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Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis was close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church, where he found his initial musical inspiration. He was encouraged to enter a singing contest after impressing his schoolteacher with a rendition of Red Foley's country song "Old Shep" during morning prayers. The contest was held at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair on October 3, 1945. The ten-year-old Elvis only got 5th place. A few months later, Elvis received his first guitar for his birthday; he was disappointed as he wanted a bicycle. Over the following year, he received basic guitar lessons from two of his uncles but would never sing or play in public as he was very shy. However, his love of music had been born. In September 1946, Presley entered a new school, Milam, for sixth grade; he was regarded as a loner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar to school daily. He played and sang during lunchtime and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music. In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He enrolled at L. C. Humes High School where in the eighth grade received only a C in music. His music teacher told him that he had no aptitude for singing and he was bullied by his classmates. Elvis received no formal music training and could not read music. He studied and played by ear. He loved a variety of distinctive styles of music, but his favourite was African American. He was a regular member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many white gospel groups performed. In August 1953, Elvis paid for a few minutes of studio time to record a two-sided acetate disc: "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin” as a birthday gift for his mother. After he recorded, boss Sam Phillips asked his secretary to note down the young man's name, which she did along with her own commentary: "Good ballad singer’. Not long after, he failed an audition for a local vocal quartet, ‘the Songfellows’, who told him he could not sing. That year he gave up and started working for the Crown Electric company as a truck driver. He continued to play a few gigs with his friends in local bars. However, he was told to stick to driving as he would never make it as a singer. On 5th of July 1953, Elvis was playing acoustic guitar, accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bass player, Bill Black, they were ‘messing about’ on stage with a blues number "That's All Right". In the bar that night was Sam Philip, a talent scout and record producer. Phillips quickly began tapping his fingers as they played; this was, the sound, he had been looking for. Three days later, popular Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips played the song "That's All Right" on his red hot and blue show. Listeners began phoning in, eager to find out who the singer was. The interest was such that Phillips played the record repeatedly during the remaining two hours of his show. Elvis sold over 500 million records, made 33 films, and is recognized as the best-selling solo music artist of all time. Not bad for a boy who was told he had no talent and could not sing!