Today, January 8, 2012, Elvis Presley would have been 77 years old. He has been dead for over 34 years yet fans still celebrate his birthday by going to Memphis to sing Happy Birthday on the lawn of his house Graceland. Cable television still plays his movies, radio stations still play his songs, and musicians today still honor him with tributes. John Lennon said it best when he said, “Before Elvis there was nothing.” A truer statement was never said.

Unfortunately I wasn’t in Memphis this year to celebrate Elvis’ birthday, but I celebrated here in Maryland by listening to his songs and watching his movies. Some of my favorite Elvis songs are Heartbreak Hotel, Loving Arms, Just Pretend, American Trilogy and Love Me. My favorite Elvis movies are Girl Happy, Wild in the Country, Jailhouse Rock, Loving You, and King Creole. Girl Happy is my favorite because one of the female leads is named Deena, and hearing Elvis say my name over and over again makes me very happy. The other four movies are truly great movies with real plots and good acting – can’t say as much for the other 27 movies.

The Elvis movies are the reason I became an Elvis fan. As a young girl, I would watch Sunday afternoon movies on television with my mom and a lot of those movies were Elvis movies. I remember Girl Happy being one of my favorites.  Years later I grew up and moved to Memphis for a few years and spent a lot of time at Elvis’ home Graceland. Happy Birthday Elvis!