August 16th 1977 Elvis Presley Died. He was the biggest star in the world and only 42 years old. Celebrities today that are 42 years old include Kim Kardashian, Channing Tatum, and Venus Williams.
For the generation before me they talk about where they were when they heard President Kennedy had died. My generation it was the King.
following his death, Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history.
Elvis has been dead longer than he was alive. His years of stardom started in 1956 with the release of Heartbreak Hotel. A few months earlier his dad (because you had to be 21 to sign the contract) signed Elvis to RCA records and they put him with the Jordanaires as a backup group. These 2 moves sent him from regional success to national to international with in a few more months. By September of 56 National Guardsman were being added to security for his concerts.
1957 he bought Graceland for $102,500. He was 21 and bought it for his mom and dad to live with him.
1958 he was drafted into the Army. He said it was while serving in Germany that another soldier introduced him to amphetamines. It helped his energy and weight issues he said. That began a drug addiction that ended his life 20 years later.
It all ended August 16th when his girlfriend Ginger Allen found him dead in the bathroom of the home he had bought 20 years earlier. He had married and divorced in that house. Had a child in that home. Buried his mom in the backyard of that home. Now he's buried there and his dad joined him there too.
Elvis was scheduled to start another leg of his tour the next day. August 17th he was to play Portland Maine. On August 21st my mom was so excited because he was coming to the Hartford Civic Center which was about 5 miles from our house. Would she have met her idol? We'll never know. RIP Elvis. Long live the King!