by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)
It was the moment Gladys and Vernon Presley had been waiting for. She was set to give birth to the couple’s first child in the early morning hours on Jan. 8, 1935. Exuberance turned to horror.
The couple’s first little boy, Jessie, was stillborn. The infant was placed in a box and taken to the kitchen. Vernon and his brother had built the ramshackle house in east Tupelo, Miss., the year before for only $180. It had no running water or electricity.
There was little time to mourn. A second child was on the way. Elvis Aaron Presley was born 35 minutes later. After the death of his brother, Elvis would remain an only child. Gladys and Vernon never had another.
That one child would become one of the greatest musicians and one of the most recognizable cultural icons of all-time.
