August 16
ELVIS REMEMBERED DAY
Elvis Presley was rushed from Graceland to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on this day in 1977. Doctors’ efforts to revive him were fruitless and he was pronounced dead (coronary arrhythmia) at 3:30 p.m. He was 42 years old. Thousands of mourning fans kept a vigil outside Graceland, the home of the King of Rock and Roll, for three days before his burial. Thousands more lined the streets of Presley’s hometown on the day of his funeral.
The city, the nation, the music world and fans from around the world were in shock over his passing. Even to this day, some say that Elvis didn’t die -- he just wanted to get away from it all. Fans from all over have reported sightings of Elvis -- from a hamburger joint in Kalamazoo, MI, to California.
Elvis had an unprecedented 107 hits on the pop music charts and an unprecedented number of fans. His first hit was Heartbreak Hotel in 1956 and his last, one of two RCA hits released after his death, was Guitar Man in 1981. Presley had 28 gold records, 12 number one songs and 38 top-ten hits.
Presley is buried at Graceland, now a major tourist attraction.
We remember him well.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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