Did Frank Sinatra Own Elvis's Trucking Company?

Here's a fun piece of rock and roll mythology that sounds almost too perfect to be true: Elvis Presley, the future King, driving trucks for Frank Sinatra's company before hitting it big. Two legends, one origin story. Unfortunately, it's completely false.

Elvis did indeed work as a truck driver before his music career took off, but the company had zero connection to Sinatra. From April to October 1954, the 19-year-old Elvis worked for Crown Electric Company in Memphis, Tennessee, earning $1 an hour delivering electrical supplies to job sites. The company was owned by Jim and Gladys Tipler, not Old Blue Eyes.

How Elvis Landed the Gig

The Tiplers weren't random employers - there was actually a personal connection. Gladys Tipler and Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley, knew each other through their church circle at the Assembly of God. When Elvis needed work, the connection helped him land the delivery driver position. He was hoping to train as an electrician while making ends meet.

Crown Electric was a full-service electrical supply house founded in 1953 at 475 N. Dunlap Street in Memphis. They stocked everything a working electrician might need and delivered directly to job sites - which is where Elvis came in, hauling supplies around town in their truck.

When Two Kings Finally Met

So where does the Sinatra connection come from? Elvis and Frank did eventually cross paths, but not until 1960 - six years after Elvis left Crown Electric and long after he'd become a superstar. They appeared together on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis, a television special celebrating Elvis's return from military service.

The meeting was actually pretty awkward at first. Sinatra had previously criticized rock and roll as degenerate music, but by 1960, he was happy to capitalize on Elvis's star power for ratings. They performed a duet medley, swapping verses on each other's hits. Despite the rocky start to their relationship, they eventually became friends.

Why the Myth Persists

This false fact probably survives because it's such a tidy narrative: two of the 20th century's biggest music icons connected before either knew how famous they'd become. It's the kind of story that should be true, even though it isn't.

The reality is more modest but still interesting. Elvis was just a working-class kid from Memphis, driving a truck and dreaming bigger dreams. The Tiplers gave him a job, and he stuck with it until his first recording session at Sun Studio in July 1954 started opening doors. By mid-October, he'd quit Crown Electric to focus on music full-time.

The bottom line: Elvis drove trucks. Frank Sinatra had nothing to do with it. But hey, at least they eventually sang together on TV.