The King Was Gone

When I grew up, we didn't have all of the entertainment options that are available these days. No internet, no video games, no travel teams for sports and so on.

And, to me, that's one of the reasons Elvis Presley was such an icon. He had huge hit songs on the radio and he was a movie star.

The first album I bought through the mail was an Elvis double album. (hurry, operators are standing by!)

And if you've heard me mention it on the air through the years, I actually am related to Elvis. He was a 4th cousin on my Granny Wilson's side of the family. Which means that I never actually met him at a family reunion and I never got free concert tickets. But I loved his music.  So, when I heard the news of his death and then saw the news footage of his funeral, it really touched me.

I have taken the tour of Graceland twice, just to see how a king lived. I was in the "Jungle Room" where his last album was recorded. And I even bough some junk across the street that has his face on it.

Then, I was in Memphis 10 years later when there was a huge candlelight vigil held at Graceland. 10,000 people payed about 13 bucks per candle to walk around the grounds that night until the sun came up. We drove by the event and it was amazing.

So, today, we will play some Elvis. And then try to understand why Justin Bieber is famous.