8/15/2005

Long Live the King

Elvis Presley left the building for the final time 28 years ago today. His life is truly one of the most tragic in modern history. He was the original superstar. All others are imitations of the original. You can have your one name superstars, Madonna, Prince, etc. but none of them compare to Elvis. The two best books written on the man are by Peter Guralnik, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love. They are basically the rise and fall of Elvis Presley. Heartbreaking yet wonderful reads.

6 comments:

Charles North said...

You're right - Elvis rocks! I wish we had entertainment like that today (okay, besides Jessica Simpson).

Ryan said...

Elvis is the man.

Ray said...

Well, he's no Marilyn Manson, that's for sure! :-)

(Thank goodness)

Ryan said...

I don't know if Elvis evere repented of the life he led, but there are some accounts of him realizing how far he had fallen. Apparently he told one of his friends months before he died that he had made a terrible mess of his life.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ryan, late post on this, but you mention two great books that someone generously gave me long ago for a birthday gift :).

Talk about a tragic life...an exercise in the adage "money doesn't make you happy". Seemed like the definition of a nice guy who went with the flow and didn't have a foundation to resist the almost unique tempations that he faced.

Great music too, I also would've loved to see him perform.

Ryan said...

Me too brother!