The night the King died

[andrew1707]

Can you remember what you were doing or where you were when Elvis died?
What memories do you have of this?

I can still remember my mum and sister crying floods of tears on hearing the news. I'm sure they cried for days.

[andy-hughes]

I was at Keele University Students' Union Friday disco having my mysical tastes seriously widened on a weekly basis by the wonderful Jeff Love who DJ's Friday and Saturday nights. he annoucned that "Elvis has kicked the bucket ..." and i remember it very well indeed.

No idea where I was when Kennedy died though!

[sasskins]

I was in my house getting ready for work and thinking my boyfriend would be upset, as he was a big fan.

[murraymints]

I was at Roswell bowling club..a wee place in Midlothian..my BF at the time was playing in a band and they had a gig there....they then had to spend all night dredging up Elvis songs...

[craft1948]

I was on the beach in St Ives............

[rowanwitch]

can't think I'd ever be so fond of anyones music to be particularly touched by their death..

[Mick-Talbot]

I can't remember, probably hedge hopping.

[andrew1707]

Top marks to headwreck for spotting where the title of the post came from.

I was going to call it "I cried, the night the King died" but I was only 9 at the time and not that bothered about it.

[murraymints]

Remember being more upset when John Lennon was killed...was drying my hair before going to work when news came through the radio...

[snags]

I was sitting on the toilet eating a hamburger.

[carrust]

Elvis died when he joined the army. Before he joined up he was on the cutting edge of rock & roll. When he came out he was just a parody of himself, appearing in those god awful movies.

[jackthehat]

I clearly remember two of my school-friends sitting on the school-tennis court and crying their eyes out at lunch-time when they had heard the news......

...which is odd because he died in August during the Summer-break......:o/

[andy-hughes]

I made the connection as well andrew1707 - as a massive Lynott/Lizzy fan.

The icing on that song is Mark Knopfler's guitar, and Brian Downey's drumming - never bettered by either.

[Sooper]

I was only little but remember the event well as my poor old Mum was in floods of tears when she heard the news and myself and my sister werent used to seeing her crying.

[parkie]

OOps! When I saw the heading I immediately thought of George 6th. I remember sitting at the table with my mother listening to his funeral on the wireless, and both of us crying our eyes out. I was 8 years old at the time. But then, wrong King, obviously.

[wolf63]

I thought that Elvis was still alive and out there somewhere .....

I can't remember crying but I am sure that it was the start of a new school term at a new school and my friend and I were walking to the school talking about him.

Do you like Elvis andrew1707? What happened in 1707?

[andy-hughes]

carrust - the observation that Elvis died when he joined the army is attributed to John Lennon, and just because a famous musician said it, does not make it true.

It is true that Elvis's film career was not the legacy he would have wished, but that is not his fault.

Because Colonel Parker insisted on a minimum $1 million dollar salary for every film, a crippling drain on the films' budgets when you consider the proportion of budget that would be taken up, aspects like sets, co-stars, plots, dialogue and so on, were all downgraded as a direct result.

It is well known that Elvis was unappy with the style of movie he made, and it is acknowledged that he possessed considerable acting talen which was not reflected well in the movies he completed.

If you care to check out the Elvis Comeback TV Special aired in 1968 - for which Elvis reserved a more severed $2.5 million, you will see an artist every bit as vibrant and cutting-edge as he had always been.

Granted, his appearences in Las Vegas verged on parody, but on a good night, and there were very many of them, Elvis could turn in a performance as electrifying and rewarding as any entertainer around at that time.

And finally, although his body bloated with alcohol and drugs, the magic voice never left Elvis up to the day he died.

Elvis did not die when he went into the army - never let John Lennon's caustic albility for a memorable one-liner pursuade you otherwise - even a Beatle can be wrong.

[wolf63]

andy-hughes (and andrew OP)

Elvis was, as you say, excellent to the end. He gives me goosebumps when I listen to him. I never liked the Beatles - not them nor their music.

Willie Nelson is my favourite just now and maybe Cat Stevens too.

===>> A-H - have you heard of a singer called Roly Daniels? The guy has a really good voice but there is very little about him on-line.

I have just seen snags' answer ;-)