June 14, 2002

The other face of Elvis: On eve of Lincoln show, Elvis friend and Jordainaire talks
   about the man he called friend - By L. Kent Wolgamott (The Lincoln Journal Star)

On June 20, 1977, Elvis Presley played Pershing Auditorium, looking, to use the words of a Lincoln Star reviewer, like "the angel Gabriel in white gold raiment, touching the outstretched hands of those who were screaming his name" when he hit the stage.


More than 7,500 people attended the concert, which was recorded by RCA, Presley's record label, and by CBS-TV for a television special.
Presley had performed in front of 10,604 fans at Omaha's Civic Auditorium the previous night, then came to Lincoln, staying at the Hilton Hotel (now the downtown Holiday Inn), where his entourage took up six floors and the windows in his room were blacked out with aluminum foil.

After another six shows, Presley's tour ended and he returned home to Memphis. He never gave another concert.

On Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis Aron Presley died in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion.The official cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia.He was 42.

Presley's death will be commemorated later this summer with various observances and RCA's release of a new package of records. But promoter Ron Kurtz has come up with another way to look back at what happened a quarter-century ago.

"The 3 Faces of Elvis" tour is revisiting the final stops on Presley's last tour, playing each of the cities on the anniversary of his performances there. It will be at Pershing Auditorium on Thursday night, 25 years to the day after Elvis left the building.

The Jordanaires, the legendary gospel group that backed Presley on tours in the '50s and on records in the '50s and '60s, weren't on the 1977 tour.

"We're glad we didn't do those tours," said bass singer Ray Walker. "They were brutal."

But they will be at Pershing Thursday, adding authenticity to the concert that will feature three Elvis imitators playing Presley at the prime stages in his career. Those imitators are Jamie Aaron Kelley as the young rockabilly Elvis, Rick Alviti as Elvis in the movie years and Raymond Michael portraying him during his return to live performance in Las Vegas.

Walker, 68, has been a member of the Jordanaires for 45 years. A minister as well as a singer, Walker just might be the most recorded voice in history. The Jordanaires are recognized as the most recorded group in history, appearing on literally thousands of songs.Add in Walker's solo work, and there are those who believe his is the most recorded voice ever.

Last week, Walker spent an hour on the phone from his Nashville townhouse talking about Presley, a man he called his friend.

But the young religious singer wasn't sure what to think when he initially met Presley, who had been demonized by preachers and sold like soap by manager "Col." Tom Parker.

"The first time I walked up to him and shook hands, all the commericialism and controversy dropped away," Walker said. "This was a genuine person. I thought, `My, you're going to have trouble in this business.' He was a real person. He gave you his full attention. He was the kindest, quietest, most courteous person you ever met in your life."

As a Presley intimate, Walker saw a different side of the rising young star than did the public, including the pain caused by the critics who called rock `n' roll the devil's music and tabbed Elvis as the worst offender of the bunch for his hip-shaking moves and undeniable sexually charged charisma.

"When he was having all that trouble, when the preachers were railing against him, he cried like a baby,"Walker said. "He was brought up strict. He never did a vulgar move -- the imitators do vulgar moves, but he never did. He was in motion all the time, but it was like from the top of his head down to his feet cracking a whip. He was active.He was never repulsive. When they said that, it hurt him. He cried like a baby. He'd sit there and cry."

But the criticism didn't have much effect when Elvis went into the studio to make records in the '50s and '60s.

"Elvis was the first one to put a group with bop-bops and stuff like that on a commercial record that didn't require a chorus. He came up with that,"Walker said. "When we'd get together, he'd sing spirituals and gospel for hours, just warming up. If we were doing a recording session, he'd sing and sing those until he was ready to do what he was there to do."

That, of course, fit perfectly with The Jordanaires, now a Grammy-winning gospel quartet that has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Many of those records became hits, and, in combination with the TV appearances and live shows, Elvis became the pointman in the rock `n' roll revolution that forever changed pop music.

"He knew he was causing commotion, but it was like that's what he did,"Walker said. "He didn't talk about it. It took him awhile to understand it."

Even for those who were close to him, Presley still had undeniable charisma, Walker said.

That presence translated to the movie screen, where Elvis cranked out 17 films from 1956 to 1969.The movie years, which essentially began when he was discharged from the Army in early 1960, are seen by many critics as a waste of his talent.

Understandably, Walker disagrees with that assessement.

"The first 15 years were really good years,"Walker said. "He was healthy and having a good time.We did most of his great songs then."

By 1969, Presley had tired of the Hollywood shuffle and, encouraged by the reception of his 1968 NBC-TV "comeback" special, took a monthlong engagement at the International Hotel in LasVegas. The next year, he returned to the International, then hit the road for the first time since 1957.

However, Presley went back on the road too late to save himself from a long decline. Frustrated by Parker's management, which kept him in the United States and turned down movie roles such as the remake of "A Star Is Born," Presley confided in Walker.

"In 1970, he said to me, `What's the use? I've done all I'm able to do,'"Walker said. "He started down right then.The Colonel built something and pulled it down."

Elvis wasn't just troubled by his career. He didn't much care for the title he was given by fans and the media, Walker said.

"He didn't like being called `The King,' " Walker said. "The `king of rock `n' roll' was one thing, but not `The King.' He said one time, `There's only one king, and that's Jesus Christ.' He'd be appalled by the Church of Elvis. He knew who he was. He wasn't fooled."

That take on Presley runs counter to the popular perception that he was prescription drug-addled, self-deluded and extremely isolated in his final years.

That perception was heightened shortly after Presley's death when members of his entourage released the book "Elvis: What Happened?"

In that book, Red West, one of the authors, recounts a trip in Elvis' Rolls-Royce from Los Angeles to Memphis. Somewhere in the western desert, Presley told the other passengers to get out of the car and look at the clouds, that they would see something meaningful there.

West interpreted that to mean that Presley thought he could control the universe.

Walker has a far different reading on the story. "I asked Red, `Did you ever think he was in an air-conditioned car and you idiots were standing out in the desert in the hot sun?' " Walker said. "He (Elvis) was a real jokester.He'd walk 100 miles to pull a prank. He was very simple. He tried very hard to have a simple life. With all the folderol around him, he couldn't do it."

It was Elvis' simplicity and relative innocence that led to his untimely death, Walker said.

"That's why he couldn't cope with the medicine, because he didn't think evil,"Walker said. "He was always a humanist. That's why he couldn't cope. He didn't care about money. Look at what he had left when he died.He spent it all on everybody else, and he didn't do it for show. If he'd have been mean, he'd be alive today."

So why, a quarter-century after his death, do we still care so much about Elvis and his music?

"I think it's the communication,"Walker said. "He's the best communicator in music I've ever seen. He'd put himself into everything he did better than anybody. He just put his whole spirit in it.That's what comes through in the music."

June 13, 2002

Dutch remix of forgotten Elvis Presley song expected to score a hit 25 years after his death
   By MARCEL VAN DE HOEF, Associated Press Writer  - June 13, 2002

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Elvis Presley is expected to score a posthumous hit with a Dutch remix of the forgotten song "A Little Less Conversation," a quarter century after his death.

Dutch musician Tom Holkenburg, known in Europe as the deejay of the techno-group Junkie XL, remixed the 1968 Elvis song for a Nike television commercial for the World Cup soccer tournament underway in Japan and Korea. Although a contemporary remix, it leaves the distinctive vocals of the rock'n roll legend intact.

Available under the title "Elvis vs. JXL - A Little Less Conversation," it is the first remix of an Elvis song.

The single, which was released throughout Europe on June 10, was likely to enter the charts at number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It sold more than 67,000 copies in Britain the first day, more than the total sales of last week's number one on the British charts, "Light My Fire" by Will Young.

"It's quite amazing. We have been outselling the nearest competition almost three to one so far," said Adam Bradley, the marketing manager for record company BMG, reached Thursday by telephone in London.

The single will be released in the United States on June 25. "Our people in America are confident they will also have a number one with this," Bradley said.

Figures for sales in the Netherlands or elsewhere in Europe were unavailable.

A top selling hit would return Elvis to the Guinness Book of Records as the artist with the most number-one recordings in England, breaking the long-running tie with The Beatles with 17 apiece. "We can be making history here," Bradley said.

Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42. "A Little Less Conversation" was written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange for the 1968 movie "Live a Little, Love a Little." In the United States, the song was used as the B-side for the single "Almost In Love."

The original song was also on the soundtrack of the 2001 movie "Ocean's Eleven" by Steven Soderbergh.

The remix was approved for the Nike ad by the Elvis estate, although Junkie XL was asked to change its name to JXL to avoid a reference to drugs. "They were delighted with the song," said Bradley.

Elvis' voice remains unchanged on the track, but the rhythm is faster and the track begins with a one-minute upbeat instrumental.

Its success didn't come as a surprise to Bradley.

"It's Elvis Presley. It's made contemporary. It captures the new generation of music fans," he said.

Junkie XL is known for a fusion of rock and dance music in songs like "Billy Club," "Saturday Teen-age Kick," and "Zerotonine" — all released in the late 1990s.

The album "Saturday Teen-age Kick" sold more than 200,000 CDs worldwide. In 1998, Junkie XL went on tour in Germany accompanying The Prodigy of Britain

June 13, 2002

Elvis Poised to Hit No. 1 in UK with Remix
   By Steve Gorman - June 12, 2002

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The king is back. Elvis Presley, who has battled the Beatles for the most No. 1 hits on the UK charts, is poised to grab the crown with a new version of an obscure tune that barely charted when it first came out 34 years ago, RCA officials said on Wednesday.

A dance remix of "A Little Less Conversation," which Presley performed in his 1968 film "Live a Little, Love a Little," has been drawing brisk sales and heavy radio airplay in Britain since it was released there as a single on Monday.

The recording is expected to top the British singles charts next week, breaking the long-running tie between Presley and the Beatles for the most No. 1 hits in the United Kingdom, which currently stands at 17 apiece, an RCA spokesman said.

The original version of the song reached No. 69 on the U.S. singles charts in 1968 and failed to chart at all in Britain.

But the record books will contain an asterisk, as the new recording takes some liberties with the song as it was originally performed by the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

The updated version of "A Little Less Conversation" adds a minute-long electronic introduction, surrounds Presley's vocals with new rhythms and beats and extends the song with dance loops and techno tracks.

"If you hear the first minute of the song, you would have no idea that it's Elvis. It sounds like a techno song," said RCA general manager Richard Sanders. "And when you hear his voice kick in, it's like, 'Oh, my, that's Elvis!' "

Sanders said it marks the first contemporary remix of Presley's music allowed by RCA, a unit of Bertelsmann AG's BMG. RCA owns rights to the original master recordings of Presley's entire catalog, a spokesman said.

The six-minute-plus recording is the work of popular Amsterdam-based DJ and producer JXL. He was licensed by RCA and Elvis Presley Enterprises to remix the song for the soundtrack to Nike's $90 million worldwide ad campaign tied to the World Cup soccer tournament.

The full-length remix, a three-minute version edited for radio and the original version of the song are all contained on the single, which is due for release in the United States on June 25.

The original song also appeared last year on the soundtrack to the hit movie "Ocean's Eleven," which starred George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Presley is likely to return to the charts again this fall when RCA releases a one-CD collection of 30 of his No. 1 hits to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death. That album, titled "ELV1S 30 # 1 Hits" is due out September 24 in the U.S.

June 11, 2002

ELVIS - BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES!
   (NME) June 10, 2002

ELVIS PRESLEY could be about to rewrite the record books with the release of a forgotten track - 25 years after his death.

'A Little Less Conversation', released today (June 10), could take the King's tally of number ones to 18, stepping ahead of The Beatles, with whom he has been tied on 17 for years.

The track has exploded in popularity since being used on a Nike television commercial - featuring some of the world's best current footballers, as well as former Manchester United talisman Eric Cantona. It had also appeared on the David Holmes-helmed soundtrack to Hollywood smash 'Ocean's Eleven' from earlier in the year.

The track has been remixed by Dutch DJ Junkie XL, who was forced by the Presley estate to become JXL on the sleeve as they were unhappy at the drug reference of his name.

The song first appeared in one of Elvis' 1960s movies and as the B-side to his 1968 single, 'Almost In Love', the BBC claim.

However, Elvis faces tough competition from Kylie Minogue, who launches another chart assault today with 'Love At First Sight'. He'll also have to see off the tough incumbent Will Young.

June 10, 2002

DJ aims to help Elvis topple Fab Four
   (Ananova) June 10, 2002

A Dutch DJ is worried he'll upset Beatles fans if his Elvis Presley remix goes to number one.

JXL's reworking of A Little Less Conversation is released today after featuring in Nike TV adverts.

If it tops the charts it means Elvis will have had a record-breaking 18 number ones.

That's one more than The Beatles.

The 34-year-old Amsterdam-based DJ and producer said: "It is weird to think that I could be responsible for Elvis making chart history. I hope I don't end up upsetting too many Beatles fans.

Junkie XL, real name Tom Holkenborg, says it's a great honour to be the first person to get Elvis's estate's official seal of approval.

"I can only guess why they have let me be the first person to officially remix an Elvis track. I think it could be because it is a pretty obscure track and I have left the original song intact. You have got to treat the voice of Elvis with respect," he said.

His Elvis remix faces competition from Kylie's new single Love At First Sight.

"I wasn't one of those boys who used to have a poster of Kylie on my bedroom wall but I have always been a big fan of hers. Can't Get You Out Of My Head is an amazing track and I'm still a huge fan," said Tom.

 June 10, 2002

Elvis could change chart history
   By Matt Shepherd (BBC News.UK) June 10, 2002


Elvis Presley could top the charts once again with the re-release of forgotten track A Little Less Conversation - 25 years after his death.

A remix version of the song is released on Monday and has built up strong appeal thanks to its use on an advert and in a recent movie.

But the Dutch DJ who helped create the new Presley single has been forced to change his name to satisfy the King's estate.

Dutch remixer Tom Holkenborg has dropped his normal alias, Junkie XL, to become just JXL because Elvis's relatives were unhappy about the reference to drugs.

Whatever the label credits, the new record is seen as likely to give Elvis a new number one and change chart history.

For decades Elvis and the Beatles have tied on 17 UK number ones each - but this could now change.

If the King does get to number one then he will be back in the Guiness Book Of Records as the artist with the most number ones.

But the King will face stiff competition from Kylie Minogue, who also releases her latest song on Monday.

The song first appeared in one of Elvis's 1960s movies and as the B-side to his 1968 single, Almost In Love.

It eventually appeared on a budget Elvis album in 1971 and was soon virtually forgotten by all but the die-hard Elvis fans.

A previously un-released version of A Little Less Conversation appeared on the soundtrack album for Ocean's 11, the recent remake of the rat pack classic.

It was this version that sport giants Nike decided to use in its massive advert campaign for the world cup.

The company then employed Tom Holkenborg, or DJ JXL, to remix the song after seeking permission from the Elvis Presley estate.
The estate, which protects and promotes Elvis' image and music surprised many by giving the all-clear for the song to be remixed.

Elvis fans the world over started to wonder how the song would go down with the pop buying public of today, given that Elvis died in 1977.

But Radio 1, despite its new music policy, placed the Elvis song on their top play-list weeks ago.

Record collectors have been rushing to bid on auction websites for promotion copies of the song, which is finally released on 10 June after weeks of airplay - and copies have been changing hands for Ł70.

June 10, 2002

The man and the myth – and the clash over same
   By George Varga POP MUSIC CRITIC - June 9, 2002
   (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

 
Elvis Presley continues to transcend time, place and the rock 'n' roll revolution he helped ignite in the 1950s.

"Of anybody who's ever played rock music, Elvis was by far the greatest talent," said Billy Corgan, the former Smashing Pumpkins leader.

"Elvis is my man," Paul McCartney said. "He was a big influence on The Beatles, and he just was great."

But not everyone holds Presley in high regard, as Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis is quick to note.

"To me, Elvis represented somebody who – because our country was not ready then to embrace the black artist and make them No. 1 – became No. 1 because of his rendition of what some black people sounded like," Marsalis said. "What made it distasteful is that we had people who could do it better than him, but who couldn't be accepted at that time because of the color of their skin."

Now, 25 years after Presley's death – on Aug. 16, – from years of bad living, the Southern-bred singer who scandalized the nation with his hip-swiveling stage moves, lip-curling sneer and smoldering sexuality remains a household name. Simultaneously heroic and tragic (he was just 42 when his heart gave out), an innovator and a cultural thief, his controversial mythology looms larger than ever.

So large, in fact, that VH1's recent concert special "Divas Las Vegas" (named after the 1964 Presley film "Viva Las Vegas") featured vintage Elvis hits performed by Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Cher and other vocalists.

So large that such superstars as U2's Bono and Bruce Springsteen regularly pay homage to Presley in their performances (though both clearly favor the first two years of his career, not his subsequent descent from roots-rocking fireball to middle-of-the-road Vegas crooner).

And so large that Eminem jeeringly compares himself to Presley on his new single, "Without Me," which finds the top-selling shock-rapper declaring: I'm not the first king of controversy / I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley / To do black music so selfishly / And use it to get myself wealthy.

Of course, Presley at his most threatening is a model of restraint and good taste compared to Eminem's dial-an-outrage shtick. But the Michigan rapper and the Mississippi rock icon share several traits.

Both grew up poor and worked dead-end jobs before finding their secular salvation in music. Both embraced and appropriated African-American culture. And both swiftly became targets of intense parental disapproval.

By doing so, Presley and Eminem became heroes to millions of young white listeners. Their fans eagerly latched on to a musical rebellion that seemed to threaten public morality and promised, however fleetingly, a way out of stifling middle-class conformity.

But Presley was an inadvertent revolutionary – an accidental pop-culture catalyst who made the raw blues and steamy R&B music of pioneering African-American artists safe for a mass white audience.

Similarly, where Eminem followed the commercial breakthroughs of such white rappers as the Beastie Boys and Vanilla Ice, Presley had no precursors. He was the first white rock star in the racially polarized era of segregation.

"Before Elvis," said Quincy Jones, the multiple Grammy-winning producer-performer, "white pop music was 'The Ballad of Davy Crockett' and 'How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?' Then Elvis came on (the Tommy-and Jimmy Dorsey-hosted CBS-TV show) 'Stage Time' in 1956, and they wouldn't shoot him below the waist because they still couldn't handle anybody shaking their (rear) – black or white. And the show got 8,000 letters about his performance.

"I could see it then," Jones continued. "I thought: 'Things are going to change because they've discovered how to emotionally feel music.' This had been happening with black music forever, but this was the first time young white kids did. It was amazing to watch."

Presley forever changed the face of the nation, and with it international pop culture. That's why this year's San Diego County Fair (formerly the Del Mar Fair) is an all-Presley-themed affair, which will open with a Grandstand Stage "concert" Saturday by the video-generated "King" and former members of his '70s band.

On June 25, RCA Records/BMG Heritage will release "Elvis: Today, Tomorrow & Forever," a four-CD, 100-song anthology featuring numerous alternate takes and concert recordings. Later in the year comes RCA/BMG's single CD release of 30 of Presley's No. 1 hits.

"I think you'll see the same thing that happened with the Beatles' '1' album, in that it will attract people who rarely or never bought an Elvis record before," said Ernst Mikael Jorgenson, who has been the producer of all Presley reissue albums since 1992 and co-wrote the book "Elvis: Day by Day" with Peter Guralnick.

"And people my age or older – I'm 51 – will go out and buy it, because they (like to) buy memories," Jorgenson continued. "Also, there's an element of success that creates more success. And I think Elvis has reached a level where he still attracts a lot of young people because he's Elvis. Like most great stories, it's a drama, maybe a tragedy, but a fascinating rags-to-riches story of real-life, and of losing it all."

Presley's legacy, like his American-Dream-gone-to-hell life, is as troubling as it is inspiring.

A galvanizing force for millions, he was an immensely gifted singer and stylistic synthesist who deftly fused blues, country, R&B, gospel and pop. He also had what Sun Records' honcho Sam Phillips (who signed the 19-year-old Presley to his first contract in 1954) had long been seeking: "a white man with the Negro sound and the Negro feel."

Presley would never again match the searing impact of his records and concerts between March 1956 (when "Heartbreak Hotel" became his first national chart-topper) and March 1958 (when he entered the Army).

Moreover, he owed a profound debt to the many African-American bluesmen, R&B shouters and songwriters who penned or first recorded many of Presley's earliest and greatest works.

His first Sun release, "That's Alright Mama," was written and first recorded by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, who also wrote such Presley songs as "So Glad You're Mine" and "My Baby Left Me." Then there was Little Junior Parker's "Mystery Train"; Kokomo Arnold's "Milk Cow Boogie Blues"; Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight"; Arthur Gunter's "Baby Let's Play House"; and Smiley Lewis' sizzling "One Night (of Sin)," which Presley and his producers toned down as "One Night With You."

Otis Blackwell, who died last month, composed some of Presley's most transcendent works, including "All Shook Up," "Return to Sender" and "Don't Be Cruel." Presley's recordings were almost identical to how Blackwell sang them on the demonstration recordings. And in agreeing to let Presley record his songs, Blackwell had to split the writer's credit with Presley, who didn't write any of the songs he recorded, yet received a disproportionate share of their profits.

But Presley never publicly credited Blackwell. Nor did he acknowledge the enormous debt he owed to African-American music in general – or to Matt "Guitar" Murphy and North County resident Ike Turner, whom the teen-aged Presley avidly watched at various Memphis nightclubs – and soon copied.

To hold Presley partially responsible for the nation's racial climate in the 1950s is no more fair than to blame his dictatorial manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, for the spate of wretched movies Presley starred in the next decade.

To appreciate his historic musical and social impact without acknowledging the African-American artists who paved the way, however, perpetuates a sad legacy that even an icon like Elvis Presley can't transcend.

"Elvis the Concert" - June 15, 2002 - 7:30 p.m. Saturday - Grandstand Stage, San Diego
   County Fair, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar Fairgrounds
   $69 (with dinner); $28.50 (show only)

June 9, 2002

If I can dream of a better... museum
   (The San Diego Union-Tribune - June 9, 2002)


In Las Vegas, Presley still performs – via impersonators in various revues. At the Elvis-A-Rama Museum and Gift Shop (at 3401 Industrial Road), exhibits include his 1955 concert tour limo, his personal 16-foot speedboat, clothing (there's the peacock jumpsuit and his Army fatigues) and jewelry. Now in its third year, Elvis-A-Rama is the brainstorm of Chris and Dawnette Davidson.

According to Dawnette, her husband became "Elvis crazy" at age 10, when he saw Elvis in performance at the Las Vegas Hilton. He went on to amass a growing collection of Presley memorabilia – which is viewed by 60,000 to 100,000 visitors annually.

On Aug. 16, some local radio stations will broadcast from the Elvis-A-Rama parking lot. "And we are planning an Elvis parade," says Dawnette. Befitting a city where there are hundreds of Presley wannabes, the parade is expected to showcase "anyone who dresses up as Elvis."

Sleep with the King

The latest in home decor: Elvis-inspired furniture for the bedroom. Among the signature pieces from the Galax, Va.-based Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co.: the "Love Me Tender" bed and a heart-shaped "Burning Love" mirror.

That and 25 cents will get ya ...

For those in search of a less bulky souvenir, the International Collectors Society is offering 2002 Tennessee state quarters, with a color image of Elvis Presley in place of stodgy George Washington.

Follow that dream

One hundred unreleased recordings – alternate takes of earlier released songs – fill a new four CD/cassette boxed set. From RCA Records/BMG Heritage, "Elvis: Today, Tomorrow & Forever," will span Presley's entire career. The worldwide release date is June 25. And later in the year, RCA/BMG will release "Elvis No. 1's," comprised of 30 chart-toppers.

Big things from little shacks grow

Lest anyone forget where the Elvis saga began, Tupelo, Miss., will hold a special ceremony on Aug. 9 to dedicate a bronze statue entitled "Elvis at 13." (That's how old Presley was when he and his family left Tupelo for Memphis.) "We're expecting a crowd of well over 1,000, including tour groups from the United Kingdom," reports Linda Elliff, director of sales for the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Presley's birthplace – a small, two-room shack – and the adjacent Elvis Presley Center annually draw 50,000 to 60,000 visitors. Most of whom go on to visit the still-rustic Tupelo Hardware, where Elvis' mother, Gladys, bought her son his first guitar.

And for true Presley devotees, a trip to Johnnie's Drive-In is essential. "It was built in the late '30s, and hasn't changed all that much since," said Elliff. "Elvis used to eat burgers there."

June 08, 2002

Elvis Monopoly

Elvis 25th Anniversary Monopoly Game

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This completely customized game features original photographs, movie posters, album and single covers and a host of other rarities. Comes complete with 6 custom pewter tokens: guitar, leather jacket, convertible, vintage record player, teddy bear and Elvis’ sunglasses.

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