Lest we all forget, today is the day THE KING was born.  The birth of Elvis is not as celebrated as his death, but I think we should always take a minute or twelve to remember it anyway.

He gets a raw deal because he died on the crapper from "a sudden increase in blood pressure."  Which is a damned humiliating way to die no matter what your humble beginnings were.  It's funny now looking back at how tame he was by today's standards and how so many people were sure that he was a sign of the coming Apocalypse.  When all he really was, was a poor white kid that wanted to make a few bucks singing.

I always thought that he was a stand up guy for going into the Army when he was drafted, and not trying to duck out of his duty.  He was a moron to let COL Parker suck down nearly half of his performance fees though.  No way would he get screwed over like that today.  It's pretty clear that he was a decent guy all things considered but had no clue how to deal with his wealth.

Personally, I liked the 1968 model Elvis.  His comeback concert has to be one of the greatest live music events in American history.  The guy that performed that night could have dominated music for another decade.  I also liked the Elvis that blew the shit out of his television just because he didn't like what was on.  All of us have felt that way at times, now haven't we?

Having spent two decades in Memphis I know several people that had personal relationships with Elvis.  I once worked with a lady that dated him just as he was finishing up high school.  A few years later I worked with a guy named Jim whose dad owned a piece of property that bumped up to the back of Graceland.  He's got a great story about tossing bottle rockets over the back fence of Graceland at Elvis and his buddies as the Memphis Mafia was riding go-karts. 

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TC