Back on Aug. 16, I wrote this:
Next Jan. 8 will mark the day when Elvis would have turned 70. I hope I remember to say, "thanks, King. Happy birthday and rest in peace."
So happy birthday! And rest in peace.
To my mind, the film Bubba Ho Tep provides the definitive story of what an elderly Elvis might have been like had he lived (rent it, it's great fun!).
The BBC has a story up on how Elvis might have looked today. An excerpt:
Elvis image rolls clock forward | |
Scientists have created an image of how Elvis Presley might have looked if he had rocked all the way to 70. The computer generated portrait has been produced by psychologists and computer scientists at the University of St Andrews' Perception Lab. The legendary singer died aged 42 in 1977, but had he lived he would have been 70 on Saturday. The re-release of the King's hit Jailhouse Rock is set to top the UK singles chart on Sunday. The elderly image was produced by software which replicates the effects of aging on skin texture, hairline and hair colour. |
How Elvis Presley might have aged (Image Dr B Tiddeman, Perception Lab, University of St AndrewsFor straightforward news coverage about the celebrations at Graceland, read this AP story via CTV.ca.
In Bad Nauheim, Germany, where Elvis was stationed with the U.S. Army for two years in the late 1950s, there was another celebration. The AP version is available via the NYT.
This quote amused me. It's from a town tourism official:
``Out of more than 100 spa towns in Germany, we are the only one that can claim a 20th-century artist resided here. Many of them have connections to Mozart, Beethoven or Brahms, but only we have Elvis.''
The headline on the Memphis Commercial Appeal was A hunka-hunka burning birthday (reg. req'd). It's a pain in the ass to register to look at one story, but I liked this one.
The paper asked seven local artists to imagine Elvis at 70.
Here's my favourite response:
Artist Shane McDermott, a student at Memphis College of Art, also envisioned Elvis seeking a "normal life." McDermott, 27, was born in 1977, the year Elvis died. Instead of growing up with Elvis as an icon, McDermott says he thought of Elvis "as a regular guy from the get go."
In that vein, he saw Elvis escaping the trappings of fame and seeking the solace of anonymity. "He still maybe has lunch with Priscilla on occasion, but he's just sort of a regular Elvis that's happy with being a regular guy." Each time he pictured Elvis escaping, he saw him in a blue vest. Instead of leaving the building, Elvis is inviting others into a building with the phrase, "Welcome to Wal-Mart."
What better way to escape? asks McDermott. No one would believe their rock idol would become a Wal-Mart greeter. Customers assume you are "just a guy who looks like Elvis."
And here's what he came up with:
