Elvis Lives 30 Years
After His Death
Merchandising and Music Keep
The King’s Spirit Alive

Thirty years ago this month, my buddy Louis Wood and I were driving from Auburn, Alabama where he went to college, to Boone where I was preparing to start my senior year at Watauga High School. We were in one of those radio-free dead zones where we had to constantly play with the FM dial to find something that was more interesting than, say, Charlie Pride or Tanya Tucker (this was several years before my interest in country music was renewed).

This plaster skull statue is one of the thousands of Elvis-related items for sale 30 years after his death.

Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley meet in the White House on December 21, 1970. Taken by White House photographer Oliver F. Atkins, the picture is the most-requested image from the Library of Congress.

All of a sudden we heard a radio announcer solemnly deliver this message: “This day will no doubt go down in history as the day after the day that Elvis Presley died.”

After bursting out laughing, we set about figuring out what other days would go down in history as the day after the day something happened. July 5th: Annually remembered as the day when the ink finally dried on the Declaration of Independence. December 18th: The Wright Brothers leave Kitty Hawk and drive back to Dayton, Ohio. Our list of “day afters” grew to absurd lengths and looking back on it now was not nearly as funny as it seemed at the moment. I guess you had to be there…

Today (August 16) marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, unless, of course, you listen to certain conspiracy theorists who believe that the King is alive and well and living somewhere in the jelly-stained catacombs of Graceland.

One area where the King is definitely still alive is in the realm of merchandising. Thirty years after his fiancée, Ginger Alden, found his lifeless body on the bathroom floor of his Memphis mansion, Elvis still earns about $40 million per year, according to Forbes magazine. And we’re not just talking about record sales here. Like his female parallel, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis’ image is a trademarked commodity and is plastered on everything from coffee mugs and calendars to bizarre items such as an Elvis skull statue and the board game “Elvisopoly.”

Elvis annually topped the Forbes list of dead celebrity money makers until 2006 when Kurt Cobain earned an estimated $50 million compared to the King’s $42 million. If they had known they were going to earn that much money in 2006, I’ll wager those two guys would have taken better care of themselves.

In case you are wondering who the other top deceased money making celebrities were last year, the list (in order) includes Cobain, Presley, Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, John Lennon, Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol, Dr. Seuss, Ray Charles, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Cash, J.R.R. Tolkien, George Harrison and Bob Marley. You have to assume that Elvis has more staying power than Kurt Cobain and that the King will return to the top of the heap of posthumous earners in the near future.

During his sadly abbreviated lifetime, Elvis produced some of the greatest music of the rock and roll era, along with some of the worst movies ever committed to celluloid (some so bad that they actually become good again). He lived like a Roman god, romanced Ann Margaret, and was adored by both country and rock & roll music lovers. He even had a historic 1970 meeting with President Richard Nixon where he asked to obtain credentials as a federal DEA agent. In a five-page letter to the president, Presley expressed concern for his country, especially because of “the drug culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, Black Panthers, etc.”

The true irony of that letter and his desire to become a DEA agent was that Elvis’ autopsy listed his probable cause of death as “polypharmacy,” and traces of 14 prescription drugs including amphetamines, placidyls and codeine were found in his system. He was 42 years old when he died.

Despite the prescription drug-related deaths of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and other celebrities, the government continues to pour the lion’s share of resources in the fight against drugs into battling illegal drugs such as marijuana and mushrooms…but that is a column for another day.

Speaking of presidents and kings, I think Jimmy Carter’s official statement of August 17, 1977 summed up the sad situation the best. He said, “Elvis Presley’s death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable. More than 20 years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense, and he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness, and good humor of this country.”

We could use a little more of that vitality, rebelliousness and good humor these days. If you get a chance this weekend, pick out your favorite Elvis song and crank up the old stereo. Me, I’ll be rocking to “Teddy Bear.”