Candlelight Vigil for Elvis Presley

Since late in the night of August 16, 1977 the streets of Elvis Presley Boulevard have been the scene of one of rock and roll's annual events, the candlelight vigil at the home of Elvis Presley. Fans from the US as well as around the world fly into Memphis International Airport, take a short drive around the city's expressway loop and head due south, down Elvis Presley Boulevard to a huge brick mansion that rests alone, atop a hill in one of Memphis' oldest neighborhoods.

The community, called Whitehaven, was at the time that Elvis Presley bought Graceland, a rich, ethnically diverse community with a mall less than a mile away from the Graceland Mansion. Additionally, Elvis Presley's favorite amusement park ride, the wooden rollercoaster, the Zippin Pippin was only a ten minute drive away at the Fairgrounds. Today, the Fairgrounds is being redeveloped as a mixed use development. The Zippin Pippin has been bought and sold twice and sits deconstructed and rotting. Whitehaven has suffered a similar fate, becoming a bastion for economic flight as the community has changed vastly since the days that Elvis called it home.

Elvis Presley Boulevard, also known as Bellevue, is now a long city street with a massive collection of empty buildings and urban stores that are here one minute and gone the next. Gone are the entrenched retail tenants. The Southland Mall, long the city's only locally-owned shopping center, now struggles to survive the flight of shopping dollars to more affluent, socially pleasing shopping experiences like Wolfchase Galleria and Southaven's new Town Center.

With all that is wrong, decaying, and dying in Whitehaven, its one hope is the one entity that knows no racial limits. Elvis was a man, an entertainer who was and is loved by countless millions of adoring fans. His gyrations were legendary and drawn from his days listening and watching soul artists. His vocal sound, a mix of country western and southern gospel roots. When people heard Elvis, they heard the sounds they listened to. When people saw Elvis Presley they saw the moves they were doing. He was a person for the people, by the people, of the people.

Aside from his legendary fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Graceland lives on as the centerpiece of the memory of Elvis Presley. On the grounds of Elvis Presley Enterprises sits the historic mansion as well as his two private planes. It is also the focal point for the future of Elvis Presley Enterprises, ElvisWorld. A theme park like entertainment complex, ElvisWorld will allow visitors to experience digital recreations of Elvis Presley live and in form.

All of this is based on the popularity and mystery of a man who died as hard as he lived. George Klein, Elvis Presley's longtime manager and friend continues to be quizzed on the facts of Elvis Presley's death. The hospital where Elvis died was recently demolished but the enigma around what happened on that August night at Graceland continue to be the talk of southern folklore. Which is why, over fifty thousand people are expected to be holding candles in memory of the life and death of the king of rock and roll.

Beginning at 8:30 on the 15^th of August, mourners will be allowed to walk up the grounds of Graceland to the gravesite of Presley with a candle. This procession usually lasts until early in the morning on the day of his death. With 2007 being the 30year anniversary the number of those in attendance is expected to double those that come in a standard year.

The gravesite of Elvis Presley sits off to the side of the Graceland Mansion. Those that attend the vigil will enter through the entrance gates that line the brick wall to the Graceland spread. Up and around, in the midst of trees, shrubs and flowers, mourners will journey until they arrive at the Meditation Garden that serves as the place where the king of rock and roll chose to call home after his death. Also known as Graceland Memorial Park, the Meditation Gardens are also the place where Elvis Presley's mother and father, as well as his grandmother, twin brother, as well Ebony's Double, a horse owned by Elvis Presley.

For thirty years, fans of Elvis Presley have made their way up Elvis Presley Boulevard and on towards his grave. Along the way, they share stories of seeing Elvis in person, watching on TV, or listening to him on the radio. People from Norway and Belgium, Nantucket and Boston will remember with fondness the life of Elvis Presley, with candle in hand.