On this day, thirty-seven years ago back in 1977, the world was changed forever. Elvis Aaron Presley, at the young age of forty-two regrettably passed away. Through the early morning of the 16th, Elvis took care of last minute tour details and relaxed with family and friends. He was to fly to Portland, ME that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour. Elvis retired to his master suite at Graceland around seven a.m. to rest for his evening flight. At around two-thirty p.m., on August 16th, he was found unconscious in his Graceland Mansion. Paramedics were called, but they failed to revive Elvis, and he was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital where further attempts to save him failed. He was pronounced dead by his physician, Dr. George Nichopolous, who listed the official cause of death as erratic heartbeat, or cardiac arrhythmia. A man who rose from poverty, to fame overnight, who had a very successful career and left an immeasurable impact on the world, music and culture was sadly gone. By breaking racial, musical and social barriers along the way, and selling records like wildfire showed us that this man was put on earth for a reason. Culture, music and the world today would be extremely different if it hadnt been for the major and beneficial impact Elvis had nation-wide, and globally. As news of his death began to spread at approximately four in the evening, radio stations immediately began to play his records. They changed to an all Elvis format in tribute, no matter if they played Rock, Country or Top 40. They played music as requested by listeners who were in a deep state of shock over his sudden death. Radio Luxembourg was the first radio station in Europe to announce Elvis Presleys death. At eleven p.m., Mark Wesley of Radio Luxembourg reads the news and announces Elvis death, and then its the Tony Prince show. Prince, close to tears at times, devotes his entire show to Elvis, finishing at 3:45am. Within one hour after Elvis death, fans began to gather in front of Graceland. Phone lines crashed, and every blossom in Memphis had been sold by the afternoon of August 17th, and additional flowers were shipped in from other parts of the country. It was the biggest day in the history of FTD, a florists delivery service. FTD employees claim that more than 2,150 arrangements were delivered. The arrangements were shaped like lightning bolts, guitars, hound dogs, and stars, as well as more traditional wreaths and bouquets. Data from the television-ratings service Arbitron revealed that on the day Elvis died, there was a huge increase in the number of televisions tuned to evening news programs. However, CBS did not follow what other TV stations did. The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, had led the news program ratings for more than a decade. CBS executives chose not to open the evening broadcast with the story about Elvis death. Arbitrons records indicate that when millions of viewers realized this, they immediately switched the channel to another network. The CBS decision not to lead with Elvis death gave the CBS Evening News its lowest ratings in years. CBS devoted only 70 seconds to its story on Elvis, placing it after a long segment on the Panama Canal. The producer for that evenings news was against leading off with Elvis death, in spite of other members of the CBS programming staff suggesting it repeatedly. Interviewed later, the producer agreed that he was out of sync with the national reaction and coverage. Two days later, CBS tried to save face by putting together a documentary on Elvis. Also, as we all know, that October they aired Elvis In Concert. By the next day (August 17th), the crowd was estimated at over twenty-thousand people, and steadily increasing. When the gates closed at six-thirty p.m., about eighty-thousand fans had passed by the coffin. It was, and still is the largest outpouring of grieve for one single entertainer. Many fans actually fainted from the Memphis heat and humidity on the front lawn of Graceland. Emergency Squads were called in, along with law enforcement. People had come from all over the country; many from different parts of the world. Even though Elvis never performed in Europe, countries from all over the world sent reporters to Memphis. The press coverage in foreign newspapers and on European television was almost as extensive as the reporting in the United States. Everywhere in the world, people mourned the loss of an irreplaceable entertainer. Eventually, so many mourners congregated that it was impossible for them all to be admitted to Graceland (even with extended viewing hours). Law enforcement officials were afraid that there might be a problem with crowd control due to all the chaos and pandemonium. So, the Governor of Tennessee called in the National Guard, but there were no problems. During the funeral precision, law enforcement controlling the crowd saluted the hearse as it made its way to Forest Hill Cemetery. It demonstrated the love and respect that Memphis law enforcement had for Elvis. Elvis was an innovator, a rebel and the artist most recognized for having the largest and most tremendous impact on popular music. He is still, to this day unmatched when it comes to record sales, talent, charisma, magnetism and popularity. Elvis will forever live on, he is a timeless legacy! From the CBS Special Elvis In Concert, here is his version of My Way. Because as we all know, he did it his way; which changed the world forever.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 04:16:11 +0000
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