Here's a handy database of dates and events in Elvis Presley's life during 1961. You can also find out what else Elvis was up to in 1961 and in all the years of his life.

January 6: For Elvis' 26th birthday, the cast and crew of his latest film, Wild In The Country, presents him with a joke plaque inscribed "Happy Birthday, King Karate," a reference to Presley's penchant for the martial art.
January 8: The singer signs a five-picture deal directly with producer Hal Wallis, calling for him to act in one picture per year for five years.

However, it is not his only film commitment.
January 11: Colonel Tom Parker holds a press conference at the Hawaiian Village Hotel to announce announces that Elvis has decided to perform a rare charity concert for the USS Arizona memorial, dedicated to the ship attacked during the raid on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
January 20: Elvis completes initial work on the movie Wild In The Country.
February 1: Elvis returns home to his birthplace in Tupelo, MS, to find that his planned Elvis Presley Youth Center, to which he donated $14,000 in 1957, has never materialized.
February 4: While in Tupelo, Presley's cousin Junior Smith dies of alcoholism. At the hospital, Elvis reassures Smith's corpse that "It's all over, Junior." Two days later the funeral is held, but Elvis is back in California, called to reshoot the Wild In The Country ending, which had tested poorly with audiences.
February 25: A big day for the singer, who has Elvis Presley Day declared in Memphis by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington.

At a luncheon in his honor, RCA presents him with a diamond watch commemorating his 75 million records sold, and Elvis holds a press conference. As part of the festivities, he performs two rare charity shows at the city's Ellis Auditorium. A private party is held at Graceland late in the evening.
March 14: RCA's Bill Bullock writes Elvis about a planned studio to be built at Graceland. (Elvis would not record at Graceland until 1976.)
March 20: Elvis begins filming on his ninth movie, Blue Hawaii. The first of his films to be directed by Norman Taurog, it will set the pattern for all hit Elvis films to come, setting the singer in an exotic locale, giving him plenty to sing, surrounding him with beautiful co-stars, and minimalizing the plot. It will become his biggest hit to date.
March 25: Elvis holds an afternoon press conference and, in the evening, performs the USS Arizona memorial concert at Pearl Harbor's Bloch Arena, raising $62,000 for the fund. This would be Presley's last live performance for seven years.
April 21: Elvis' latest single, "Good Luck Charm," hits Number One in the US -- his last Billboard #1 for eight years.
April 22: In a letter, Colonel Tom Parker reaches out to new Vice President Lyndon Johnson, making Elvis available for other patriotic charity events.
May 1: The Colonel's older brother, Ad, visits from Holland and is introduced to Elvis. Oddly enough, no one questions the "Colonel's" Dutch ancestry.
May 23: Elvis finishes shooting for Blue Hawaii.
July 1: Memphis Mafioso and right-hand man Red West is married in Memphis. Best man Elvis is late and Joe Esposito stands in.
July 6: Elvis arrives in Crystal River, FL, to begin location filming on his next movie, tentatively titled Pioneer Go Home.
August 12: Elvis arrives in Hollywood to complete three weeks of photography on the new picture, now retitled Follow That Dream.
August 23: Elvis is offered voiceover work in an upcoming animated film by Chuck Jones called Gay Purr-ee. No agreement is ever reached.
August 28: Principal photography on Follow That Dream is completed in Hollywood.
September 1: Elvis flies to Vegas for a month-long vacation.
September 26: Country legend Hank Snow, who managed Elvis for a short while in 1956, sues Colonel Parker for back earnings, but the suit is soon withdrawn.
October 21: Elvis acquires a pet chimp named Scatter, who would become notorious for his exploits at Graceland.
October 23: Back in Hollywood, Presley begins training with former welterweight champion Mushy Callahan, in preparation for his next movie role.
November 4: Elvis begins filming his tenth movie, Kid Galahad, in Idyllwild, CA. A freak snowstorm forces relocation to Hollywood on the 21st.
November 22: Presley and the Memphis Mafia leave their usual home away from home on Perugia Way in Hollywood and move into a new rental at 10539 Bellagio.
December 20: Elvis finishes filming Kid Galahad and flies to Las Vegas in order to avoid spending the holidays with his father Vernon and his new wife Dee at Graceland.
December 28: Vernon, Dee, and her three children move into a new home at 3650 Hermitage Dr. in Memphis.