In one way, shape, or form, we have all been influenced by Elvis’s music in some way that has changed the way that we see Rock and Roll. Many musicians throughout the 60’s and even today are inspired by Elvis Presley’s music and many of his songs are still covered and glorified as you read this article. What makes Elvis a music legend is not only the way he influenced Rock music but the controversial life that he had as a singer. Whether it be from his sexual influence, his drug addictions, his enlistment in the army and even theories around his death, there are so many questions that we always wanted to know about the King of Rock. Due to our curiosity, we dug up 8 crazy facts about the legend himself, Elvis Presley. Enjoy!

#8 Elvis Had An Identical Twin Elvis Aron (later spelled Aaron) Presley was born on January 8, 1935. He was born around 35 minutes after his identical twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, who died as a stillborn. Little Jesse was buried in an unmarked grave in Priceville Cemetery in Mississippi, nearby Elvis’s birthplace of East Tupelo. Elvis grew up to be an only child in his poor family but spoke of his twin throughout his life. He was christened with only one ‘a’ in his middle name so could share a characteristic with his twin brother, but decided to add an ‘a’ in Aaron towards the end of his life to make his middle name biblical.

#7 Elvis Was a Black Belt in Karate Not only did the King soothe the masses with his voice, he could also kick some ass when he wanted to! He learned under the Shotokan sensei Jurgen Seydal, while fulfilling his military duties in 1958! His black belt was awarded before his return to the U.S. by Chito-Ryu instructor Hank Slemansky. Throughout his life, martial arts continued to inspire Elvis and his favorite form of fighting became American Kenpo.

#6 Elvis Never Performed Outside of The USA or Canada Elvis had only played 5 concerts outside of the U.S., all on a 3-day tour of Canada in 1957. Many believed that his reasoning for never going abroad again was that his longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was an illegal immigrant from Holland who would have been deported if he had applied for a U.S. passport. In fact, at the time of his death, Elvis had planned to go on a European tour. He only set foot on British soil once, when the plane taking him back to the U.S. from Germany stopped to refuel at the airport. Elvis enjoyed a two-hour stop before re-boarding the military plane.

#5 Elvis Was Related to Abraham Lincoln and Jimmy Carter Elvis married Priscilla Ann Wagner in 1967 and had a daughter, Lisa Marie, the following year. After their marriage fell apart, the couple divorced in 1973 and Priscilla took custody of Lisa Marie. Elvis had a brief affair with the Swedish-American actress and singer, Ann-Margret and Priscilla had an affair with black belt instructor and family friend, Mike Stone. While it is known that Elvis has family ties with presidents Jimmy Carter ( a distant cousin) and Abraham Lincoln ( a direct descendant of Abe’s great-great grandfather, Isaiah Harrison), there is also a point of time when the King adopted a chimpanzee named Scatter who was known for looking up women’s skirts. Of course, Elvis found this amusing and would make a prank out of getting his female friends together so Scatter could create havoc among them.

#4 Elvis Never Wrote a Single Song Elvis recorded more than 600 songs in his music career but did not write a single song (impossible to confirm, but he was given co-writing credit on many songs because his label demanded songwriters give up 50% of the credit before Presley would record it). None of his feature films or music documentaries were ever nominated for an Oscar in any category. He made 31 movies and two music documentaries. In fact, Elvis won three Grammy awards and they were for his gospel recordings. There was a time when Elvis auditioned for an amateur gospel quartet called the Songfellows and he was turned down. Regardless, Elvis Presley made an influential change to the way we see rock-and-roll, claimed the title as The King of Rock and continues to inspire young rock artists today.

#3 Elvis Got a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Badge from Nixon In one of the most secretive, and perhaps, bizarre celebrity-political meetings of all time President Richard Nixon gave Elvis a Narcotic Officer’s badge. Elvis took pride in his collection of honorary police badges from around the country, and thought this badge would be the pride of them all. He delivered a handwritten letter to the White House requesting the badge. He later met with the President and told him he thought the Beatles were encouraging anti-American sentiment, and that by giving him a badge he could counter the movement. So naturally, Richard Nixon gave him a badge. In return, Elvis gave Nixon a handgun from World War II, that he somehow got past Secret Service.

#2 Elvis Once Ate The Same Meal For Two Years Straight Even before he was having problems with obesity at the end of his career, Presley was a tremendous eater. In his 20’s he told Country Song Roundup Magazine that he could destroy eight deluxe cheeseburgers, two bacon-lettuce-and-tomato sandwiches and three milkshakes in one sitting! There was also a time where Elvis ate nothing but meatloaf, tomatoes, and mashed potato for two years straight!