Regardless of our ages, we Memphians have had Elvis in our presence as long as we can remember.  I know folks with Elvis tattoos who weren’t even born in 1977, the year Elvis died.  Let’s face it, the boy from Tupelo will  live on forever in the hearts and minds of millions (maybe billions).  And that brings me to the annual August pilgrimage event Elvis Week,  or as many locals refer to it – Elvis Death Week.

Well, Jimmy Buffett does a fair job here, but if you want to see REAL fake Elvi (what is the plural of Elvis?), there will be hundreds around Graceland during Elvis week – a mind-boggling array of  sideburns, glasses and jeweled jumpsuits.  And Elvis “tribute artist” competitions. But mostly, its the pilgrims, fans from all over the world, converging to worship the king  and absorb the Elvis essence from August 10-16.

I think Gillian Welch captures some of the Elvis essence in this song.   Wikipedia features 6 pages of entries for the search “songs about Elvis”.   I will will be posting more about Elvis week.  See you there.