A Liddle Biddy Help from Elvis Quiz

Answer: Beagle

The beagle is a small scenthound - i.e. it uses its nose to hunt - which was originally bred to hunt hare, and is similar to the foxhound. Like many scenthounds, it has a distinctive baying call, and its fur is usually a combination of white, black and brown. Snoopy, Charlie Brown's dog in 'Peanuts', is a famous fictional example.

Answer: always on my mind

'Always' is on top of 'My Mind'.

Elvis recorded his version of the song, written by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, in 1972 after his split with his wife Priscilla. It has also been recorded by Willie Nelson, the Pet Shop Boys, Gwen McRae and Brenda Lee.

Answer: Michael Jackson

Lisa Marie Presley is Elvis' only child. She and Michael Jackson first met in 1975 when she attended his Vegas gigs as a child. As an adult, she became friends with him in 1992, and married him two years later. However, their marriage was plagued by child molestation accusations against Jackson, and the couple divorced in 1996.

Presley has also been married to actor Nicholas Cage and musician Danny Keough; one of her children with him, Riley Keough, is an actress whose film credits include 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Runaways'.

Answer: Rock crystals gathered from the Rhine river

Rhinestones were originally actual rock crystals gathered both from the Rhine itself and in the Alps, and were used as imitation diamonds. Due to increased demand in the 18th century, the German jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass came up with the idea of making imitation rhinestones out of lead glass, with metal powder used to coat the bottoms of the stones to make them shine. Companies such as Tiffany mass produced rhinestones by coating the lead glass crystals with thinner metal deposition coatings.

Answer: Lilo and Stitch

Lilo Pelekai, the young Hawaiian heroine of the film, is a big fan of 'the King' and gives Stitch a small guitar to play. She even dresses him in a miniature version of Elvis' trademark white rhinestone outfit. Several of his songs feature in the film: 'Stuck On You', 'Suspicious Minds', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Devil in Disguise' and 'Hound Dog'.

As well as originals, the soundtrack also features covers of Burning Love' by Wynonna Judd, and 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by the A*Teens.

Answer: Old noise

Elvis is an Anglicisation of Ailbe, an old Irish name meaning 'old noise'. There was a St Ailbe of Emly, or St Elvis, who is one of the four great patrons of Ireland; his feast day is 12th September, and he is the patron saint of Munster and wolves.

Answer: Mississippi

Tupelo is in Lee County, Mississippi, and is home to the Elvis Presley Birthplace, a museum site which includes the house where Elvis was born, a museum, a chapel and the Presley family's church, the Assembly of G-d Church. The Elvis Presley Birthplace is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail, a group of sites related to the birth and development of the blues in Mississippi; other places featured include Clarksdale, the birthplace of Ike Turner, and Walls, the home of Memphis Minnie.

Answer: Mao Zedong became Chairman of the Communist Party of China

All the other answers are things that happened in 1935, but Mao becoming Chairman of the Communist Party of China was the only thing that happened on the day Elvis was born. On the same day, bank robber Russell Gibson was shot dead by FBI agents, 'Harper's' editor Lewis Lapham was also born, and the Red Shirts, a Mexican paramilitary organisation, had their headquarters attacked by demonstrators.

Answer: Grape jam, peanut butter and bacon

The Fool's Gold Loaf contains over 8000 calories. According to 'The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley' by David Adler, Elvis and friends flew out from Graceland on a private jet just to buy 22 of the sandwiches. It was created by the Colorado Mine Company restaurant, hence the name.

It is not to be confused with the Elvis Sandwich, another of the King's butties of choice, which contained a similar filling, but with banana instead of grape jam.

Answer: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

The character in question is the Pharaoh, and his song is in the style of Elvis. Because of Joseph's power to interpret dreams, he is taken out of his cell and asked to interpret some weird dreams the Pharaoh has been having. 'The Song of the King' is about the Pharaoh's dreams, which feature seven fat cows and seven thin ones, and seven healthy ears of corn and seven dead ones. Joseph explains that this means Egypt will have seven years of prosperity, followed by seven years of famine.

Answer: Jack Womack

The 'Dry series is set in a dystopian world where climate change is rife and the evil corporation Dryco are trying to take over the world. In 'Elvissey', Dryco discover a mass religious movement who worship Elvis, believing him to be a god, and plot to bring an alternate history version of Elvis to the present day of 2033, in order to discredit the movement.

The alternative Elvis turns out to be an insane, sex-crazed religious fundamentalist.

Answer: River Phoenix

Of the three actors who played Elvis, Tyler Hilton played a young Elvis in 'Walk the Line', the Johnny Cash biopic which starred River Phoenix's brother Joaquin as Cash. Irish actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers played Elvis in the CBS miniseries 'Elvis: The Early Years'. Jack White of the White Stripes played a comedic version of Elvis in 'Walk Hard', a spoof biopic of fictional rock 'n' roll star Dewey Cox.

Answer: South Africa

Simon was criticised for working with South African musicians during the cultural boycott of South Africa, as a response to its apartheid regime. Simon defended his decision by pointing out that a white man working with black musicians was exactly the kind of thing the apartheid regime opposed.

He got the idea for the album's name when he changed the line 'driving through Wasteland' to 'I'm going to Graceland'; he stated that he was making a spiritual journey to the home of 'the forefather of rock', just as he had made a physical journey to South Africa for inspiration.

Answer: Vernon and Gladys

Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love Presley, née Smith, were Elvis' parents. He also had an identical twin brother, Jesse, who was stillborn. Elvis was very close to his parents, particularly Gladys; his classmates called him a 'mama's boy'. The family had little money, and Elvis and Gladys had to move in with relatives when Vernon was imprisoned for altering a cheque.

When Gladys died at 46, Elvis was devastated and wept openly all the way through the funeral. His fans sent thousands of letters and cards.

Answer: Moses

Aaron was Moses' brother, and initially acted as a spokesman for Moses when talking to Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asked Aaron to perform a wonder for him, Aaron threw his rod on the floor and it turned into a snake. He also used his rod to cast the first three plagues: he turned the water of the Nile into blood, and summoned frogs, then gnats.

He later became the Israelites' first Kohen ha'Gadol, or High Priest.

Answer: Diarrhoea

Cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack; it occurs as the result of an electrical malfunction in the heart, which prevents it from pumping blood to the other organs, and is fatal if not treated within minutes. It can occur without warning, but shortness of breath, dizziness, blackouts, chest pain, and nausea and/or vomiting are all warning signs. Elvis is far from the only person to have died of a heart attack while on the toilet; people with coronary artery disease have died as a result of using the Valsalva manoeuvre to help them defecate, which can cause a drop in blood pressure. Elvis himself had increased blood pressure and an enlarged colon as a result of poor diet and drug use.

'Throne' is a slang word for 'toilet', hence the dark joke that 'the King died on a throne'.

Answer: Boxing

In 'Kid Galahad', Elvis played Walter Gulick, a former soldier, now working as a mechanic. He is also an amateur boxer and falls in love with Rose (Joan Blackman), the younger sister of boxing promoter Willy Grogan (Gig Young). Walter takes part in a boxing match for money and beats one of Willy's top fighters, and Willy sees Walter's potential and has him trained by Lew (Charles Bronson).

Elvis was trained in boxing moves by Vincent 'Mushy Callahan' Scheer, a former welterweight champion who had a cameo in the film as a referee, although lightweight boxer John Gonsalves acted as Elvis' stunt double in boxing scenes. Another real life boxer, Orlando de la Fuente, appeared in the film as Sugar Boy Romero.

Answer: Meltdown

'Meltdown' is the final episode of Series 6, and features wax droid versions of historical figures. As well as Elvis (played by Clayton Mark) and Hitler, there are also wax droids of Stan Laurel, Caligula, Marilyn Monroe and Abraham Lincoln. The plot involves a matter transporter paddle that can change matter into digital information, and transmit them as light beams to another point in space; the crew decide to find an interesting planet with breathable air, and end up in an abandoned wax theme park where wax figures have come to life, and become divided into heroes and villains. During the episode, Winnie the Pooh is executed, and Rimmer gets to live out his military fantasies of commanding a unit.

Answer: Fallout: New Vegas

The Kings are led by an Elvis impersonator known as 'the King', and operate out of an Elvis impersonator school, which they believed to be a place of worship. They look like '50s greasers (quiffs, leather jackets, etc.) The King has a cybernetic German shepherd dog called Rex as a pet. Several of his lines reference titles of Elvis songs. One of the player character's quests involving the Kings is called GI Blues, and another, involving Rex, is 'Nothin' But a Hound Dog'.

Answer: Pleasure of Love

'Can't Help Falling in Love' was recorded for the film 'Blue Hawaii', and was written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti and George David Weiss. The melody for 'Plaisir d'Amour' was composed by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, and the lyrics are based on a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, from his novel 'Célestine'. (As an aside, I played 'Plaisir d'Amour' on the piano in a school assembly when I was eleven.)