were on the planet remember the death of Elvis Presley.
Hard to believe it was 40 years ago, but that dang calendar doesn't lie
does it?
I was actually doing pre-funeral career business that night in Rochester, N.Y.
As a weekend d.j. on the 50,000 watt WHAM I had gone on the air to do
my five hour soft sounds program, which followed David A. Sennett and
his electrical radio program.
The news of Elvis passing on that night was a huge huge story. The
news wires were buzzing with both facts and non-facts..... the
authorities there trying to get the story out as quickly as they could.
The phones were lighting up with people wanting to know more than
we could broadcast. People were in Elvis-shock. Shock that this
entertainer could be dead at age 42...in what seemed like the near
peak of his career.
Death is an odd event. It shows no favoritism, no planning, no
distinction between poor or rich, famous or not, it just happens.
Forty years ago it claimed Elvis. But did Elvis really die?
We've all heard the stories of him being seen, even years
after his death. Did he take his money and go to a deserted
island to live the good life....undisturbed by the masses of
fans that hounded him? Probably not.
I'm pretty sure the medical examiner got it right. Here was
a 42 year old whose body was in pretty bad shape...a guy
that may have had just a bit much in food, fun, frolic
and some substances he shouldn't have had.
But, it was his life, so who are we to judge.
He was one of a kind indeed. But that's the way the
Good Lord intended all of us to be.... one of a kinds.
