HOW GREAT THOU ART

Greatest Artist of the 20th Century

This August was the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death at age 42 and if you are a big fan like me you watched all his old movies and documentaries on tv. No other artist had greater influence on our music culture than Elvis and yet he was born into very poor circumstances in a two room house in Tupelo, Mississippi.

More has been written about Elvis as well and I think I've read just about every book published. His life was remarkable and if one were to see his movies and listen to his music without knowing he was a country boy I don't think there would be the slightest clue.

A "tiger can't change his stripes " is a true idiom. It was evident in many ways that Elvis never forgot his roots. He had a big heart and was known to give away many expensive gifts on the spur of the moment and he secretly supported many charities that people didn't know about. He was also a big " Mama's boy. " In later years, true to his country raising he recorded an album of country music favorites and gospel as well. Gospel music is a very spiritual and emotional thing for most Southerners who grew up singing it in church.

Food is always a connection to your childhood and Elvis was no different with his butter fried PB & J sandwiches. Unfortunately, Elvis's ideas of love and marriage were flawed and in my opinion that and his wild lifestyle paved the road to his eventual demise.

Elvis was a big part of my youth, when he first came onto the music scene. Parents and pastors didn't like him and pronounced sentence on his "morals " early on. But rock and roll had just been born and we teenagers thought that Elvis was the " coolest . " That's right, cool. We had that word back then. In fact , we coined it. And guess what ? Elvis is still " cool " even today. A new generation has re-discovered him.