I’m planning for the 50th already, I know prices are astronomical. We’re saving now. I want to be there for this sad milestone. What was the good, the bad, and the ugly? I was there in May/June so I know how awful the roads and our front of Graceland is sadly!
If you could share photos in the comments I’d love to see them!
So, I’m a tribute artist based around central Pennsylvania. My name is Christopher Raub. I’m not trying to get booked or anything on here, I would just like to put my name out there, man. I’m currently attempting to get into some nursing homes. My name is on the last photo, but again, I am Christopher Raub: “Almost Elvis”
I grew up in Memphis, close enough to the old Fairgrounds to hear the screams before you reached the gate. The Zippin Pippin is one of America's oldest wooden roller coasters, and it held the weight of millions who came before me, all clenching their jaws, pretending they had a choice in what came next.
Elvis knew something about needing a force stronger than himself.
By 1960 he belonged to the world. Every movement was seen, every exit blocked by screaming fans, always wanting what he could give, then wanting more. So he came in the night, when the world was sleeping, to feel the timber shake beneath him. From midnight until first light, the Memphis Fairgrounds became his escape from the trap of being Elvis.
The coaster's force demanded his whole body. He could not negotiate with the drops. He could not charm the timber. He sat in the front car and rode again and again, sometimes for hours, waiting for the release he trusted would come. For those few hours, there was no Elvis. He was only a body moving through air, accepting the track.
Eight days before he died, he returned to the rickety old coaster one last time. He was forty-two.
Here is a strange calendar coincidence: August 16, the day Elvis died, is also National Roller Coaster Day, because of an 1898 patent for a loop someone believed the body could survive. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence.
The Pippin stood alone in the weeds for years after the Fairgrounds closed, too beloved to tear down, too broken to ride. Then Green Bay, Wisconsin, of all places, took up its ancient bones and rebuilt them on the bay, where children who have never heard of Memphis, and maybe not Elvis either, raise their hands to the northern sky and let go.
I wrote the fuller reflection for my Sunday newsletter, if anyone wants it: https://substack.com/@thespiritualalmanac/p-210113456
Did he sense the end coming? Did he need the chain to haul him to the top one last time?
I celebrate the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, the greatest entertainer in history, with his favorite cigarillos. (Villiger). Rest in peace
The whole drawing thing started with the Elvis movie by Baz Luhrmann in 2022.
I've been an Elvis fan for most of my life, but after watching that film, something happened. I suddenly had this overwhelming need to draw him.
My first attempt was… let's just say very far from where I wanted it to be. 😂
But instead of giving up, I thought: I want to get good at drawing Elvis.
And that's how it all began. A continuing and loving dedication to my favorite two music icons.
For almost two years, I drew almost every single day. Even if only for 15 or 30 minutes. Elvis was everywhere with me—in every possible medium, on every piece of paper I could find. I studied other artists, tried different techniques, used grids, traced, erased, started again… anything that helped me understand those incredible features a little better.
Somewhere along the way, Axl joined Elvis as my other great rock obsession. ❤️🎸
Then at some point as for every person I believe life got in the way. Work, home, family… and gradually, drawing became something I did less and less. Unwillingly. And I was missing it. So much each long break from drawing.
And after a long break, it's surprisingly difficult to pick up the pencil again. You wonder if you still have it. You worry that the first thing you draw will be terrible.
But yesterday I picked up my pencil anyway. I sketched on paper and will be continuing this little Elvis tribute in Procreate. It's still a work in progress, but maybe that's exactly the point.
After all, this is where it all started for me.
One Elvis drawing. One stubborn decision to try again. And then another. And another. ❤️
Today I sketched another one.
For Elvis. For the music. For the inspiration. And for the artist he somehow helped awaken in me.
I'll share the finished piece when it's done. 🩵
#ElvisPresley #Elvis #ElvisArt #ElvisFanArt #ElvisFans #ElvisTribute #KingOfRockAndRoll #DigitalArt #ProcreateArt #WorkInProgress #FanArt #ArtJourney
This happened while Michael was staying at Grouse Lodge in Ireland in the summer of 2006, about a decade after he and Lisa had divorced.
Paddy Dunning had previously owned Dublin's Wax Museum and had retired an old Elvis figure to the woods near Coolatore. Apparently Michael unexpectedly came across it while out walking and came back shaken, telling Paddy, “I just met my father-in-law in the woods!” 😂
I found both Paddy telling the story himself in a YouTube video and a Guardian article recounting it. The fact that the Elvis figure was apparently just lying out there makes this so much funnier.
Just enjoying the eclipse with the King on 🎵
I ask because I downloaded from Qobuz the FLAC album. I know it has two extra songs, but the first 12 ones are the original tracklist. The thing is that some of them are clearly live recorded (or at least you can hear fans clapping and cheering), like in I Just Can't Help Believing, I've Lost You and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
I didn't find useful info on Discogs, and Wikipedia says that the album featured studio recordings. So what I bought is some kind of alternative edition of the album or where the songs like that in the original too?
Thank you in advance for any help!
I’m in Japan and recently bought an Elvis Presley Such a Night record, catalog number RA-5261. There is a large autograph on the back of the sleeve. Is there any chance it could actually be Elvis Presley’s signature?
The ink genuinely looks very old, and I found the record by chance on a dusty shelf in an old record shop.
I’d really appreciate any help from collectors, Elvis autograph experts, or anyone experienced with authenticating Elvis Presley signatures. Does this autograph look familiar to you? Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Congratulations to Finley Watkins on winning the title tonight. Not only was he the youngest eta to ever complete and place, he’s now the youngest to win. Thats so cool for the next generation of Elvis fans! Happy Elvis week, yall 💕⚡️💕
Hello Elvis fans...
I finally got around to recording and making videos of the Elvis Tribute Radio Show and posting on YT for your enjoyment. It's in two-parts with the links below. Let me know how you like them. Each part is about 25 minutes and I included the commercials.
https://youtu.be/5tBhcWlEHh4?is=ndyMi0hZERtakyt3
https://youtu.be/Mykzlw1-wNM?is=pwenbK2T4B47pYEg
Here is a link to my original post from two weeks ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Elvis/comments/1v6jq0u/anybody_ever_seen_or_heard_this_elvis_radio_show/