Candlelight Vigil 2011

My first visit to Elvis' grave was during a candlelit ceremony, it certainly was a very moving experience. It is a great honour to the man that thousands of people still continue to honour his memory in this way. Michael Jackson again! We would not be too happy if his fans were constantly slating Elvis.

Why bring MJ into this? Why? There is no relevance. Since there is no candle vigil now for MJ where's the connection? And no one can predict what 34 years will bring.

Dgirl, the reason MJ is brought into the mix is simple. Those with small minds & unbridled love for Elvis have to put down the competition. They cannot accept anyone being more admired than their King. Childish, sorta like my father is better than yours. I derive much pleasure from Elvis's music. Having said that I don't care if he comes out #1 or #100 in a poll. Either # isn't going to make me enjoy his music more or less.

Quite frankly, you won't see anything like this after ANYONE else's death, [especially 34 or more years] after!! Elvis is 1-of-a-kind...PERIOD!

Very well said...what's wrong with Michael Jackson? I for one am a huge fan of BOTH men...they were BOTH Kings in their own respective fields of music[of course Elvis is My First Love in Music, so to speak]. And let's not forget no matter how much we love our guy it took years after Elvis' passing for this kind of devotion to grow, so who's to say the same might not happen for MJ in time? Either way their's no reason in the world why we should slam on each other's idols..we all have our likes,dislikes and opinions, and we all have our own heroes..so live and let live i always say...,R.I.P. Elvis and Michael..their BOTH singing with the angels now having one hell of a party i bet...TCB! Always EL..

Satnin : I couldn't agree more ! Personally I'm not a real fan of MJ, maybe the gap between his generation and mine is too large, but he certainly not deserves to be slammed. He was great in his own way and field, no one can deny. Always El.

Tony C. "Problem" is they are. Slating Elvis constantly. And now the "Beliebers" have started, too. Each generation their "King". :-) Try and visit the Elvis sites on YouTube. Still wish they would not. But most of them are just kids and the not so bright.

Maybe the Jackson fans have been slating Elvis, if they have, that is sad. I would not sink to their level, it is always best to rise above people like that.

Would love to be there. As Tony C says it's a great honour for Elvis that people still feel this way. As for Jacko, i'm no fan but why shouldn't he be honoured by his own fans. Agree with oldscudder on this. Then again i'm not sure why he's even been mentioned today.

"Quite frankly, you won't see anything like this after ANYONE else's death, [especially 34 or more years] after!! Elvis is 1-of-a-kind...PERIOD!" (1 BILLION SOLD)." I agree 100%. with that statement. Name ANY entertainer that will get this kind of attention 34 years after thier death. Go ahead, name one !

I'll name four. The Beatles.

Before this gets nuts, let me say that Elvis is one of a kind but this vigil has turned into more of a cult worship that a love of his music. Its part of the August process. I wonder how many the fans in the vigil have bought every record, saw every movie, etc. I bet you'd be surprised the number is probably low. Remember , much of the appeal of Elvis was his image as much as his music, especially to woman. I remember a friend of mine in school bought the Girl Happy LP because she liked the cover!! I'm not sure she could name one song on it. She had more pictures than records of Elvis. That being said, I now have 2 friends who are high school teachers. They tell me ELvis is basically non-exisitent to teens musically. They know he came along in the 50's and made some great records then made some movies. The Beatles on the other hand are talked about constantly esp since their songs became available on Itunes which boomed sales. They are very big among young people so they will live on just as Elvis has but to a different group of fans. Time will tell I guess but if you look at it musically, they have been gone longer than Elvis having broken up in 1970. EPE markets the image more than the music. A look at the graceland catalog confirms that. With The Beatles, its the opposite. EPE should do more with making the music attractive & affordable.

I agree dgirl,i think elvis image is whats remembered most,beatles were changing with the times and elvis was going backwards. I love elvis but his concerts didnt really scream rock star. Some odd choices were made ,but it is what it is.

Indeed, for EPE the image is the ONE thing, while his music tends to be second. We can't change history, but there is so much in the legacy that would clearly put Elvis there where he belongs. Let's not forget, all other stars had weak moments, recordings, periods. BUT their custodians are clever in promoting the top. So should Sony, EPE etc. I however meet a lot of youngsters who do know who Elvis is (a great singer) and if they cannot name a song they recognise him when they hear. They also don't know any song of the Beatles or other older artists than played on the radio. So that is the fate of all.

To oldscudder, note: I said entertaiNER. One person, the Beatles are/were a group. dgirl, you are stereotyping an awful lot of people, and thats just not fair ! linda_433234, with all due respect, apparently you were not around in 1956. I was, and Elvis changed the 'World of Music' forever ! Now, you are right about one thing, yes, in 1964 the Beatles hit the scene, and Elvis was going backwards, but, mostly because of some dumb movies he was commited to by the Colonel. As for saying , " but his concerts didnt really scream rock star".........Quite frankly, I don't know how to respond to a statement like that.

Snowplow Floater,but you're wrong! Elvis IS a Superstar;-)!

One thing you guys are missing. No other stars have a Graceland which now exists to make money off the faithful. They have hotels , gift shops, eating places, etc. all devoted to the King but mainly devoted to making a nice profit. Maybe if Sinatra, Marilyn, just to name a few had the same setup it would be the same.

Snowplow, I just used Sinatra & the Beatles as possible examples. Maybe I should have used another comparison to Graceland in that it offers gift shops, resturants etc which would be Dollywood. It may not be as big as Graceland is now but when she passes I'm sure it will surpass Graceland in the short run. Then years down the line who knows? Maybe Graceland will return to #1 maybe not. I have the up most respect for Elvis as he's my # 1 but unlike many fans my favorite dosen't have to be everyones favorite just mine.

Easy Rider Take it easy! Reread my post. I said I believe it will surpass Graceland in the short run. I am just giving my opinion. You seem to have a crystal ball & know what the future will bring, maybe that has something to do with your screen name or maybe it's just a language thing. Cheers.

The Beatles are hardly mentioned anymore? What universe do you live in? Did u hear about how many songs they sold on iTunes since they became avaialble? They are one of the reasons the music industry has bounced back a bit over the last year. Please no more with your prejudice!