABC-TV variety show, for which he is paid a record sum for a single variety show appearance.

Late April, 1960
Elvis begins filming and recording for his first post-army movie, his fifth film, "GI Blues" for Paramount, the the first of nine to be produced (not consecutively) by Hal Wallis. "GI Blues" co-stars dancer/actress Juliet Prowse. Portions of the movie were actually filmed in Frieburg and Ray Barracks where Elvis was stationed in the Army. Elvis and all the actors portraying US Army soldiers wore the 3d Armored Division shoulder patch- the division to which Elvis served is military service.

May 8, 1960
ABC airs Frank Sinatra's "Welcome Home, Elvis" edition of his variety show, which attracts a 41.5% share of the national television audience. Elvis sets a new television record by being paid $125,000 for his brief appearances in the show.

October, 1960
The soundtrack album for "GI Blues" enters the Billboard album chart and soon goes to number one. It remains number one for ten weeks and stays on the chart for 111 weeks. It would be the most successful album of Elvis's entire career on the Billboard charts. (In terms of total record sales, we do not know which album was the most successful.)
Note: Elvis has three number one singles, one number two album, one number one album, and other hits in 1960, his first year out of the army.

November 1960
Elvis begins recording and filming for his seventh film, "Wild in the Country", which will be completed in January. "GI Blues" opens nationally to warm reviews and big box office sales and is among the fifteen top-grossing films of the year. It is a light comedy melodrama with lots of singing by Elvis, who seen in his 3d Armored Division uniform for most of the movie.

Late December, 1960
"Flaming Star" opens nationally to warm reviews, but this dramatic film with little singing does not set the box office on fire so much as "GI Blues".

February 25, 1961
Elvis appears in Memphis at a luncheon in his honor, and numerous recent awards Elvis has received are shown to those attending, including the press. A press conference follows. Then there are afternoon and evening shows at Ellis Auditorium to benefit around thirty-eight Memphis-area charities. Other than the Sinatra television show, this is, so far, Elvis's only live performance since his army discharge. "Elvis Presley Day" is proclaimed by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington. Every year after this, Elvis donates money to a list of Memphis-area charities, eventually reaching fifty or more, usually around Christmas time.

March 25, 1961
Elvis arrives in Hawaii for a press conference, then an evening concert at Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor. He is there to perform a benefit to help fund the building of the USS Arizona Memorial. Hundreds of fans mob the airport as he arrives. His show raises around $65,000 for the memorial and, beyond that, also helps bring publicity and public awareness and support to the project. The fund-raising efforts, for the most part, had been difficult up to that point. The rest of the needed funds are soon raised, and the memorial is completed a year later. Elvis receives numerous official honors in appreciation for this benefit. This turns out to be Elvis's last live, non-movie performance until his 1968 television special

October 1962
In Mexico, riot behavior in a theater showing "GI Blues" prompts the Mexican government to ban Elvis movies. Torn seats, broken windows, and other damage is reported.

December 1962
Priscilla Beaulieu had flown from West Germany to visit Elvis in Los Angeles in the summer for their first time to see each other after his army discharge. In December her parents allow her to spend the Christmas holidays with him at Grace Land in Memphis. She returns to her family briefly, then moves to Grace Land in early 1963, finishing her senior year of high school in Memphis. She turns 18 on May 24, 1963. It will be nearly four years before she becomes Mrs. Elvis Presley.

January/February 1964
Elvis purchases the "Potomac", former presidential yacht of Franklin Roosevelt, for $55,000. He intends to donate it to the March of Dimes for use as a national shrine (FDR suffered from polio, the main disease fought by the March of Dimes). Costs of maintaining the yacht would be prohibitive, so the March of Dimes declines to accept the gift. Elvis attempts to give it to the 7th Coast Guard District Auxiliary in Miami, which also doesn't work out. Finally, on February 13 he presents the yacht to Danny Thomas as a gift to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis for them to use to raise funds as they see fit. The ceremony takes place in Long Beach, California. During this saga of trying to donate the yacht, the Beatles make their first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and Sullivan reads on the air a congratulatory telegram from Elvis and the Colonel. American music and pop culture soon change dramatically with the "British invasion", much as it had after Elvis hit it big in the fifties Elvis has become bored and frustrated with his film and recording career. It will only get worse.

August 27, 1965
The Beatles visit with Elvis for several hours at his home in California and have an informal jam session.

December 1966
Elvis formally proposes marriage to Priscilla

February 1967
Elvis buys a 163-acre ranch in Mississippi, minutes across the Tennessee state line from Grace Land. He and his entourage and their wives had become interested in horseback riding after Elvis purchased a horse for Priscilla as a gift. The hobby had outgrown the pasture at Grace Land. Over the months to come, Elvis and the gang would enjoy spending a lot of time at the Circle G. It becomes a happy diversion for Elvis as his frustration and unhappiness over the state of his career reaches its height.

February-April, 1967
Soundtrack recording and filming for "Clambake", Elvis's twenty-fifth movie. It is the third of three movies to co-star Shelley Fabares

May 1967
On May 1, Elvis and Priscilla are married in a private ceremony amongst a small group of family and friends at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, just after 9:30 AM. A press conference and breakfast reception follow. The couple honeymoon for a few days in Palm Springs. Elvis wraps up some over-dubbing on "Clambake". Then they return to Memphis.

May 29, 1967
Elvis and Priscilla dress in their wedding clothes and have a second wedding reception in the trophy room at Grace Land to accommodate family and friends who were not in Las Vegas for the wedding.

February 1, 1968
Priscilla gives birth to Lisa Marie Presley nine months to the day after her marriage to Elvis. It is a time of great happiness.

December 1970
Elvis's famous visit with President Richard Nixon at the White House occurs.

January 16, 1971
Elvis attends a day of functions culminating in an evening awards banquet. He and nine others accept the honor of being named "One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation" by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is nervous about his acceptance speech. He is touched, excited and deeply proud. This national honor has been given each year since the late 1930's and recognizes young men who have made great achievements in their field of endeavor, illustrating the opportunities available in the free enterprise system. It also applauds humanitarianism and community service. Scientists, inventors, performers, filmmakers, politicians bound for the Presidency, and men of greatness in all fields, have been selected for this award over the years. For Elvis, a man who had grown up poor, and, in his early career had known the sting of ridicule from the Establishment, who, through the years had known criticism of his work, this is one of his proudest moments. It is a sign that he has achieved acceptance, recognition, and respect for his work and for the kind of person he is.

June 1971
A long stretch of Highway 51 South, part of which runs in front of Graceland, is officially renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. The first of the new street signs will go up in January of 1972.

Late 1971, Early 1972
Elvis and Priscilla separate. She moves out on her own with Lisa Marie.

March 1973
Elvis and the Colonel sell RCA the singer's royalty rights on Elvis's entire recording catalog up to that point.

October 9, 1973
Elvis and Priscilla make a court appearance together and their divorce is granted. They will continue to be close friends. Though Priscilla has custody of Lisa Marie, there will be no formal schedule of visitation for Elvis, and he and his daughter will spend time together regularly.

October 15 - November 1, 1973
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis for recurring pneumonia and pleurisy, an enlarged colon, and hepatitis. Elvis has been battling health problems for some time, including an increasing dependency upon prescription drugs. It will get worse. He also battles his weight.

January 29-February 14, 1975
Elvis is hospitalized with health and prescription problems again.

November 1975
The renovation of a Convair 880 jet Elvis bought earlier in the year is complete, and he takes his first flight on the "Lisa Marie" jet.

March 1960
Elvis leaves West Germany on March 1, arriving in New Jersey the next day for a press conference, and is officially discharged from active duty on March 5, 1960. He boards a train for Memphis, arriving on March 7. Press and crowds of fans are everywhere for this historic series of events. He holds a press conference at Grace Land in his father's office behind the mansion on March 8.
He had served his country just like any other GI, with no special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him. These two years away from his career have been a time to mature. He has also worried constantly that his lengthy absence might have damaged his career progress. He needn't have worried. He has yet to see his greatest stardom.

Late March, 1960
Elvis has his first post-army recording session. On March 21 he receives his first degree black belt in karate, an interest he developed while in the army. On March 26 he tapes a special "Welcome Home, Elvis" version of Frank Sinatra's ABC-TV variety show, for which he is paid a record sum for a single variety show appearance.

Late April, 1960
Elvis begins filming and recording for his first post-army movie, his fifth film, "GI Blues" for Paramount, the the first of nine to be produced (not consecutively) by Hal Wallis. "GI Blues" co-stars dancer/actress Juliet Prowse. Portions of the movie were actually filmed in Frieburg and Ray Barracks where Elvis was stationed in the Army. Elvis and all the actors portraying US Army soldiers wore the 3d Armored Division shoulder patch- the division to which Elvis served is military service.

May 8, 1960
ABC airs Frank Sinatra's "Welcome Home, Elvis" edition of his variety show, which attracts a 41.5% share of the national television audience. Elvis sets a new television record by being paid $125,000 for his brief appearances in the show.

October, 1960
The soundtrack album for "GI Blues" enters the Billboard album chart and soon goes to number one. It remains number one for ten weeks and stays on the chart for 111 weeks. It would be the most successful album of Elvis's entire career on the Billboard charts. (In terms of total record sales, we do not know which album was the most successful.)
Note: Elvis has three number one singles, one number two album, one number one album, and other hits in 1960, his first year out of the army.

November 1960
Elvis begins recording and filming for his seventh film, "Wild in the Country", which will be completed in January. "GI Blues" opens nationally to warm reviews and big box office sales and is among the fifteen top-grossing films of the year. It is a light comedy melodrama with lots of singing by Elvis, who seen in his 3d Armored Division uniform for most of the movie.

Late December, 1960
"Flaming Star" opens nationally to warm reviews, but this dramatic film with little singing does not set the box office on fire so much as "GI Blues".

February 25, 1961
Elvis appears in Memphis at a luncheon in his honor, and numerous recent awards Elvis has received are shown to those attending, including the press. A press conference follows. Then there are afternoon and evening shows at Ellis Auditorium to benefit around thirty-eight Memphis-area charities. Other than the Sinatra television show, this is, so far, Elvis's only live performance since his army discharge. "Elvis Presley Day" is proclaimed by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington. Every year after this, Elvis donates money to a list of Memphis-area charities, eventually reaching fifty or more, usually around Christmas time.

March 25, 1961
Elvis arrives in Hawaii for a press conference, then an evening concert at Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor. He is there to perform a benefit to help fund the building of the USS Arizona Memorial. Hundreds of fans mob the airport as he arrives. His show raises around $65,000 for the memorial and, beyond that, also helps bring publicity and public awareness and support to the project. The fund-raising efforts, for the most part, had been difficult up to that point. The rest of the needed funds are soon raised, and the memorial is completed a year later. Elvis receives numerous official honors in appreciation for this benefit. This turns out to be Elvis's last live, non-movie performance until his 1968 television special

October 1962
In Mexico, riot behavior in a theater showing "GI Blues" prompts the Mexican government to ban Elvis movies. Torn seats, broken windows, and other damage is reported.

December 1962
Priscilla Beaulieu had flown from West Germany to visit Elvis in Los Angeles in the summer for their first time to see each other after his army discharge. In December her parents allow her to spend the Christmas holidays with him at Grace Land in Memphis. She returns to her family briefly, then moves to Grace Land in early 1963, finishing her senior year of high school in Memphis. She turns 18 on May 24, 1963. It will be nearly four years before she becomes Mrs. Elvis Presley.

January/February 1964
Elvis purchases the "Potomac", former presidential yacht of Franklin Roosevelt, for $55,000. He intends to donate it to the March of Dimes for use as a national shrine (FDR suffered from polio, the main disease fought by the March of Dimes). Costs of maintaining the yacht would be prohibitive, so the March of Dimes declines to accept the gift. Elvis attempts to give it to the 7th Coast Guard District Auxiliary in Miami, which also doesn't work out. Finally, on February 13 he presents the yacht to Danny Thomas as a gift to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis for them to use to raise funds as they see fit. The ceremony takes place in Long Beach, California. During this saga of trying to donate the yacht, the Beatles make their first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and Sullivan reads on the air a congratulatory telegram from Elvis and the Colonel. American music and pop culture soon change dramatically with the "British invasion", much as it had after Elvis hit it big in the fifties Elvis has become bored and frustrated with his film and recording career. It will only get worse.

August 27, 1965
The Beatles visit with Elvis for several hours at his home in California and have an informal jam session.

December 1966
Elvis formally proposes marriage to Priscilla

February 1967
Elvis buys a 163-acre ranch in Mississippi, minutes across the Tennessee state line from Grace Land. He and his entourage and their wives had become interested in horseback riding after Elvis purchased a horse for Priscilla as a gift. The hobby had outgrown the pasture at Grace Land. Over the months to come, Elvis and the gang would enjoy spending a lot of time at the Circle G. It becomes a happy diversion for Elvis as his frustration and unhappiness over the state of his career reaches its height.

February-April, 1967
Soundtrack recording and filming for "Clambake", Elvis's twenty-fifth movie. It is the third of three movies to co-star Shelley Fabares

May 1967
On May 1, Elvis and Priscilla are married in a private ceremony amongst a small group of family and friends at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, just after 9:30 AM. A press conference and breakfast reception follow. The couple honeymoon for a few days in Palm Springs. Elvis wraps up some over-dubbing on "Clambake". Then they return to Memphis.

May 29, 1967
Elvis and Priscilla dress in their wedding clothes and have a second wedding reception in the trophy room at Grace Land to accommodate family and friends who were not in Las Vegas for the wedding.

February 1, 1968
Priscilla gives birth to Lisa Marie Presley nine months to the day after her marriage to Elvis. It is a time of great happiness.

December 1970
Elvis's famous visit with President Richard Nixon at the White House occurs.

January 16, 1971
Elvis attends a day of functions culminating in an evening awards banquet. He and nine others accept the honor of being named "One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation" by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is nervous about his acceptance speech. He is touched, excited and deeply proud. This national honor has been given each year since the late 1930's and recognizes young men who have made great achievements in their field of endeavor, illustrating the opportunities available in the free enterprise system. It also applauds humanitarianism and community service. Scientists, inventors, performers, filmmakers, politicians bound for the Presidency, and men of greatness in all fields, have been selected for this award over the years. For Elvis, a man who had grown up poor, and, in his early career had known the sting of ridicule from the Establishment, who, through the years had known criticism of his work, this is one of his proudest moments. It is a sign that he has achieved acceptance, recognition, and respect for his work and for the kind of person he is.

June 1971
A long stretch of Highway 51 South, part of which runs in front of Graceland, is officially renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. The first of the new street signs will go up in January of 1972.

Late 1971, Early 1972
Elvis and Priscilla separate. She moves out on her own with Lisa Marie.

March 1973
Elvis and the Colonel sell RCA the singer's royalty rights on Elvis's entire recording catalog up to that point.

October 9, 1973
Elvis and Priscilla make a court appearance together and their divorce is granted. They will continue to be close friends. Though Priscilla has custody of Lisa Marie, there will be no formal schedule of visitation for Elvis, and he and his daughter will spend time together regularly.

October 15 - November 1, 1973
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis for recurring pneumonia and pleurisy, an enlarged colon, and hepatitis. Elvis has been battling health problems for some time, including an increasing dependency upon prescription drugs. It will get worse. He also battles his weight.

January 29-February 14, 1975
Elvis is hospitalized with health and prescription problems again.

November 1975
The renovation of a Convair 880 jet Elvis bought earlier in the year is complete, and he takes his first flight on the "Lisa Marie" jet.

February 1976
Elvis has a week of recording sessions in the den at Grace Land, with RCA bringing in mobile recording equipment.

1976 - Elvis tours in concert on one of his most heavy concert schedules ever.

Early November, 1976
Elvis and Linda Thompson, his steady girlfriend since 1972, split up.

Late November, 1976
Elvis meets Ginger Alden who will be his steady girlfriend until his death.

April 1-5, 1977
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis and tour shows scheduled for March 31-April 3 are canceled.

April-May-June 1977
Elvis tours United States in concert

June 26, 1977
A concert at Indianapolis, Indiana's Market Square Arena. This will turn out to be his very last concert performance.

June 27- August 15, 1977
Elvis relaxes in Memphis and prepares for the next leg of touring for 1977.

August 16, 1977
Shortly after midnight Elvis returns to Grace Land from a late-night visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of the 16th he takes care of last minute tour details and relaxes with family and staff. He is to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Grace Land around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning, Elvis Presley is dead. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a matter of hours the shock registers around the world.
Elvis has a week of recording sessions in the den at Grace Land, with RCA bringing in mobile recording equipment.

1976 - Elvis tours in concert on one of his most heavy concert schedules ever.

Early November, 1976
Elvis and Linda Thompson, his steady girlfriend since 1972, split up.

Late November, 1976
Elvis meets Ginger Alden who will be his steady girlfriend until his death.

April 1-5, 1977
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis and tour shows scheduled for March 31-April 3 are canceled.

April-May-June 1977
Elvis tours United States in concert

June 26, 1977
A concert at Indianapolis, Indiana's Market Square Arena. This will turn out to be his very last concert performance.

June 27- August 15, 1977
Elvis relaxes in Memphis and prepares for the next leg of touring for 1977.

August 16, 1977
Shortly after midnight Elvis returns to Grace Land from a late-night visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of the 16th he takes care of last minute tour details and relaxes with family and staff. He is to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Grace Land around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning, Elvis Presley is dead. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a matter of hours the shock registers around the world.