I often joke with people who are fanatics about Elvis music, telling them that yeah, I saw Elvis Presley once — he sat between me and Bigfoot on the UFO I was abducted on. Today, well not quite since I'm more than 12 hours ahead of his birthplace here in the Philippines, would have been Elvis Presley's 74th birthday. I guess it's fitting since this will probably be the first and the last time I write about Elvis.
Elvis Presley Music
My mother, who's a mere two years older than Elvis would have been, is a big Elvis fan. Back when we lived in Hawaii (1974-1977), she listed to Elvis' music all the time. The day it was announced that he had died, a local radio station played Elvis Presley music for 24 hours straight. We were camped out a Koloa beach on Kauai at the time and I remember my mother reading one of her romance novels and listing to Elvis' music at the same time.
I don't know if I accidentally met Elvis while we were living on Kauai. I was at the Kauai Surf Hotel once (and I don't remember why) and someone came through that looked a lot like Elvis. Of course, I actually saw Brian Keith at that hotel once, of that I'm sure. Did Elvis impersonators exist back then? Somehow I doubt it. Of course, I bumped into a lot of Elvis impersonators when I was stationed in North Carolina in the late eighties. I think they grow them there.
Of all the singers that have ever existed, there are only a very few that I can imitate while performing with karaoke machines or specialty microphones. Elvis Presley is one of them. I always get applauded when I sing "Suspicious Minds" or "It's Now or Never".
Elvis Presley Movies
Elvis made a slew of movies during his short lifetime. One a couple of them were non-musicals. I really think I've seen them all, but I'm not going to list them here. You can visit IMDB.com to get that information.
Besides all the Elvis sightings that have been reported by the general public, some tongue-in-cheek like mine, Elvis sightings even in exist in other movies. Take "The Frighteners" of 1996, for example. One character exclaimed "He's alive!" as a statuette of Elvis flew around the room during a Poltergeist experience.
The most amazing thing about Elvis Presley is that his music is STILL being listened to today, more than 30 years after his death. That speaks volumes about the lasting impression he made on millions of listeners. I can't count how many movie and TV soundtracks have used one or more of his songs over the past 30 years. I think it would be an exercise in futility.
On this, the 74th anniversary of his birth, when I think of Elvis Presley, I think of my mother. She'll be 76 in a couple of months and she's not in the best of health, but she's still kicking and listening to Elvis' music.
