{"id":2824,"date":"2009-11-29T18:16:23","date_gmt":"2009-11-29T23:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=2824"},"modified":"2022-02-02T08:30:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T13:30:57","slug":"the-cult-of-elvis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/the-cult-of-elvis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cult of Elvis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oddly I’m not much of a fan of the music of Elvis Presley but I’m a huge fan of the Cult of Elvis. His staying power and continuing impact upon the cultural landscape long after his passage to the great beyond (assuming one believes he’s truly gone) simply cannot be denied. Let’s explore a few of the places of significance during his lifetime. My apologies in advance to those true aficionados in the readership who will undoubtedly find this timeline both horribly simplistic and greatly compressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fascination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Las<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I cannot trace the origin of my Elvis fascination. I remember clearly when The King passed away but it meant little to me at the time. The fixation developed slowly over many years. Certainly it was well developed by the time my wife (then fianc\u00e9e) and I threatened to elope to Las Vegas for an Elvis wedding. That triggered my mother-in-law to step in and lay down the law. We had a very dignified traditional wedding in the Midwest with no Elvi (that’s the generally accepted plural of Elvis) anywhere in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years later we learned that my mother-in-law actually tried to find an Elvis impersonator for the wedding reception but the only Elvis living in that sparsely populated corner of the Midwestern was already booked that weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However we happened to be in Las Vegas in 2006 and made time for an Elvis “renewal of the vows”<\/a> during our brief visit. It was the culmination of a longtime dream and something we’ll always treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also attended a conference a number of years ago where the opening reception featured an Elvis theme. There were impersonators of every type and demographic imaginable: African-American Elvis; Transgender Elvis; Little Person Elvis; Clown Elvis; vintage 1950’s Elvis; pudgy 1970’s Elvis, and so forth. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Praise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The key to my enjoyment of the Cult of Elvis is viewing the phenomenon and its high priests, the impersonators, as caricatures separate and distinct from Elvis the man. I realize others take things more seriously and consider all things Elvis sacrosanct, and I mean no disrespect. Nonetheless there are few things that amuse me as much as an Elvis impersonator. Especially a really bad one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When I look out into your eyes out there,
When I look out into your faces,
You know what I see?
I see a little bit of Elvis
In each and every one of you out there.” — MOJO NIXON<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Tupelo, Mississippi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Elvis'<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tupelo, Mississippi is so incredibly intertwined with the birth of Elvis Presley that their Convention and Visitors Bureau includes it in their title tag<\/a>. Elvis was born in 1935 in a modest shotgun shack his father built for $180 (map<\/a>). Today it is part of a 15-acre park commemorating the monumental event. Tupelo purchased it using funds it raised at a concert Elvis performed there in 1956. The town so reveres its hometown hero that the walking tour even includes the “Lee County Library, where Elvis received his first library card.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things I find remarkable at this spot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n