Graceland vigil marks 33 years since Elvis' death

AP ^ | August 16, 2010 | ADRIAN SAINZ

[ConservativeStatement]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Candles flickered in the balmy night as thousands of Elvis Presley fans filed silently by his grave during a vigil at Graceland, marking 33 years since the American icon died.

Elvis admirers from around the world descended on Elvis' former home Sunday night to attend an annual candlelight vigil and procession that ran into Monday morning. Presley died at age 42 at his Graceland mansion on Aug. 16, 1977. Memorials started the following year.

Elvis ballads like "If I Can Dream" and "Fools Rush In" played as participants solemnly filed in through the gates. Flowers and photos lined the entrance to the grave site, which also is the resting place of Presley's father Vernon, his mother Gladys and grandmother Minnie Mae. Some wiped away tears as they walked past the graves.

Participants defied high heat and humidity that continued into the night.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Where were YOU when you heard the news of the passing of Elvis Presley????

[Greg123456]

When is the 75 year old Elvis going to come out of hiding and declare that he faked his own death? {sarcasm}

[dfwgator]

Just moved to Florida and was helping my Dad fix up our new house, putting up some wood paneling, it was my 16th birthday also, so during the day we didn’t have access to TV or radio, it wasn’t until we got into the car late in the afternoon and starting changing stations, we noticed that almost every station was playing Elvis....so right away I thought, “Uh Oh!”

[MBB1984]

I was in a car, listening to the country music station, WSUN out of Tampa, FL.

[ConservativeStatement]

I was 14 and remembering hearing it over a radio my father had in the kitchen.

[dalebert]

Dallas, Texas

[Hodar]

Isn’t he supposed to walk out of a cave somewhere, and kick some Iman’s butt back into well?

[magritte]

Down in my basement listening to Black Sabbath albums (seriously)....my dad came down and told me and my brother...he was really bothered and we didn’t really understand his angst...as an older guy, I can see it...magritte

[twister881]

In the can, communing with The King.

[albie]

I worked as a gas pumper for the Exxon in Roslyn,Va. My boss and I were out in the tow truck picking up parts when the news came on the radio. My boss was probably 6’6” and 250 lbs. He cried like a baby right there in the truck. I was 18 and didn’t know what to do, so I just sat and looked out the window. I cried when Reagan died. Not Elvis.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

“HE” will come again out of the sky wreathed in clouds of glory. /s

[SamAdams76]

I was 15 years old and at my grandmother's house in northern Alabama when the news came in, I had been spending the summer there as I did most of my years growing up.

I remember my grandmother being very upset about it and it surprised me because I did not take my grandmother for being a rock and roll fan. We spent the next few days listening to the local radio stations that were playing his music around the clock. Never realized just how many quality songs he put out during his career. The only Elvis songs I was familiar with up to that time was Hound Dog and a couple of others.

In my peer group, Elvis was seen as washed up and sort of a joke. I've read some of his biographies over the years and gained a better appreciation of the man. He definitely had his flaws but was by and large a good and decent American.

[RckyRaCoCo]

Playing wiffle ball in the backyard of my parents house.

[Sybeck1]

Riding my horse along with my cousins down in Mississippi. 9 years old at the time.

[WellyP]

“He’s still dead, Jim!”

[Rebelbase]

Don’t recall where I was when I heard the news. Elvis was supposed to play the Asheville Civic Center three days later and the event was changed to a memorial service.

I’d never seen such wailing and gnashing of teeth before or since.

[Let's Roll]

Ft. Benning.

[Rebelbase]

He's got another gig going right now.

[truthguy]

My boss was probably 6’6” and 250 lbs. He cried like a baby right there in the truck.

We know as a society that we are in trouble when a man as such described can cry at the death of a singer. Elvis was just that, a rock and roll singer. Yes, he was great before 1962 and I liked his music (or singing). But Elvis never wrote a tune that I'm aware of. I think he got co-credit on only one or two songs. The publicity machine created transformed him into a mega star the like of which have never been seen. But beyond this, it's not healthy to see so many obsessed with this guy. It's not healthy. In the end Elvis was a tragic figure, obese and drug addicted. He was living on a past reputation and had not made any positive contributions to rock music in at least 15 years.

Let's let him RIP.