by Tom Walter, August 14th, 1997
Mourning Becomes Eclectic
They spill into Memphis from around the world, some for the first time, many more for return visits to the shrine of their rock and roll god, Elvis Presley. They show a devotion and knowledge of Elvis theology that is the envy of conventional churches. They speak with a passion unknown and […]
by Lisa Jennings, August 13th, 1997
There are no plaques on the wall saying “Elvis Ate Here.” But the ghost of Elvis Presley seems to linger in restaurants all over town.
The King was known to pick up a cheeseburger or two in his day. The stories are sometimes embellished with a sprinkling of myth and exaggeration, but there are enough eyewitnesses […]
by Michael Lollar, August 12th, 1997
Elvis Presley’s rise to stardom turned Memphis into everything from a tourist destination to what some believe is the home of the generation gap and, to some, the mecca of a quasi-religious movement.
It’s part of a complex legacy for a city that has been known for cotton, for the blues, for the rhythm and blues […]
by Christine Arpe Gang, August 11th, 1997
Like many fans of the young Elvis, Fred Whobrey collected 45-rpm records, got a record player with Elvis’s signature on the case for his birthday and bought an Elvis toy guitar from Sears.
Those 1950s memorabilia are the most valuable and collectible today.
“Every time Elvis had a concert, Col. Parker would create some merchandise to sell,” […]
by admin, August 11th, 1997
Portrayals of Elvis in his underwear, Elvis in the arms of the Madonna (the FIRST one, of course) and Elvis “eaten by ants” offended some of the entertainer’s fans and won’t be on public view this week.
A dozen photographs and pastel drawings of the late entertainer scheduled for display during the “Elvis 20/20: Past and […]
by Bill Ellis, August 10th, 1997
Elvis pal produces his final tributes
Jerry Schilling first left the auspices of employer and friend Elvis Presley in the late 1960s. Safe to say, he has never really left.
A former Memphian and, more to the point, member of Presley’s Memphis Mafia, Schilling - now a Los Angeles producer - has been involved in so […]
by admin, August 10th, 1997
Hazel Brock still packs the same tired luggage, its seams frayed and zipper stuck after years of chasing a rock star dead two decades but never really gone.
Never gone. Not as long as Hazel and her only daughter Rodonna are able, Lord willing, to make the trip from their northeast Alabama home to this suburb […]
by admin, August 9th, 1997
Elvis left this building 20 years ago, but you can own it if you have $800,000 to spare.
The “family room” of The Abbey Mausoleum where Elvis Presley first was entombed was put on the market last week.
The mausoleum chamber at Forest Hill Cemetery Midtown, 1661 Elvis Presley Blvd., also briefly contained the remains of Elvis’s […]
by admin, August 8th, 1997
Even international political summits don’t generate as much activity as Elvis Week will on the 20th anniversary of Presley’s death.
You could attend the several conferences in town and run out of time for anything else. Elvis 20/20: Past and Future, a six-day convergence of high and low thinking on the King at the Memphis College […]
by John Beifuss, August 8th, 1997
Elvis pervades today’s popular films
Elvis made 33 movies during his lifetime, from Love Me Tender (1956) to Elvis on Tour (1972).
But death hasn’t stopped the King from making his presence known in the nation’s movie theaters.
If anything, the Grim Reaper has boosted Elvis’s movie career as well as his record sales. Presley, in fact, […]