Today would be Elvis Presley’s 77th birthday…which is kind of hard to believe because in my mind, he’s sort of stuck somewhere in icon land where nobody ages and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches have no calories. {Speaking of, check out the fabulous Ezra Pound Cake’s take on E’s favorite snack…yum!}
I went through a HUGE Elvis phase when I was about 12 or 13. The TBS network used to dedicate an entire week to him called “Elvis Explosion” (eat your heart out Shark Week) during which it aired (and I watched) every Elvis movie ever made for seven days straight. I also read Priscilla’s biography “Elvis & Me” and it was quite the page-turner for my 13-year old self.
My junior high had a monthly newspaper and, for $.50, students could submit to each other song dedications which were published on the back page. My then-best friend and I racked our brains to choose the perfect songs to capture our deepest love and devotion to our 7th grade boyfriends. I selected none other than “Love me Tender,” thinking Elvis could best express my innermost tween angst. I recall that it was fairly well received.
I’m not sure why I chose to share this little anecdote today, but I made a resolution to share more personal things here on the blog and what’s more personal than an embarrassing story about adolescence?
Anyway, I’m going to play some Elvis songs today in honor of his birthday. My favorite is “Are you lonesome tonight?” and I’d love to hear what yours is, if you have a favorite.
Also, according to the official Elvis website, less than 50 cabins remain for the Elvis cruise…so if you were planning to go, you need to act fast.