Thousands Remember Elvis on Anniversary of Death

VOA News ^ | 16 Aug 2003

[veronica]

Saturday is the 26th anniversary of the death of singer Elvis Presley, and thousands of people gathered at his Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee, to remember the music legend.

About 5,000 Elvis fans were lined up when Graceland's gates opened Friday night for the annual overnight candlelight vigil past the singer's grave. Thousands more later joined the procession which continued until early Saturday.

AP Beverly Swain, from Lexington, Tenn., attends a candlelight vigil to Elvis Presley's grave at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn. Officials in Memphis estimate about 35,000 people took part in this year's Elvis Tribute Week. Some came many hundreds - even thousands - of kilometers to attend. One man from Ohio said he has been at Graceland on this day every year since Elvis died on August 16, 1977.

The event comes with a full week of activities, including concerts, Elvis look-alike contests, special tours of his Graceland home, screenings of his movies, and if you give $35 to an animal charity, a chance to swim in the swimming pool at the home in Memphis where Elvis lived before he moved to Graceland.

[Paulus Invictus]

Great artist? Hozzat? He was an immoral druggie with little real talent who died of an overdose. His music will be forgotten soon enough, as soon as the generation that worships his memory is gone. (oops, here come the flamers!)

[Revolting cat!]

Elvis, like his parents, was a white trash ignoramus who stumbled on a musical style already explored by others in the early 1950s, and who owed much if not all of his early success to guitarist Scotty Moore, which is something you're bound to discover after listening to those early sides a few hundred times, as some of us have, something that those enamored with the "great artist" and his pretentious Las Vegas performances of trashy semi patriotic hymns and ofMy Way and Hey Jude will never do (I've heard dismissive opinions from some of those Viva Las Vegas admirers that the early Sun sides is just some country sh_t!) Just ask the great rock guitarists of the 60s and 70s who they admire Elvis or Scotty Moore!

[frmrda]

So, are you one of those whack jobs who makes "pilgramages" to Graceland and lights candles on the anniversary of his death?

God I love this country, but really have to wonder about a society where a several thousand people show up to pay homage to a drug addicted nutjob who died of an OD while on the john.

[Wilhelm Tell]

I wonder why, if I'm ever in Memphis, I'd sooner visit the National Civil Rights Museum?

Me too. Okay, Elvis was a good entertainer and he made a lot of money. Hey, that's great. But it is not like he was some hero who died trying to make America a better place. I wonder how many people visiting Graceland have even heard of the National Civil Rights Museum? The sad thing is, I bet more people recognize the name Elvis than recognize the name Martin Luther King.

There is nothing wrong with being an Elvis fan. There is nothing wrong with visiting Graceland. However, it is good to keep things in perspective. I do not understand the people who weep like he just died and he was their best friend. I kind of feel sorry for Elvis. I wonder if he had any real friends. I imagine everyone he encountered wanted something from him because he was rich and famous. There is this cult-like element that tends to follow celebrities, and it really weirds me out that people would make total fools out of themselves. It must be horrible to be hounded everywhere you go and not be able to live a normal life. What good is a mansion if it is a prison? That is what I think of when I think about Elvis. I hope the poor man is resting in peace -- he didn't have peace in this life.

[ladyinred]

26 years?!? Wow, it doesn't seem that long ago.

[TravisBickle]

You mean this guy?

[woofie]

What? Elvis died?

[Wilhelm Tell]

I hope that some people visiting Graceland would look at Elvis' grave and reflect that for all the wealth and fame someone might have, all earthly existence eventually comes to dust. The time before one existed is infinite. The time after one is gone is infinite. Life in this world is short and full of trouble.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Blessings To You My Child

Let No Man Try To Convince You That I'm Dead,
My Holy Spirit Lives Within Your Joyous Heart.
By Your Wearing The Rainments Of The King,
My Guiding Spirit Will Be Alive In You Forever.
May Your Life Be Filled With My Power, And
May No One Step On Your Blue Suede Shoes.

[Revolting cat!]

Actually, some of the Elvis imitators are just as if not more interesting (well, at least they're alive): Elvis Herselvis (Lesbian Elvis), Jelvis (Jewish Elvis, who may in fact be dead - the link didn't work for me), Schmelvis (another Jewish Elvis), El Vez (the Hispanic Elvis), Extreme Elvis (warning: he will offend some!), etc, etc.

[yooper]

He died on the crapper....

[veronica]

It's unfortunate that you are able to appreciate Elvis' genius. For he was a musical genius, embued with that genius from birth, so it was God-given.

I suggest you get a CD of Elvis' and listen to that glorious, soulful voice, or pick up a copy of "Elvis in the Morning", by William F. Buckley, who is a fan of Elvis, and has written extensively about The King. :)

[veronica]

Elvis, like his parents, was a white trash ignoramus...

Yes, he was born poor. Yet he managed to get the pinnacle of the music business, he became an icon, he could sing almost every style of music, and he is regarded as one of the greatest vocal artists of the 20th century.

Not exactly the accomplishments of an "ignoramous." ;))

[Conservative til I die]

Boy, you must be real fun at parties.

[Conservative til I die]

He was an immoral druggie with little real talent

Man alive, you're stupid.

[Conservative til I die]

Elvis, like his parents, was a white trash ignoramus

There's that anti-poor snobbery that occasionall bubbles to the surface from certain conservatives. No wonder the liberals hate us.

[oyez]

I'd sooner visit the National Civil Rights Museum?

Not me. I wouldn't give a dime to an organization that gives prize money to Bill Clinton and Michael Gorbachov.(excuse my spelling)

[Chancellor Palpatine]

FOX NEWS ALERT - An anonymous source has informed Fox News that the possibility that the blackout was caused by Elvis clones under the mind control of space aliens has not been definitively ruled out by the Bush Administration. Stay tuned for our special round table panel of Greta, Geraldo and Kellyanne Conway for a 2 hour special on this breaking story....

[Luis Gonzalez]