Happy Birthday Elvis! Celebrate the King

To an American icon who continues to steal your grandmother's heart and make your grandfather sing, Happy Birthday Elvis! Other than the obvious "Happy Birthday Elvis" letters spread unevenly on top of a cake with 76 candles which could fire up any party, how else can you celebrate the King of Rock and Roll on his would-be 76th birthday?

It's no secret, Elvis loved food and Memphis, Tennessee. Merge the two together and what do you get? A cake that you'll only make once. From creating the Elvis Memphis Mansion flat on top of a cake, having the cake shaped like a rectangle to form the mansion, or just using additional tasty add-ons (fruit or candy), remembering Elvis by cake alone can be quite delicious.

Turn on that Elvis music. From "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock" to the seasonal "Blue Christmas", some background singers and a pair of ear plugs makes for an enjoyable afternoon. So, tune in, turn up, and "phase" out.

Honor the King by watching Elvis movies such as "Jailhouse Rock", "Blue Hawaii", or "King Creole" - all great flicks. I sense a king size candy bar or a king size bucket of popcorn moment emerging. Eat like a king and enjoy both.

But as you know, celebrating the King is not just good foods, good music and good movies. It's also about knowing who you are honoring and why. So for those who know nothing about Elvis this should assist in getting to know the icon - a little more.

Colonel Tom Parker managed prime performers, including country star Eddie Arnold and yes, Parker's most noted sex symbol experiment - Elvis. Once signed on with Parker Elvis blossomed into an icon. With one sexy hip popping move Elvis had imaginations running wild. Add it with a great set of savvy vocals and hail to the King of Rock and Roll.

Someone was well paid. The King lived like a king, ate like a king, and thrived like a king. But most unfortunately, partied like a rock star.

Elvis was pronounced dead on Aug. 16, 1977. There is only one visual that stands out when learning of the King's death. Hell hath no fury like a Jersey mother who receives Charlie Pride instead of the ordered Elvis Presley. Yes, my mother ordered a set of Elvis albums before his death. Outside of that the last part of summer, after his death, marked daytime with Elvis.

Elvis was more than fancy outfits, tabloid exaggerations and rumored 70s gossip of his cape having flight potential, him buying out Kentucky Fried Chicken, or him being the godfather of Memphis even though his closest friends and bodyguards were called the Memphis Mafia.

For me, I consider Elvis a once highly skillful photogenic musician and talented actor with a great deal of energy most wish they had. A true icon in changing the direction and path of rock and roll history.

Salute, 76 times. Happy Birthday Elvis!

For more on Elvis visit Wikipedia.

Source(s): Wikipedia; Lori Lane (accessed / embedded Jan. 8, 2011)