100 REASONS WHY ELVIS IS STILL KING
1. "Elvis Has Left the Building" turns up 823 hits on
Google.com.
2. Sideburns.
3.
Disney's new animated cartoon, "Lilo and Stitch," will feature five classic
Elvis tunes and a new version of "Burning Love" by Wynonna.
4. Las Vegas.
5. El Vez, "the Latin
Elvis," whose discography includes "Graciasland" and "Misery Tren."
6. The official Elvis site carries a 24-hour "GracelandCam" with live shots of the
mansion, as if the "the King" himself might walk outside any minute.
7. British TV chef Nigella Lawson featured Elvis's fried
peanut butter and banana sandwiches on her program "Nigella Bites."
8. Just last month, a Florida company was granted rights by
a division of Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis to use Elvis's image on its
cellular phone face plates.
9. The list of countries
that have issued an Elvis postage stamp now includes the Central African
Republic, St. Vincent and the Malagasy Republic.
10.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sang "I Can't Help Falling in Love
With You" at a recent dinner in Australia and proclaimed it his favorite song.
11. More than 600,000 people go to Graceland every year,
making it second only to the White House as a tourist draw. More than half of
the visitors are under the age of 35.
12. Priscilla
Presley, who remade herself into a successful actress and is said to be looking
to produce a Broadway play.
13. A book called "The
Inventory of the Estate of Elvis A. Presley" is currently in its second edition.
Amazon.com has only three copies left; more are on the way.
14. Documentary film "Schmelvis: Searching for the King's
Jewish Roots," will debut on the Bravo cable network June 18.
15. The number of officially registered Elvis impersonators
in the United States is up to 35,000.
16. Ann-Margret.
17. The "Elvis Presley 6 Figure Series 1: Aloha from
Hawaii," by X Toys.
18. Mike Powell, an Elvis
impersonator from Texas, recent started a "support page" for Elvis impersonators
on the Internet to "provide links to manufacturers of Elvis jumpsuits and
accessories."
19. Gyrating hips.
20. A Virginia furniture manufacturer is releasing The Elvis
Presley Collection that includes large "Love Me Tender" bed and the "Burning
Love" heart-shaped mirror.
21. At the Graceland Wedding
Chapel in Las Vegas, weddings cost $55 to $225, but having an Elvis impersonator
officiate will cost $495.
22. A Texas A & M
professor has written "The Tao of Elvis," described as "the first attempt to
illustrate Elvis's Taoist nature and interpret his never-ending search for
purpose and meaning."
23. Today marks the release of the
CD "Karaoke: Songs Made Famous By Elvis Presley."
24.
The book, "Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis' Favorite Recipes," features detailed
instructions for recreating Elvis and Priscilla's wedding cake.
25. "Suspicious Minds," his last No. 1 single.
26. The sneer.
27. The pine oaks in
front of Graceland are featured in the book, "America's Famous and Historic
Trees."
28. Elvis' motorcycle collection is a major
pilgrimage for members of the Hells Angels.
29. The
National Archives has more than 9 million photographs. The one of President
Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis in December 1970 is still by the far the
most requested reprint.
30. Hate-rapper Eminem feels its
necessary to lash out at Elvis fans on his new CD.
31.
U2 - spiritual descendants.
32. Bill Clinton's Secret
Service code name: Elvis. When he played the sax on "The Arsenio Hall Show," the
song was "Heartbreak Hotel."
33. "Be Elvis! A Guide to
Impersonating the King" by Rick Marino, Adam Woog - only two copies left on
Amazon.com; more on the way.
34. Shoppers on AandE.com
can buy a genuine piece of Elvis' hair that was clipped and saved by his barber,
Fred Stoll, in 1970. The price: $695.
35. Girlfriend
June Juanico, Elvis' date back in 1955, is still out there talking
about it to anyone who will listen. She insists they never did "the wild thing."
36. Cybill Shepherd is still talking about her date with
Elvis in Memphis back in 1972. She said: "He was gorgeous then, and I didn't
look so bad either."
37. Lisa Marie Presley, who managed
to put a new twist on her dad's rebelliousness and spirituality by marrying
Michael Jackson, quite briefly, and joining the Church of Scientology.
38. More than 600 pages of Elvis' FBI file are on the
Internet. Most of the papers concern extortion plots against "The King" and his
bizarre contacts with Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover.
39.
Among the 425 books about Elvis on Amazon are several cookbooks and "Christmas
with Elvis."
40. The Flintstones in "Viva Rock Vegas."
41. VH1's "100 Greatest Rock & Roll Moments on TV"
special lists Elvis's 1968 comeback special as No. 2. (The Beatles on "The Ed
Sullivan Show" was No. 1.)
42. The cellblock performance
clip from "Jailhouse Rock."
43. "Blue Hawaii" on
late-night cable TV.
44. The ElvisPresleyNews.com from Australia" Web site.
45. In the current voting for the United Kingdom's favorite
No. 1 song of all-time, "Jailhouse Rock" is No. 9.
46.
The closing riff on 1972's "Burning Love" - "I said a hunka hunka burning love!"
47. Radio Two, the most popular radio station in
Belgium, recently announced plans to play nothing but Elvis records for 24 hours
on Aug. 15.
48. "Blue Christmas."
49. A new musical "jukebox" program for Palm handheld
devices has just been released. Its name: "Elvis."
50.
Emergency patients at Regional Medical Center in Memphis are sent to the Elvis
Presley Memorial Trauma Center.
51. "Tervetuloa Suomen
Elis-kerho" - The Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Finland.
52, Also on the Web, "The First Church of Jesus Christ,
Elvis."
53. The Elvis fan club of Ireland has raised
more than $200,000 for various charities. Its other stated mission is "Keeping
the name of 'Elvis Presley' in the public domain."
54. A
lengthy article was recently posted on the Internet regarding this question:
"Was Elvis Presley Welsh?"
55. "You ain't never caught a
rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine."
56. After all
these years, Elvis still holds the record for most chart singles, most Top 10
singles and most weeks at No. 1. Only the Beatles had more No. 1 hits.
57. Kurt
Russell's movie debut, at age
10, was kicking Elvis in the shin in "It Happened at the World's Fair."
58. From a recent posting on the "Elvis Tales" Web site: "I
am from Iran. I just want to take time to say that Elvis is a God in my country
and one of the main reasons that I came to America."
59.
The world "Elvis" is an anagram for "lives."
60. Even
Ivy-League Princeton University has an Elvis Web site, called "Pelvis."
61. David Letterman did a Top 10 list of "Things Elvis Would
Say if He Came Back Today." No. 10: "I've been dead for 20 years, and I still
look better than Keith Richards." 62. The Flying Elvi, the 10-member skydiving
team featured in "Honeymoon in Vegas," is still available for hire.
63. The B-sides.
64. Last month, the
University of Arkansas Press released "All Shook Up: Collected Poems about
Elvis" which included works by Joyce Carol Oates, Charles Bukowski, and others.
65. Bob Meyer is the founder of a group called Americans
for Cloning Elvis. Thousands of people have signed his online petition.
66. Elvis Costello.
67. The opening
chant of "Blue Suede Shoes."
68 Rhinestones.
69. The "Aloha from Hawaii" special on DVD.
70. "The Elvis Presley Scholarship Fund" at the University
of Memphis.
71. Shooting out the TV set.
72. The "ugh!" between "I'm in love" and "I'm all shook up."
73. A new product line of "Elvis-style seasonings"
includes Jailhouse Rock (BBQ), King Creole (Cajun) and the all-purpose "G.I.
Blues."
74. The Sun Studios.
75.
Libertyland, the Memphis amusement park that Elvis used to rent out late at
night for his friends. You can still go on his favorite ride, the Zippin Pippin.
76. Bruce Springsteen jumping the fence at Graceland.
77. The Overton Park Shell in Memphis, where Elvis first
performed.
78. The opening two notes of "Jailhouse
Rock."
79. The talking part of "Are You Lonesome
Tonight?"
80. The Grammy-winning gospel recordings.
81. The movie "2000 Miles from Graceland" - proof that
Hollywood will green-light anything if it involves Elvis.
82. The Jordanaires.
83. "The
Memphis Mafia," the role model for posses everywhere.
84. The Tennessee Karate Institute, where Elvis worked out,
will be the site of a memorial tournament on Aug. 17.
85. "That's Alright Mama," his first 45, and possibly still
the best.
86. "In the Ghetto" - Elvis' plea for racial
understanding and harmony.
87. Col. Tom Parker, his
manager. No fiction writer could invent a character like that.
88. The Loudermilk Boarding House in Cornelia, Ga., has more
than 30,000 pieces of Elvis memorabilia. One of them is the "Maybe Elvis
Toenail" that the owner picked up on a tour of Graceland.
89. "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong."
90. Erin Brockovich has a life-sized Elvis statue inside her
front door.
91. Andy Warhol's paintings of Elvis.
92. The Pennsylvania Lottery's Elvis instant game.
93. Sotheby's is auctioning a jukebox given by RCA Records
to Elvis containing 50 of his hit singles. It's expected to go for as much as
$60,000.
94. "Elvis Day by Day," a book that faithfully
reconstructs it all.
95. "American Trilogy" - now more
than ever.
96. Krispy Kreme doughnuts lists Elvis as "a
great fan."
97. Giving away Cadillacs to friends and
strangers - how cool is that?
98. Rock 'n' roll - which,
like Elvis, can never die.
99. 25 years after his death,
he still sells copies of the Daily News.
100. Thank you,
thank you very much !