Editing Elvis Presley (section)

=== 1958–1960: military service and mother's death ===
{{Main|Military career of Elvis Presley}}
[[File:Elvis sworn into army 1958.jpg|thumb|alt=Elvis being sworn in to the US Army|Presley being [[United States Armed Forces oath of enlistment|sworn in to the Army]] on March 24, 1958, at [[Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center|Fort Chaffee]]]]
On March 24, 1958, Presley was drafted into the [[United States Army]] at [[Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center|Fort Chaffee]] in Arkansas. His arrival was a major media event. Hundreds of people descended on Presley as he stepped from the bus; photographers accompanied him into the installation.{{sfn|Guralnick|1994|pp=461–474}} Presley announced that he was looking forward to his military service, saying that he did not want to be treated any differently from anyone else.{{sfn|Victor|2008|p=27}}

Between March 28 and September 17, 1958, Presley completed [[United States Army Basic Training|basic]] and advanced training at [[Fort Hood]], Texas, where he was temporarily assigned to Company A, 2d<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not change to "2nd" as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> Medium Tank Battalion, [[37th Armor Regiment|37th Armor]]. During the two weeks' [[Leave (military)|leave]] between his basic and advanced training in early June, he recorded five songs in Nashville.{{sfn|Jorgensen|1998|pp=106–111}} In early August, Presley's mother was diagnosed with [[hepatitis]], and her condition rapidly worsened. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her and arrived in Memphis on August 12. Two days later, she died of heart failure at age 46. Presley was devastated and never the same;{{sfn|Guralnick|1994|pp=474–480}}{{sfn|Neibaur|2014|p=[{{GBurl|id=u95XAwAAQBAJ|q=elvis presley was never the same after the army|p=51}} 51]}} their relationship had remained extremely close—even into his adulthood, they would use baby talk with each other and Presley would address her with pet names.{{sfn|Guralnick|1994|p=13}}

[[File:Elvis Presley in Germany.jpg|thumb|alt=Elvis Presley poses for the camera during his military service at a US base in Germany.|Presley, wearing the [[3rd Armored Division (United States)|3d<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not change to "3rd" as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> Armored Division]] [[Shoulder sleeve insignia]], poses atop a tank at [[Ray Barracks]]]]
On October 1, 1958, Presley was assigned to the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, [[32nd Cavalry Regiment|32d<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not change to "32nd" as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> Armor]], [[3rd Armored Division (United States)|3d<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not change to "3rd" as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> Armored Division]], at [[Ray Barracks]], West Germany, where he served as an armor intelligence specialist.{{sfn|US Department of Defense|1960}} On November 27, he was promoted to [[private first class]] and on June 1, 1959, to [[Specialist (rank)|specialist four]]. While on maneuvers, Presley was introduced to [[amphetamines]] and became "practically evangelical about their benefits", not only for energy but for "strength" and weight loss.{{sfn|Guralnick|1999|p=21}} Karate became a lifelong interest: he studied with [[Jürgen Seydel]],{{sfn|Tillery|2013|p=60}}{{sfn|Eiland|2018}} and later included it in his live performances.{{sfn|Corcoran|1998}}{{sfn|Tillery|2013|loc=Chapter 5: Patriot}}{{sfn|Guralnick|1999|pp=47, 49, 55, 60, 73}} Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley's wish to be seen as an able, ordinary soldier despite his fame, and to his generosity. He donated his Army pay to charity, purchased television sets for the base, and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit.{{sfn|Clayton|Heard|2003|p=160}} Presley was promoted to [[sergeant]] on February 11, 1960.{{sfn|US Department of Defense|1960}}

While in [[Bad Nauheim]], Presley, aged 24, met 14-year-old [[Priscilla Presley|Priscilla Beaulieu]].<!--She took the surname Presley after her marriage, thus, per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biography#People_with_the_same_surname, is referred to by name as "Priscilla" to distinguish her from "Elvis".-->{{sfn|Jeffrey|Kaplan|2022}} They married after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship. In her autobiography, Priscilla said that Presley was concerned that his 24 months in the military would ruin his career. In [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]], he would have been able to perform and remain in touch with the public, but Parker had convinced him that to gain popular respect, he should serve as a regular soldier.{{sfn|Presley|1985|p=40}} Media reports echoed Presley's concerns about his career, but RCA Victor producer [[Stephen H. Sholes|Steve Sholes]] and [[Freddy Bienstock]] of Hill and Range had carefully prepared: armed with a substantial amount of unreleased material, they kept up a regular stream of successful releases.{{sfn|Jorgensen|1998|p=107}} Between his induction and discharge, Presley had ten top-40 hits, including "[[Wear My Ring Around Your Neck]]", the bestselling "[[Hard Headed Woman]]", and "[[One Night (Elvis Presley song)|One Night]]" in 1958, and "[[(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I]]" and the number-one "[[A Big Hunk o' Love]]" in 1959.{{sfn|Whitburn|2010|p=520}} RCA Victor also generated four albums compiling previously issued material during this period, most successfully ''[[Elvis' Golden Records]]'' (1958), which hit number three on the LP chart.{{sfn|Marcus|1982|p=278}}