Lord Noel Says "Long Live The King!"

Whatto! Elvis fans......

I don't normally like reminding people of someones death........

But in Elvis' case......I'll make any exceptions......after all, he was a man who brought so much pleasure to so many people......and STILL does!

So I chose to mark this otherwise sombre occasion by recounting some of the many 'Elvis moments' I have had over the years.......

He was there at my parents Golden Wedding celebrations in 2004........

.....and again (in spirit) on holiday in Teneriffe in 2006.......where so many entertainers have made entire careers from impersonating 'The King'..........

.....and also at our daughters 30th Birthday celebrations in June this year..............

And as I was running through some of the lesser known facts about the great man.......
....whilst listening to some of the great songs from his wonderful musical legacy........

.....I thought I'd share them here (Courtesy of the lovely Wikipedia people - whose links I have left in place)...............

Elvis Presley owed his ancestry to diverse European ethnic strains, primarily British and German, but his lineage also included some Cherokee descent.

His father was Vernon Elvis Presley (April 10, 1916 – June 26, 1979), and his mother was Gladys Love Smith (April 25, 1912 – August 14, 1958).

They met in Tupelo, Mississippi, and eloped to Pontotoc County where they married on June 17, 1933.

Elvis Presley's birthplace was a two-room shotgun house, built by his father, in East Tupelo.

  Elvis was actually an identical twin, but his brother was stillborn and given the name Jesse Garon. ......... Just imagine TWO of them?!!!

What a double act that would have been!

Growing up as an only child everyone agreed he was, "unusually close to his mother." The family lived just above the poverty line and attended an Assembly of God church.

Vernon has been described as "a malingerer, always averse to work and responsibility." although there is some documented evidence of work he took throughout the depression. His wife was "voluble, lively, full of spunk" and also had a fondness for drink.
In 1938, Vernon, along with Gladys' brother Travis Smith and a friend Lether Gable, was jailed for an eight dollar cheque forgery. During his eight-month incarceration, Gladys and her son lost the family home, and they moved in with relatives. In September 1942, Presley entered first grade at Lawhorn School in Tupelo. He was considered a "well-mannered and quiet child", but sometimes classmates threw "things at him — rotten fruit and stuff — because he was different... he stuttered and he was a mama's boy." Presley began his career in 1954 as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an uptempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and "white" sounds, made him popular—and controversial—as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. Presley had a versatile voice and he had unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including rock and roll, gospel, blues, country, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame. In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his 31 movies, most of which were poorly reviewed but financially successful musicals. In 1968, he returned to live performances in a television special, which led to a string of successful tours across the U.S., notably in Las Vegas, for the remainder of his career. In 1973, Presley staged the first global live concert via satellite (Aloha from Hawaii), reaching at least one billion viewers live and an additional 500 million on delay. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales. He is still one of the best-selling solo artists in the history of music, selling over one billion records worldwide, and he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Among his many awards and accolades are 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. It is then, somewhat ironic that such an 'outstanding young man' with such a fantastic career and immense talents should end up suffering from health problems resulting from prescription drug dependence which led to his untimely death at age 42..........

.......exactly thirty two years ago today.

Tallyho!

& Rest in Peace Elvis

Best Wishes - Lord Noel