The King is dead. Long live the King.
Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, who succumbed to a drug-induced heart attack at the age of 42, sparking memorials–ranging from sober to celebratory to downright silly–across the globe. In the quarter century since his passing, it’s as if Elvis never really left the building.
In Presley’s home town of Memphis, Tennesee, approximately 35,000 fans descended upon the city to visit the grave of the man many consider the once and future King of Rock ‘n Roll. Beginning in the early morning hours, as “Memories,” “If I Can Dream” and other Presley songs played in the background, thousands of fans–young and old alike–braved stormy weather to provide the largest turnout ever for the annual candlelit vigil at Presley’s onetime home, white-columned Graceland Mansion, according to the Associated Press.
The fans were still loving their icon tender: Some prayed, some blew kisses, some left flowers, poems and mementos (teddy bears were popular, a nod to another Presley hit) and some simply took their picture with Elvis’ grave. Presley is interred in the estate’s Meditation Garden, alongside his parents and paternal grandmother.
An anonymous source at Graceland told the AP that Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley, her husband Nicolas Cage and her mother Priscilla Presley secretly visited the estate shortly after midnight, watching the fan vigil–the largest assembly there since the King’s death–from the mansion windows. They also visited a party at Elvis Presley’s Memphis, a restaurant and night club on Beale Street, watching club-goers from the privacy of a VIP area. On Friday evening the family was expected to make an appearance at the 25th Anniversary Concert at the Pyramid Arena Friday night before 14,500 fans.
On Saturday, Aug. 10, Lisa Marie married Cage–a longtime fan of her father’s who has essayed Elvis related roles in films such as Honeymoon in Vegas and Wild at Heart and on Saturday Night Live–in Hawaii, a locale as closely associated with Elvis over the years as Memphis, Las Vegas and his hometown, Tupelo, Mississippi.
The commemorative efforts were not limited to Graceland, where an Internet broadcast led fans worldwide watch the mourning via Elvis.com. Also, according to news reports:
A quarter century after his death, 2002 has been a particularly significant high mark for Elvis:
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For the second year in a row, Forbes magazine ranked Presley at the apex of its list of the top-earning dead celebrities. Sales of Elvis-cellany totaled $37 million from June 2001-June 2002, $4 million of which came from a number one-charting British dance remix of his 1968 song “A Little Less Conversation.” Presley was reportedly worth less than $1 million when he died. Lisa Marie Presley is the sole heir to the profits of Elvis Presely Enterprises.
In addition, the soundtrack of Disney’s animated film Lilo & Stitch featured several Elvis songs, and his spirited rendition of “America the Beautiful” enjoying a surge of renewed popularity following the Sept. 11 attacks.
In a recently released ABC News poll, almost four in 10 people named Presley as the greatest rock-and-roll star of all time. Nine in 10 said Presley has had a lasting impact on American culture. People were evenly split as to whether they were Elvis fans or not: Two-thirds of those from age 55-64 said they are Presley fans, while almost four in 10 of adults age 18-34 said they are fans.
A new Harris poll revealed that 70 percent of American had seen an Elvis movie, 34 percent had spotted an Elvis impersonator, 31 percent owned an Elvis album or video and 10 percent had made the mecca to Graceland.
“He was a good son. He was a good soldier. I think it’s a given he was a great entertainer,” his ex-wife Priscilla told Dateline NBC. “I think in every way, he excelled. He excelled.”
