The King of Rock and Roll died at just 42 years old at Graceland and today would have been his 91st birthday
Jane Lavender Associate Editor
10:14, 08 Jan 2026Updated 10:26, 08 Jan 2026
Elvis Presley would have been 90 today
Elvis Presley, the undisputed King of Rock and Roll and a true icon in the music industry, would have been celebrating his 91st birthday today, had he not tragically passed away at the young age of 42.
The rock and roll giant was found lifeless in his opulent residence, Gracelands, a discovery that has both shocked and fascinated his fans for over four decades.
The former heart-throb, who catapulted to fame during his teenage years, collapsed and died in the bathroom.
With his captivating blue eyes and hypnotic hip movements, the lad from Memphis, Tennessee, drew crowds of screaming admirers wherever he went after bursting onto the scene in the 1950s.
His poster adorned the walls of countless fan bedrooms, and every record he released was an assured chart-topper, reports the Daily Star.
But as long as four years before he died, Elvis’ health was already suffering(Image: Getty Images)
Blessed with film star good looks, it wasn’t long before the King of Rock and Roll also reigned supreme on the silver screen, starring in a host of blockbuster films.
However, at the time of his death, Elvis was a far cry from the youthful boy who rose to fame singing the blues.
Elvis’ health problems began well before that fateful day in August 1977, and it was clear to anyone who saw him perform in his later years that he was struggling.
As early as 1973, the year he divorced his first wife Priscilla, his health was already on the decline.
Elvis spent three days in a coma in a hotel room after overdosing on barbiturates – but this was merely the beginning of his troubles.
Elvis shot to fame when he was still a teenager(Image: Redferns)
By the end of the year, Elvis was hospitalised in a semi-conscious state, grappling with the effects of painkiller addiction.
His demanding tour schedule was blamed for The King’s increasing dependence on medication, with many performances marred by his declining health.
Three years before his death, Tony Brown, a keyboardist who played alongside the icon, recalls him falling out of a limousine upon arriving for a concert at the University of Maryland.
Guitarist John Wilkinson said: “It was obvious there was something terribly wrong with his body.
“It was so bad the words to the songs were barely intelligible. I remember crying, he could barely get through the introductions.”
Elvis was adored by millions of fans around the world(Image: Bettmann Archive)
His band members were so worried about his health that they begged him to cancel the tour and take a year off to recover.
However, Elvis was performing to sold-out crowds every night and refused to let down his loyal fans – the tour continued.
By 1975, even recording in the studio had become a struggle for Elvis, and in a desperate attempt to keep up his output, his label RCA built a recording facility at his home.
Elvis remained committed to making music and recorded tracks equivalent to six albums during this time – though very few made it to the charts.
A new romance blossomed in 1976 with Ginger Alden, and Elvis proposed just two months after their first encounter.
By the time he died, Elvis weighed 25 stone and had horrific health issues(Image: Michael Ochs Archives)
But the trim young performer who had captured the hearts of millions was long gone. Elvis had swelled to an alarming 25 stone, and by the summer of 1977 his health had virtually collapsed.
Bedridden and needing constant nursing attention, The King’s physical state was declining at an alarming rate.
His heart had swollen to almost twice its normal size, with his post-mortem revealing he was battling serious cardiovascular disease.
Despite never having smoked, years of entertaining in smoke-filled venues had destroyed his lungs with emphysema, turning each breath into a painful ordeal.
The most disturbing discovery concerned his bowel – it had extended to almost double its normal length and held waste material that was at least four months old.
Elvis looked very different to the man who had first found fame(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
The original post-mortem recorded Elvis’ cause of death as cardiac arrest, with medical examiner Dr Jerry Francisco insisting “drugs had played no part in Presley’s death”.
Yet, persistent questions about what had truly caused The King’s demise prompted the autopsy to be reopened in 1994.
In the seven months leading up to his death, Elvis had received almost 9,000 pills, vials and injections.
His medicinal mixture included stimulants, sedatives and painkillers so powerful they were normally reserved for terminal cancer patients. Despite a second post-mortem asserting that drugs weren’t the cause of Elvis’ death, there remains an air of mystery surrounding what exactly led to the demise of The King of Rock and Roll.