Colonel Tom Parker

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Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 – January 21, 1997) was a talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. Parker was born in the Netherlands and entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. He adopted a new name and claimed to have been born in the United States. With a background working in carnivals, Parker moved into music promotion in 1938, working with one of the first popular crooners, Gene Austin, and country music singers Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, and Tommy Sands. He also assisted Jimmie Davis' campaign to become governor of Louisiana, for which he was awarded the honorary rank of "colonel" in the Louisiana State Guard. Parker encountered Presley in 1955 and by 1956 had become his manager. With Parker's help, Presley signed a recording contract with RCA Victor, which led to a commercial breakthrough in 1956 with his sixth single "Heartbreak Hotel" and a career as one of the most commercially...

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