35 years after Elvis

Talks of sightings have stopped. This means that diehard fans have now accepted the fact that Elvis Presley is dead and not in hiding somewhere incognito. He did die in the bathroom of his home in his Graceland estate on Aug. 16, 1977. He has been dead and buried for 35 years.

It follows that there is not much going on anymore about Presley. Search Elvis on the Net and all you will get is news about his crypt. This was the crypt in a Memphis cemetery where the departed king of rock and roll was temporarily buried. His body as well as that of his mother, Gladys were later buried in the grounds of Graceland. The crypt has been empty since.

A few weeks ago, it was announced that the crypt was up for auction. For a starting bid of $100,000, you can own Elvis’ first burial place. The idea was kinda creepy but there were people interested. But fans went into uproar against the idea and the crypt was pulled out of auction. It will now be a memorial to, who else but Elvis.

I guess that getting the crypt pulled out of auction means that although the fans may have been quiet lately, it does not mean they are not there. In fact, you can expect them to start making a lot of noise again once August comes around. It will be the 35th year of Elvis’ demise and plans are already afoot to once more commemorate his great musical legacy.

Most interesting among the scheduled events is a concert of Elvis music in Memphis. This will be no ordinary show. Everything will be live as in the band, guest artists, background singers, etc. except for Elvis. Of course, he can’t be there, but that does not mean, he cannot perform anymore. Elvis will be onstage singing his songs and making his famous moves on video. Credit modern technology for this and knowing how far advanced we have come, I am sure the concert will be mind-blowing.

The Elvis fans out here have also scheduled something special to honor their idol. Not on the same level as that virtual reality performance but also fun and full of Elvis music. This is Elvis@35 which will be held at Graceland, not in the US, but Graceland Estates and Country Club in Tayabas, Quezon, the home of Elvis in the Philippines, on Aug. 18.

Elvis@35 is a project of the Elvis Presley Friendship Club of the Philippines headed by founding chairman and a famous “Elvis Presley” himself, Chito Bertol. This will be part of the big International Elvis Day event of the Elvis Presley Alliance of Asia, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The Alliance includes country members Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

There will be lots of Elvises ready to perform. Chief among them will be Stephen Kabakos from Canada whom the Alliance chairman Tommy Ooi of Hong Kong is bringing over. He is the champion of images of the king from Memphis who is rated the world’s No. 1 Elvis tribute artist. He is described as almost like the real thing.

Kabakos’ performance will be the highlight of a show featuring the three decades of Elvis, the ’50s, ’60s and the ’70s. Joining him will be Elvises from various countries: These are Nonie Yambao and Edgar Opida from the Philippines; H T Long from Malaysia; Douglas Masuda from Japan; Vasu Sangsingkeo from Thailand; Hiroshi Ishikawa of Hong Kong; and guest artist from Germany, Ritchie Newton. They will be accompanied by the internationally known Pinoy Elvis Band, whose specialty is what else again, Elvis tunes.

Tickets to the show are priced at P1,000 each. Those who will make the trip from far off places might want to stay overnight or more at Graceland. There are apartelles, villas and condo studio units. There are two swimming pools, a basketball court, a tennis court, a man-made lake and lots of trees dedicated to the memory of Elvis. Most of all nature lovers and those of you who just want to relax will be glad to find out that the weather up there is cool and that the place has an excellent view of the majestic Mt. Banahaw.