Hollywood Deep

August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley, the true “King” of rock and roll, died 30 years ago. Some 75,000 people have taken over Elvis Presley Boulevard, which is a six-lane highway, waiting to enter Graceland and file past the late star’s grave. It’s an amazing sight. People are camping out on the boulevard. There is a really happy atmosphere. They are hanging out with other Elvis fans and having a good time, while his music plays all the time in the background. Everywhere you turn there are Elvis impersonators, in their jumpsuits and sporting sideburns. The fans move along in single file, all holding a candle – it’s the only time fans are allowed to walk up to the Graceland mansion, usually they are bussed in. I mean these people are a bit nutty, who has all this free time? However, The business of Elvis is booming, last year some 554,000 people visited Graceland, making it the second most visited home in America, behind the White House. Elvis properties and licensing earned about $27 million last year, making him the second most profitable deceased celebrity in the world. (Kurt Cobain of Nirvana nosed him out for the top spot, according to Forbes magazine.)

The legendary entertainer, acclaimed as The King, died 30 years ago Thursday at age 42 of heart disease worsened by drug abuse. Born a poor Southern white boy who brought black music into the mainstream, Elvis Presley made rock ‘n’ roll the international language of pop.With boy-next-door good manners, incredible stage presence and an ambitious manager propelled Elvis into two decades of television specials, films, blockbuster concerts and merchandising.

“Before there was Elvis, there was nothing,” John Lennon once said.

Elvis remains the best-selling solo artist with over a billion albums sold and still generates about $50 million ($61 million) a year through licensing fees and the Graceland exhibits.

Elvis will always be the “King”, not only of rock and roll, but he has become part of American history. No person in the last 100 years, is more honored, worshiped, and looked up to as an icon. Not a President, entertainer, religious leader, war hero, scientist, or any other figure in our culture, can equal the legacy of ELVIS.
Remembering, that he started living with Priscilla, when she was 14, and then marrying her. His dying on his toilet in Graceland, a drug addict, and a shell of what he once was. All of his other quirks, playing with guns, his flamboyance with spending money, his crazy diet. Graceland, itself stands as a monument to his off the wall lifestyle. With all that, what people choose to remember is “The King”.
Elvis would be 72 years old, if he was still alive, and we probably would all be feeling sorry for him at an MTV music awards tribute or something. Even though he died a bloated, caricature of what he once was, preforming sell out tribute shows in Las Vegas. We decide to remember Elvis as he once was, and we all hold his legacy fondly in our hearts. For what he meant to the history of this country. Especially for inventing and defining the meaning of COOL, forever.
…Thank You Very Much.

The first music video? Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock”

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