Tribute to the King
August 16, 2007
Peter Beines has not only fills his living room with a huge collection of Elvis posters and records -- one of which bears Elvis' original signature -- he's also the head of the largest German-language fan club devoted to the King.
"I've been an Elvis fan since 1974," the 44-year-old said from his Bonn apartment before leaving for the memorial in Graceland. "Back then I was 11 years old and found out about a concert he played in Las Vegas through a magazine article."
The amount of charisma that Elvis was able to get across in just a magazine photo impressed Beines so much that he began collecting Elvis records and clipping news articles about the King throughout his teenage years. The collection grew to the point that his apartment now resembles an Elvis museum.
"Most of all it was about his music," Beines said. "Then about his vibrancy, his charisma. Especially the things he did on stage during his concerts. Third I liked his human characteristics."
Elvis' last song, "Way Down," recorded in his home in August 1977, is perhaps indicative of the last few years of his career. While professionally he suffered as hit bands The Beatles and The Rolling Stones drew more attention, privately he battled obesity and drug dependency.
Fans continue to remember their King
At the age of 42, Elvis was found dead in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis on Aug. 16, 1977. Doctors said his death was caused by heart failure, likely brought on by obesity and years of abusing medications. Biographer Alanna Nash characterized his dependency as an inability to accept what had become of himself, leading him to attempt to kill the pain.
Even as the rumors of Elvis being spotted at deserted gas stations around the world continue to spread, impersonators who dress, swing and croon like the King himself pay regular tribute to the rock and roll legend. Fans have also created over 500 official Elvis fan clubs in over 45 countries.
On the 20th anniversary of his death in 1997 a video Elvis appeared on stage with over thirty of his former band mates in the production Elvis in Concert '97 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tenn. The show went on to tour the US and in 1999 the European tour opened in London, marking Elvis' first-ever concert outside of North America.
An international sensation
Since 1954 more than one billion Elvis records have been sold -- a feat no other artist is yet to accomplish -- and he won three Grammy Awards from 14 nominations.
However, his fame didn't just hit American airwaves. Elvis' trophy room at Graceland is filled with gold and platinum records from around the world -- including Germany, although five concerts in Canada in were his only performances outside the United States.
With a song catalog of over 1,000 titles, German fan Beines said it's nearly impossible to pick just one favorite song.
"If I had to choose one, then for me it'd be 'An American Trilogy,'" Beines said. "But like nearly all fans, I could name 50 songs and always think of another that should be on the list. It'd be better just to choose 100 favorites."
A less glittery private life
While his career was all glitz and gold, Elvis' private life was less than easy. The son of a laborer and seamstress, he was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and grew up alone after his twin brother was stillborn. On his 10th birthday, instead of the bicycle he had hoped for, Elvis was given a guitar and he taught himself to play.
Unlike today's pop sensations, Elvis served his country at the US Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany between 1958 and 1960. It was during this time that he met his future bride, Priscilla Beaulieu, the daughter of a US Air Force Officer.
Elvis and Priscilla married in Las Vegas in 1967 and nine months later daughter Lisa Marie was born. However, Priscilla complained that Elvis had little time for his family and of a destructive cycle of sleeping pills, stimulants and sedatives. The couple divorced in 1973.
Although his earnings continued to climb and still do even after his death (for decades Elvis led Forbes magazine's list of the biggest earning deceased celebrities), by the mid-1970's he could barely bring himself to swing his hips on stage.