The Wonder of You: Thousands of Elvis fans flock to his grave 40 years after the death of The King
- Elvis died at his home in Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee on August 16, 1977
- Fans will hold a candlelight vigil at the mansion ahead of this week's anniversary
- Elvis was agend just 42 when he had a fatal heart attack at his mansion
- More than 600,000 people of year flock to Graceland on a rock pilgrimage
Pilgrims
come all day every day, filing past in silence, fighting back tears as
they place mementos at Elvis Presley's gravesite, pausing to reflect,
take pictures or say a prayer.
More
than 600,000 fans visit each year, paying tribute to the icon of popular
culture, the once rebellious sex symbol turned family entertainer of
whom John Lennon said 'before Elvis there was nothing'.
Forty
years after his tragic death aged 42, floral tributes from around the
world still line the Meditation Garden, where the king of rock 'n' roll
is buried at his Graceland home in Memphis.
Thousands of fans have been queuing
up at Gracelands in advance of the 40th anniversary on Wednesday of The
King of Rock and Roll's death aged just 42 on August 16, 1977
Thousands of fans are expected
to attend a candlelight vigil at Gracelands, pictured, on Tuesday night
ahead of the anniversary of the singer's death on Wednesday
Every day fans of the singer file past his grave in the Meditation Garden of his Memphis home
The iconic singer was found dead at his home on August 16, 1977.
On
Tuesday thousands, if not tens of thousands, are expected to attend
this year's candle-light vigil to mark the anniversary of Elvis' death.
Lisa Bseiso will be one of them. She
had what she calls a 'very spiritual, deep encounter' with Presley's
spirit when she first visited Graceland with her husband in August 2014.
'He
was sitting in a chair,' remembers the 36-year-old daughter of a
Palestinian father and Colombian mother, born and raised in Qatar.
'He had tears coming down his eyes and he said 'Don't forget me, spread my legacy in your part of the world,'' she recalls.
More than 600,000 people a year visit Gracelands which is in Memphis, Tennessee
Elvis is buried in Gracelands beside his parents and grand parents in a memorial garden
Fans have also been visiting the Sun Studio where Elvis made his first ever recordings
So
she went home and set up The Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Qatar,
which she now plans to expand to Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait.
'He's
a gift from God to all of us,' she tells AFP at Graceland, where she is
visiting with her Palestinian-Jordanian husband, Colombian mother and
friends.
'God took him back home, but he's still here.'
A
life-long fan, listening to his music helped her recover from a car
accident in 1999 that left her in a coma for two weeks, she says.
The
idea that Presley's spirit lives on is central to his fans of all ages,
from all countries, who find his music soothing in times of trouble and
are moved by his rags-to-riches story and legendary generosity.
Elvis changed the world after walking into Sun Studios, pictured, in 1954
The recording studio is only a ten-minute drive from Graceland in nearby Memphis
Elvis Aaron Presley, pictured, died at his home in Memphis on August 16, 1977 aged 42
Presley is far more than just
another poster child for the American dream or even a man whose looks
matched the Greek definition of classical beauty, says British author
Ted Harrison.
'The Elvis known today is
not the real Elvis, but a mythological figure millions can relate to in
their own way,' says the author of 'The Death and Resurrection of Elvis
Presley.'
'For some fans he also now
fills a spiritual and religious vacuum in modern secular society. He is
given a semi-divine, quasi-messianic status and mystical stories are
told about his life.'
A fan poses with a microphone used
by Elvis Presley during a tour of Sun Studio where Presley made his
first recording 'That's All Right' in 1954
Lisa Bseiso, founder of The Official
Elvis Presley Fan Club of Qatar, wipes away tears while being comforted
by her husband Malek Salim after she was gifted an Elvis scarf by
Shantay Wood (R) in the Guest House at Graceland
Thousands
have shrines to Presley in their homes, consider visits to Graceland a
pilgrimage, write prayers on the wall outside and some even go so far as
to confuse him with Jesus, Harrison says.
Bseiso
does not elevate Presley to the status of prophet or Biblical figure,
but has found in him a higher calling as she seeks to spread his music
and challenge stereotypes about Arabs or the Middle East.
'I
think when he was born God stamped him to be able to influence people
and touch people,' she said. 'His music talks to you... it has a
spiritual meaning in his words.'
Elvis impersonators are competing this week at a competition in Memphis this week
Elvis impersonators rom around the globe have traveled to Memphis for the competition
More than 600,000 Elvis fans make the pilgrimage to Memphis each year
A
10-minute drive from Graceland, the guide at Sun Studio tells fans they
are on 'sacred and hallowed' ground in the basement studio where
Presley recorded his first song 'That's All Right' in 1954.
Ecstatic
fans jostle to stand on the exact spot where he stood, and cradle and
croon into the microphone he used, manically snapping photographs and
tingling with delight.
'It's heaven!'
sighs Daniela Soto-Cuadra, a 42-year-old lawyer and mother of two from
Chile, getting married at Graceland on Monday to a man she's been dating
only a month.
'I actually have goose
bumps,' says Tessa Bruns, 40, an anesthetist from Wisconsin bursting
with happiness under her baseball cap.
'Being
a somewhat religious person and a Catholic,' she says, 'I would say
Elvis is a religion, the blues, the rhythm, his legacy.'
So what would she have told Presley had she ever met him? 'I would say I think I worship the ground you walk on.'
