BAD NAUHEIM, Germany - German Elvis Presley fans clad in jean jackets, hats and T-shirts bearing the name of The King flocked to this spa town to celebrate his 70th birthday with a series of shows and events.
Posted on 01/08/2005 12:34:09 PM PST by crushelits
BAD NAUHEIM, Germany - German Elvis Presley fans clad in jean jackets, hats and T-shirts bearing the name of The King flocked to this spa town to celebrate his 70th birthday with a series of shows and events.
Organized by local authorities and the local Elvis Presley Association, the events marking his birthday on Saturday include a Las Vegas show, gospel concert and walking tours of places the singer lived from October 1958 through February 1960 while stationed here as a soldier — his only residence outside the United States.
"His voice was magic: there was so much soul, so much heart in it," said Isolde Sueltemeyer, a classical musician from Cologne.
Sueltemeyer, now retired, was lucky enough to secure a room Friday in the art deco Grunewald Hotel where Presley lived upon arriving in Germany. Complaints from other residents that his rehearsing was disruptive forced him to eventually find his own house.
She was one of several fans who gathered Friday to walk in the footsteps of the man many Germans credit with bringing rock and roll to Europe.
An exhibit at Germany's national museum, Haus der Geschichte, or History House, in the former West German capital of Bonn also commemorates the singer's unique roll in the history of music here.
Ulrich Schlichthaerle, head of the city's tourism office, says officials are only now realizing their city's connection to The King can raise Bad Nauheim's profile.
"Out of more than 100 spa towns in Germany, we are the only one that can claim a 20th-century artist resided here," Schlichthaerle said. "Many of them have connections to Mozart, Beethoven or Brahms, but only we have Elvis."
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| John Hornyak, executive director of the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy, left, stands by as Shelby County mayor A.C. Wharton, and Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, right, speak while cutting Elvis' birthday cake at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005 at a celebration for what would have been Elvis' 70th birthday. | Elvis Presley is shown in uniform at company D 1st battalion 32nd US Army Armour at the barracks in Friedberg, Germany, in this file picture taken in 1958. The 'King of Rock 'n Roll' who died Aug. 16, 1977 would be turning 70 years old on Saturday Jan. 8, 2005. |
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| Elvis Presley is seen as a honky-tonk performer on the midway in this photo from the 1964 MGM film 'Roustabout'i n this 1964 file photo. The 'King of Rock 'n Roll' who died Aug. 16, 1977 would be turning 70 years old on Saturday Jan. 8, 2005 | Elvis look-alikes across the globe will squeeze into their rhinestone-studded jumpsuits, fix their sideburns and slick back their quiffs for the King's 70th birthday bash on Saturday. 'Elvis is more popular than ever in Britain,' said Elvis Presley impersonator Martin Fox, 52, from Blackpool in northern England. 'He is at the height of his popularity since his death.' A portrait of Presley is seen at Graceland in this undated file photo. |
Where's the FROOT LOOP ALERT?!!! I thought Elvis was at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, but maybe he was in Bad Nauheim also. Too bad they don't celebrate the anniversary of Patton's stay in der Vaterland! I would join the festivities!
Ich bin all shook up.
Happy birthday E. Loved ya!
I thought he was there to help shoot the MEN IN BLACK lll Movie.
"Where's the FROOT LOOP ALERT?!!!"
Don't be cruel.
Ha! My first "spill coffee on the keyboard" laugh of the day!
He was stationed in Freidberg. He had a house in Bad Nauheim, which is the next town over. I remember walking between them many times.
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