January 08 - Elvis 75th Birthday

The Indian Times said it best "In death Elvis still kicks ass". More than 3,000 fans from all over the world joined The King's ex-wife and daughter at his Memphis, Tennessee mansion, Graceland to celebrate what would have been his 75th birthday. The devotees placed flowers on the late music icon's grave and toured through his home, which has become a shrine to his life and career.

A moved Priscilla Presley called her ex-husband's fans "the greatest".
She added, "It's very difficult for me to even fathom that it's been 75 years for him. It's certainly bittersweet."  And she told the media her late ex would not have wanted such a big birthday celebration: "He wasn't really big on having a whole lot of people, he liked it a little more intimate."

The King's two grown-up grandchildren, Riley and Benjamin, celebrated the big day by cutting a birthday cake in the Love Me Tender star's honour and then handing it out to the fans.


Sony Music in the U.S. released the "Elvis 75 - Good Rockin' Tonight" 4 CD longbox to commemorate Elvis Presley's 75th birthday. A remastered 100 track retrospective in one beautifully-packaged four-CD boxed set featuring rare photographs and an incisive essay by respected music writer Billy Altman. 

It presents an artist who exploded in the mid-1950s, when he shook up a buttoned-down world with his mold-breaking music, not to mention his sideburns, swiveling hips, flamboyant wardrobe, and raw sexuality. Until his death at 42 in 1977, he would move from rockabilly, rhythm and blues, bluegrass, and rock 'n' roll to country, pop, gospel, and even to light operatic fare to become one of the greatest and most-beloved entertainers the world has ever known.
Also released in the U.S. by First Look Pictures is the DVD "Gladiators".

Sony Music Entertainment Australia celebrates the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presleys birthday with the first even Australian hit compilation entitled "50 Australian Top Ten Hits 1956-1977". From 1956 to 2006, he spent 1,780 weeks in total with 120 entries on the Australian Singles Chart and accumulated a total of 61 weeks at No.1 with his 14 #1 hits. He had 48 Top 10 singles, with some of these being 'double A sides', taking his tally to over 50. 


Besides the "Elvis 75 - Good Rockin' Tonight" 4 CD longbox Sony BMG Austria released a 3 CD edition of their "Elvis The King" compilation adding one new disc to the original release of fan favorites. The first title was also released in Germany, The Netherlands and Czech Republic.

In Italy "Viva Elvis il Re del rock 'n' roll" was released through several newspapers. Among the many festivities unrolling to commemorate what would have been Elvis Presley's 75th birthday on January 8, 2010, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles will mount an exhibit of black-and-white photos, Elvis at 21, which capture moments in 1956, just prior to his explosive success. It runs January 8 - March 28.

Elvis Stamp

The Elvis Stamp was released on The King's birthday in Dominica.