Elvis Presley's hair, at least a clump of hair that Presley may have lost to an Army barber when he went into the service back in 1958, is going on the auction block this Sunday at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago.
The hair is part of a collection of more than 200 items that belonged to or are associated with Presley. There are clothes he wore, scarves he threw to screaming fans -- who, judging by the yellow sweat stains, never washed them -- and Christmas cards he sent. And there are lots of records, some he kept in his own juke box, and other sorts of memorabilia ranging from Elvis dolls to Elvis wrist watches to Elvis Pez dispensers.
All the items belonged to Gary Pepper. Pepper was not only a huge Presley fan and president of a Presley fan club, but a close friend, as many of the photographs of the two together suggest.
Pepper, who had cerebral palsy, died in 1980, three years after Presley, and left his collection to his nurse, and that is who is putting the items up for auction, said Mary Williams, of the auction house.
But it is clearly the hair that has generated the most buzz.
Like a lot of the items in Pepper's collection, the hair was a gift from Presley to Pepper, who in turn sent a strand or two to appreciative Presley fans from time to time but didn't come close to exhausting his supply.
She said Pepper died without telling anyone exactly where the hair came from or when it was cut, but she said it appears that it was clipped during Presley's stint in the Army or around that time.
Williams did acknowledge that there has never been a DNA test done on the hair. But, she said, the auction house did take it to "somewhat of a hair authenticator" who compared it to his own sample of Presley's hair and concluded it was the real deal.

Mini Biography Of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley began his career as first performer of rockabilly, an up-tempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing 'black' and 'white' sounds, made him popular - and controversial - as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop. To date, he is the only performer to have been inducted into three separate music 'Halls of Fame'.

In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his thirty-three movies - mainly poorly reviewed musicals. 1970 saw a critically-acclaimed return to live music, followed by performances in Las Vegas and across the U.S. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music. His death, at the age of 42, shocked his fans worldwide.

Elvis Special Edition DVD Boxset $38.99