The King is Dead; Long Live the King

Pathetic as this seems, when I looked at the calendar this morning and saw January 8th, I thought, "Elvis' birthday". Why do I remember that? I was never more than a lukewarm fan. He was, however, the first rock star I liked. I was about ten when he became famous with his first hits.

Elvis has been dead over thirty years. There are tabloids who previously published stories about him faking his own death. He was spotted working at a K-mart or Walmart in Ohio. I don't think he was so desperate for a private life that he is still stocking shelves somewhere. I don't think he could have made enough to retire from Walmart. I don't think their pension plan is enough to keep him in Cadillacs or flashy clothes. Dead, his estate earns more than he did when he was alive. Maybe he has worked out a deal with his managers to siphon some of that money to another account. Maybe he is cruising the Mediterranean with JFK on Onassis' boat. Maybe we are crazy for listening to any of those stories.

In the early 80's my sister and family moved south. She told us, "Elvis is not dead in the South". There were still radio stations that continually played his music. He was revered and kept alive by fans. Elvis was not dead in Georgia, but the War Between the States was not forgotten either.

Perhaps Entertainment Tonight will show a clip of the candlelit procession of people at Graceland softly crying and paying tribute to the king. Nashville still remembers her favorite son. Some of those fans are getting a little long in the tooth.

Elvis was a twin. His brother died at birth. What would the world have been like if there had been two kings of rock and roll? I wonder if they were identical. In spite of losing the twin brother we have thousands of replicants dressed in white jumpsuits sporting black pompadour hairdos to console us. Perhaps Elvis lives after all. I can't think of another celebrity so imitated. I wonder if he would rather have not done the drugs and lived a few more years. It must be hell to be stuck in 70's fashions.