Elvis Presley, The King of Rock'n'Roll

It was a Tuesday, summer's night,
A lovely evening, warm and bright,
The TV news, it brought a chill,
Of shock and horror, time stood still.

How I recall my mother's tears,
And my confusion, childish fears,
I couldn't believe how much she cried,
Because some foreign man had died.

At home in Graceland, far away,
The King had died, that very day,
The world it mourned, so much was lost,
One man had died, at so much cost.

He was a man of special fame,
The crown of music, he did claim,
I learned fast, I learned well,
I heard the tales my mum did tell.

I heard the music, felt the beat,
I knew it was a special treat,
To hear his voice, to hear him sing,
Was bliss itself, a special thing.

I'd found a hero, become a fan,
Of this unique and special man,
Now thirty years have come and gone,
The King is Dead, The King Lives On!

Copyright, Gordon Hamilton 2007

The poem above accurately conveys to some extent my experiences of that fateful day. I was only eight years old at the time but I vividly remember the newsreader on the BBC, Robert Dougal, announcing to Great Britain that The King was dead. I also recall my mother's reaction.

It is to my great chagrin that this is the first time I recall hearing the name Elvis Presley. I know that I must have heard him singing prior to that, and seen many of his movies, my mother being such a fan, but I suppose that at the age I was, I had much more "important" things on my mind. It was therefore only following his death that I consciously began to discover the details of the remarkable life and works of this great man and truly become a fan...

It is not my intention via the content of this site to list lengthy facts and statistics regarding Elvis' life and achievements. That has been done by thousands of other people, in many different ways and in many different mediums. The whole point of this production is to celebrate and be grateful for the music and to let it speak for itself. So let's begin our journey back in happier, livelier times...

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has left the building...