The King is Dead; Long Live The King

Elvis Aaron Presley
1935 - 1977

Thirty-Five years ago today the man, the myth, the legend, Elvis Presley, died at his home in Graceland. I have no story of where I was when I heard the news, I have no memory of Presley being alive, for at the time, my existence was a long way off, in the far, futuristic land of nineteen-ninety-two.

What I do have, of Presley, though, is what everybody has. The music.

While the man himself struggled with addiction and depression, insomnia and paranoia, the music is timeless, untouched by the passing decades, unfaltering in its' appeal and at the core of every single one of us; anyone who claims to enjoy any sort of music will be aware, and almost certainly a fan, of Elvis Presley.

'Devil in Disguise'

When I was a small child some of my earliest memories are of hearing Presley's music, my mother was always a huge fan and I seem to recall being absolutely enraptured by the music. I seem to recall it being a greatest hits CD that was my Mum's absolute favourite. The song was 'Devil In Disguise' and for the first time in my young life, I felt so touched by music, so ultimately shaken to the core by the intense beat and pure soul in the voice of Presley that I did something I had never done before.

I danced. At the age of three years old I was dancing around the front room begging my mother to keep that one song playing again and again. And she did and I kept moving with that music.

From that moment on, Elvis was always a presence in my life, whether or not he was at the fore as a passion or whether or not he was but a distant whisper in the back of mind reminding me that regardless of how bad my life got, regardless of how I felt about the outside world, Rock and Roll would always be there.

Possibly the most distinctive memory of hearing Elvis is the time I watched the '68 comeback special. I don't remember how old I was, where I was, or even who I saw it with (chances are it was my mother, again). The one thing I do remember is Presley's incredibly passionate rendition of 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy'. The sound of his guttural, heart-felt singing, to this day, is engrained in my mind and it's something I know I'll never forget.

Elvis The Pelvis.

While I was never around while Presley walked the earth, while I have no living memory of him, his impact on the world has been so great, so unrivalled that surely, the image of Elvis's pelvis gyrating at the audience will be a benchmark of cultural excellence in the same way great artists such as Da Vinci and Van Gogh left their marks on their times.

The Fender Elvis Presley Kingman.

The global obsession with Elvis, which continues to this day, is astounding, and not undeserved. There are still books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, posters, films, documentaries, tribute acts, and, most recently, Fender have released a beautiful Elvis tribute guitar, in the guise of the Kingman, the guitar Presley played in his '67 film 'Clambake'.

The very fact that rock and roll continues in a very pure form, under the modern name of Rockabilly means that there are people like myself who are still moved to write, record, cover and produce rock and roll as it may well have been in the 1950's. I know for a fact Presley is a big influence on my music (as well as my hair style!) and I can't begin to express enough how much rock and roll has meant to me in my short twenty years on this earth.

Elvis combs his trademark hair.

Luckily for us, the era of Rock and Roll that really kicked off in the fifties thanks to the likes of Presley, Bill Hailey, Buddy Holly and many others wasn't confined to that ten year period when youth culture seemed to explode. To this day there is a great passion for rock and roll and a wonderful resurgence in the buying and collecting (and most importantly, playing) of vinyl records.

The anecdotes from my childhood about Elvis aren't the only ones I have, but they're two of the many happy memories the music have given me. Hopefully some of you out there will have similar memories of how Presley has touched your life, and maybe you'll even feel comfortable enough to share them with us.

Until next time, long live the king.

'Elvis has left the building.'