32 Years Gone...

August 16th looms large in my personal history. My parents celebrate their anniversary on that date, this year reaching the impressive number 40 (which explains why both Mom & Dad have no memory of Woodstock taking place, also celebrating a 40th anniversary this weekend). Almost as important for me though, it's the day Elvis Presley died, this year being the 32nd anniversary of his death.

1977 is ancient history to a great percentage of today's population, but that August 16th stuck with me, even as a 6 year old with minimal interest in music. My family was on our annual summer trip to visit my Mom's parents in Cochrane, about a 10 hour drive from where we were then living. Checking into our hotel for the night in North Bay (roughly the half way point of our journey), the TV was clicked on and right away the news broke that the king of rock and roll had died.

I had no idea who Elvis Presley was, but I was intrigued by the shocked reaction around me. My Aunt Vi, an original Elvis fan from the 1950s cried for the better part of the week. Years later, I would come to realize that Presley was one of my Dad's heroes during the same time period, for a couple of years anyway.

A year and a half later, I was curious enough to watch the 1978 made for TV biopic "Elvis," starring a young Kurt Russell. For Christmas that year I was given the soundtrack LP to Elvis' 1968 Comeback Special, an album that is by now basically part of my DNA. That simple act had an enormous impact on the direction my life would take. Just over two years later, music would replace Star Wars and model trains as the all-consuming passion of my life...a position it holds to this day. I have the artistry of Elvis Presley to thank for that.

Today, I own more music by Elvis than any other artist in my collection. While not a songwriter by any means (I believe he wrote in the neighbourhood of 3 songs in his 42 years), I rank Presley's otherworldly vocal talent alongside Lennon, McCartney and Sinatra for that matter. Although he's been reduced to 1o greatest hits by the mainstream media, his catalogue is an embarrassment of riches. Tracks like Just Pretend, I Need Somebody To Lean On, Stranger In My Own Home Town and Pieces Of My Life (to name but a scant few) deserve to be up there with mega-hits like Don't Be Cruel, Can't Help Falling In Love and Suspicious Minds.

I'll sign off with my favourite quote concerning Elvis Presley, this coming from famed American Studios house band pianist Bobby Wood. Recalling the 1969 Memphis sessions (and outside his Sun material, the greatest music the king ever cut in my opinion), Wood commented:

"He was in his prime. He looked better than most women I've seen."

That my friends, sums up Elvis for me - all that talent, and the guy was a looker to boot. The world lost a lot on August 16th, 1977.