Colonel Tom Parker

Colonel Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 – January 21, 1997) was a Dutch-born American talent manager, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. His management of Presley defined the role of masterminding talent management, which involved every facet of the client's life and was seen as central to the success of Presley's career.

"The Colonel" displayed a ruthless devotion to his own financial gain, rather than his client's interests, and took more than the traditional 10–15 percent of his earnings (reaching up to 50 percent by the end of Presley's life). Presley said of Parker, "I don't think I'd have ever been very big if it wasn't for him. He's a very smart man." For many years, Parker falsely claimed to have been born in the United States, but it eventually emerged that he had been born in the Netherlands.

Early life

Parker was born in Breda, Netherlands, the seventh of 11 children in a Catholic family. As a boy, he worked as a barker at carnivals in his hometown, learning many of the skills that he would require in later life while working in the entertainment industry.

Tom Parker

Tom Parker may refer to:

See also

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King".

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, as a twinless twin, and when he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee. His music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was an early popularizer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who managed the singer for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the leading figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular—and controversial.