The King was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Mississippi’s “All-American City” is a fitting origin for the man who would come to first revolutionize and then embody American music.

Aspiring rock legends, take heed: Elvis wasn’t always a hip-swinging, guitar-slinging, smooth-singing icon. In fact, young Elvis’ first forays into music were reassuringly halting. Drawing his early musical inspiration from gospel music at his church, Elvis received his first guitar for his tenth birthday – although he wanted either a rifle or a bike instead. Two years later, however, Elvis was bringing his guitar to school every day, eventually earning an invitation to appear on the radio. Although a severe case of stage fright prevented him from performing, a second invitation introduced the burgeoning musician to the public at the tender age of twelve.

In 1953, Elvis walked into Sun Records and paid for enough studio time to record his first single. Although nothing came of it initially, when Sun Records exec Sam Phillips was later looking for a “white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel,” he turned to Elvis.

A few short years later, Elvis was a bonafide hit-making machine, churning out number one song after number one song. The worlds of music and Hollywood were soon all shook up by his stage presence, talent, and good looks. And oh, that dancing.  Elvis’ sexually-charged dance moves and suggestive lyrics were the first to galvanize uptight mothers everywhere to demonize rock music, decades before the first bands that actually worshipped Satan came along.

Elvis’ production team began to focus his efforts more and more on acting and the associated production of cookie-cutter soundtracks. During the 1960s, Elvis starred in an astonishing twenty-seven movies. Although panned by critics, producer Hal Willis claimed that, “A Presley picture is the only sure thing in Hollywood,” at least as far as profitability was concerned. It wasn’t until the ’68 Comeback Special that Elvis really returned as a musician, but what a comeback. The televised special and subsequent studio album, the widely lauded From Elvis in Memphis, firmly cemented his reputation as The King of Rock and Roll.

If Elvis can be credited with effectively creating rock and roll as it exists today, the same can certainly be said for his creation of the rock and roll lifestyle. Despite his squeaky-clean reputation for most of his musical career, by 1973 Presley was regularly hospitalized for overdosing on pharmaceutical drugs. The downward spiral continued until he was no longer able to record albums in-studio, and had to record from his home at Graceland. By 1977, an overweight shade of his former iconic stature, his prescription drug abuse was catching up to him. He died on August 16, and the music world mourned.

In order to properly pay tribute to The King, we of course turn to a reported favorite snack of Elvis, especially during his later, less svelte years – the venerable peanut butter, bacon, and banana sandwich which  is sold commercially in restaurants that specialize in peanut butter sandwiches, such as P.B. Loco and Peanut Butter & Co.. A book about Presley and his mother, Gladys Presley, though, says he had "sandwich after sandwich of his favorite—peanut butter, sliced bananas, and crisp bacon". Another passage describes him talking "feverishly until dawn" while "wolfing" down the sandwiches (described in this instance as being made with mashed banana). New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that he would select a peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich as his "last meal," using toasted Wonder Bread, melted Skippy Super Chunky, banana slices, and bacon. Pair it with a viewing of Elvis Has Left. the Building, a great comedy about a Pink Lady cosmetic salesperson (Kim Basinger) on the run for the accidental killing of several Elvis impersonators