August 16

Elvis is dead. I still remember hearing that simple declarative sentence not in 1977 when, on this day, Elvis did in fact die, but rather, sometime in the early 2000s. I was working a document production gig (the bane of every mediocre lawyer's existence), listening to whatever was the current iteration of a "Walkman" tuned to 106.7 WJFK, which played Howard in the morning and one of his knock off competitors, Don and Mike, in the afternoon. 

It was on this day that I was introduced to Don and Mike's yearly tradition of celebrating Presley's demise with a show-long tribute, which focused mostly on the King's bananas personal life. They scrounged for scratchy copies of Elvis's drugged out stage announcements, they read excerpts from the tell-alls which recounted his bizarre behavior like shooting out TV sets and having tin foil placed over his bedroom windows. How he would "preserve his seed" by not ejaculating when he fooled around with women. It was endlessly fascinating for someone like me who is very interested in the human condition.

I subsequently read David Garulnick's definitive two-volume Presley biographer and became a massive fan of Elvis's later years (basically from the 1968 comeback special on), mostly for all that hedonistic behavior (the backstory to his iconic White House visit with Richard Nixon deserves its own book). Of course, there is great tragedy in Elvis's downfall. He was a drug addict, but refused help. He had a talent few could dream of, but he squandered it. He was one of the most famous people on Earth, but often felt isolated and alone. He surrounded himself with sycophants and yes men, but had his secrets revealed when he cut them loose. 

But there is no questioning Elvis's influence on the popular culture. Even 40 plus years after his death, people still flock to Graceland, his musical vault is still being mined for new releases (another one is on its way focusing on his 1969 residency in Las Vegas), and as recently as last year, HBO ran a largely sympathetic two-part documentary about his life. Elvis may have left the building, but his legacy remains strong.

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