Is it really 40 years ago since Elvis passed away? 57 years since the release of 'it's now or never'? It's hard to believe how quickly time has gone. He once ruled the world. Nobody had ever seen his like before and the chances are we'll never see anybody like him again. He became famous over 60 years ago. He never left America, which is surprising when you realise how big he was in Europe. His manager though, Colonel Tom Parker, was thought to be an illigal immigrant who would struggle to get back into the country if he left.
Elvis would have been 82 if he he had lived. His girlfriend, assuming he still had one, would be 19 and be seeing somebody behind his back. The Memphis mafia would be known as the Memphis geriatrics who would now hire bodyguards to do what they once used to. Everybody reaches their sell-by date. At the time of his death Elvis was a washed-out 42 year old who didn't play an instrument and who couldn't write a song to save his life. His voice wasn't good enough to keep on pulling in the punters.
Maybe he did fake his own death. His popularity had certaiinly taken a nosedive. The Beatles had shown him, in the sixties, what it would be like to be outgunned and when they disbanded, in 1970, he would stage a very successful comeback. Who would know that a very health-looking Elvis, in 1973, only had four years left to live? That's the year the video-clip is. It shows Elvis on stage in Hawaii. He looks so pleased with himself he could eat a burger. Or two. Or three. Hell, just leave the fucking van there!
So, this day forty years ago saw us lose a burger-eating legend. He could sing pretty good too. Unlike Paul McCartney who has lost it at the age of 75.
It would be amazing if Elvis was still alive. I doubt whether he could still sing though. Or move like the Elvis we all know.
