Happy 76th, Elvis!

Yes, the King would be/is 76 today. You might be thinking, thank God he died when he did, if for no other reason than to spare us all the sight of him performing at a Super Bowl halftime these last few years. But he couldn't have been worse than The Who last year.

It's hard to believe, but the live Elvis was in the public consciousness for a mere 23 years; the dead Elvis has been around for 33. Compare that to the nearly fifty years Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan have been breathing in the public eye. 

I've read a lot about Elvis (there's no greater yin-yang reading experience than Peter Guralnick's two volume bio--vol. one, Last Train to Memphis, is one of the happiest, most joyous reads there is; vol. two, Careless Love, one of the most depressing; and Dead Elvis by Greil Marcus is pretty amazing, though in need of an update), but to me the best Elvis writing is still "Where Were You When Elvis Died?" the obituary by Lester Bangs. Five pages of amazing writing. And thirty-three years later you still can't argue with this line: "We will never agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis."

Here are a couple of interesting Elvis tributes to listen to while you celebrate the day. One from a would-be Memphis crypto-legend and another from God knows who.

I Wish I Could Meet Elvis--Alex Chilton by spitoutyourgumblog

Candy Bars For Elvis--Barry Tiffin by spitoutyourgumblog