Why God took Elvis Presley on August 16, 1977 (part 1)

BIO Elvis with Gladys and Vernon teh WelcomeHome Tupelo concert cndidd  My heart, and prayers, remain with the; family members, friends, relatives, loved ones, etc. pertaining to Elvis Presley and his passing on August 16, 1977. I can’t imagine their burden nor their loss.

It has taken me (approximately) six decades now to formulate this post which is based up (literally) thousands of books, audio files, documents, interviews, conversations, emails, first hand account, real documentaries, etc. I have always put a premium on eyewitnesses, factual sources, facts, and context. No sensationalism. No monetary endeavors. Just me passing along unique/cool/rare/ content as I do on these posts and on http://www.ElvisCollector.info (premier Elvis Presley website with exceptional content) and/or http://www.ElvisCollectorWorldwide.freeforums.org (100% free Elvis Presley forum and though it remains in the beta testing stage we invite you to join).

To address the subject line of this post “Why God took Elvis Presley on August 16, 1977” we must look back to the day of his birth of January 8, 1935.

Gladys Love (Smith) Presley and Vernon Elvis Presley knew they were having a baby. One baby. They had no idea if it was a boy or a girl they just prayed for a healthy child. They even picked out names if it was a boy or a girl. I know the name they chose if it was a girl but that is not my story to convey publicly. But, the boy was to be named Jessie Garon Presley.

When Gladys went into labor a boy was delivered and it was perfectly formed except it (sadly) was not breathing. Gladys and Vernon were empty, lost, and consumed by their sorrow.

As the doctor, who back then made house calls, was gathering his things to leave Gladys said “I think there is another one”. The doctor, against his better judgement, did an examination and confirmed. An identical twin to Jessie was born, healthy, and breathing, and though their tears reigned their hearts gave thanks to God but they had a dilemma and that was “what to name this baby”? After all the doctor needed a name to put on the certificate/paperwork.

Within moments they settled on Elvis, which was Elvis’ fathers middle name, and Aaron which rhymed with “Garon” and paid homage to the biblical Aaron the older brother of Moses.

On January 8, 1935 through the stench of death and loss Elvis Aaron Presley was born into the world void of wealth, monetary means, but loved as much as any mother…ever. Vernon, in his own ways, loved Elvis but the love and bond between Gladys and Elvis started in the womb and would last (sadly) until her last breath.

To be continued…

Rare 1972 video Elvis receiving 2 gold records

Via YouTube comes this exceptionally rare video of Elvis (1) showing off his humor while trying to tie the LARGEST tie of all time and (2) receiving two gold records from RCA for Elvis’ Madison Square Garden album and for the 45 single “words” which was written by one of the Bee Gees.

Enjoy:

January 8, 2017 Elvis Presleys’ 82nd birthday

I don’t know why but as the years pass by I find myself often reflecting and, in between having a permanent broken heart and missing/loving/wanting the best for/etc my children, yearning for days gone by when Elvis was filling stadiums and his songs fluttered on the airways.

Now it is January 8, 2017 and the 82nd anniversary of the day he was born. Man, in a few years it will be MORE YEARS PAST THAN ELVIS PRESLEY EVER LIVED. The math on this is that Elvis was 42 years old when he died. As of today it has been 39 years since he (sadly) passed away (August 16, 1977). So, in the next few years it will 43 years since Elvis died versus the 42 years he lived. What a loss. What a…loss.

Graceland, and Priscilla and Lisa Marie, will (in all probability) have a week of acknowledgement filled with events as fans gather from around the world. His beloved home, Graceland, will be open and there will be candle light vigils in remembrance. The tree, whose branch expectantly broke while the members of the “Memphis mafia” were in a car during his funeral/mourning, will still be there as is the wall that fans have been writing on since the 1950’s.

I have Elvis’ music, and other eclectic singers, in every “listening device” including the albums and 45’s (which I have two record players but I don’t want to damage the records which was not the case when I was a child/young man/younger/etc. as I played the grooves off each Elvis record I could get my hands on. Man, what a…loss.

As 2017 rolled around I was heavy hearted thinking about all of the people who (sadly) passed away that were; related to, loved by, trusted by, worked with, etc. Elvis. The same is true with others in the entertainment industry whose passing were worldwide news. But, Elvis had an uncanny ability to surround himself, individually and collectively, with people of quality. Of great intellect and personality. Of being grounded and unique. With sadness, yet respect, I have put their names in memorandum on http://www.ElvisCollector.info. I hope to add much more content to these special people.

While I created http://www.ElvisCollector.info with hesitation and with nothing other than a positive distraction for me far removed from my cancer treatment(s) and my divorce but most of all from the nightmare that is custody/visitation issues. My heart goes out to the children of divorce as well as their parents and loved ones. Back to http://www.ElvisCollector.info.

I have been amazed at how many people visit http://www.ElvisCollector.info each day. Each month. Each year. At one point I put “digital pins” on a “digital map of the world” on my laptop(s). The pins were red and the map was white outlined in black. Before the month was out the red pins were in (literally) every corner of the world. To make things even more joyous the site was ranked, in about 70 different categories, number 1 in many search engines.

I added site content and decided to put “never seen before” photographs along with cool and unique; videos, audio files, photographs, documents, handwriting, personal possessions, etc. pertaining to Elvis. But, I had a few “non-negotiable s” such as; I would not allow anything about Lisa Marie (out of respect as she has her own forums to do so if she wants), I would not allow anything about anyone Elvis dated other than Priscilla (this was a hard decision for me as so many of those Elvis dated are INCREDIBLE people including  Linda Thompson, Sandie Kaye Stevens, Kathy Westmoreland, etc.) for the same reason pertaining to Lisa Marie, I would not allow anything to be sold/offered for sale, I would not allow any ads, I would not allow any pop-ups, I would put things on the site that were interesting to me, I would write original stories/articles about Elvis onstage and off, I would put an emphasis on the visual (photographs, videos, etc.), I would put Elvis’ life onstage and off told by FACTS and in context, and I would keep the format simple yet compelling.

I also wanted fans to know about other sites, and person(s) (including but not limited to Russ Howe, Paul Litcher, Phil Arnold, Sandie Kaye Stevens, Sandi Pichon, Marty Lacker, Alanna Nash, etc.), about Elvis. Now, I have very high standards, as has been the case since the late 60’s, but these sites/people are truly deserving to be recognized. I hope people check out every site/person listed as they are worth the “click” and the “time”.

Well, I’m off to knock out a few chores/errands but here are a few cool things that I hope your enjoy.

Please visit, and share via social media and verbally, http://www.ElvisCollector.info and http://www.ElvisCollectorWorldwide.freeforums.org (please BOOKMARK as the name is sooooo long and typing it over and over will give you carpal tunnel) the Elvis Presley forum that is 100% free to join. Please note that the forum is still in the “beta testing” realm and hopefully 2017 will be the year it is up to par with my expectations.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Take care and may God bless you and yours always.

Jeff Schrembs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elvis Presley – a generational…thing

Being in the hospital is something that I have had to deal with. But, being in the hospital for extended periods of time is upsetting to say the least. Being in an “isolation room”, due to fear of further infection, is something else all together.

My heart and prayers go out to medical care providers and their family/loved ones. And I mean everyone from the trash collector, to the volunteers, to the doctors and everything else. I feel the same way about the patients themselves and their family/loved ones.

The design of the local hospital is similar with Baptist Hospital where Elvis (sadly) was taken when he died on August 16, 1977 and where he was admitted numerous times for various medical issues. But, the technology and the medical advances between the 1970’s and now is almost incalculable. It amazes me.

I have had the occasion to listen to many of my eclectic playlist, record collection, digital music downloads, etc. and YES I have every Elvis Presley song ever recorded my taste in music, and my favorites depending on the mood, I listen to a vast array of artists many (sadly) have died but they left behind, as Elvis did, great quality of musical works. I will say that Elvis sounded as good if not better onstage, and he moved around quite a lot, as he did on his recordings which were NEVER digitally enhanced and/or auto tuned or anything else as Elvis had great instinctual vocal inflections and a beautiful four and a half octave vocal range. The man flat out could sing.

I find myself, more often that I would like, getting emails or phone calls about those who were close to Elvis undergoing medical hardships and/or passing away. My heart goes out to them as do my prayers. We are literally losing, each month and each year, people who were or quality and witnessed Elvis’ personal and professional triumphs, setbacks, frustrations, etc. And each generation that comes along rarely knows the names of these exceptional people.

I am very weak but I had this on my mind as my granddaughters, who are personally and musically wholly unique, have been listening to Elvis songs. They are still in elementary school and for them to like, appreciate, learn the words, and even sing the songs that Elvis recorded decades before they took their first breath is…remarkable. Does Elvis dominate their musical tastes? No, but I have always believed in quality over quantity.

Elvis’ music has been a part of the soundtrack of my life for better or worse. It is ingrained in my mind and associated with a lifetime of memories (which becomes harder and harder as getting older is not “fun” and it takes adverse tolls on your mind and your body jack). But, unlike so many I put Elvis’ life into context with equal footing for each of his great works and his failures/shortcomings personally and in his career. I don’t gloss over facts.

For those of my generation no one else knows of how life used to be and how it was cool when Elvis was around and killing it onstage/tv and producing songs that warranted being played over and over until the record itself could not be played again. Many of them were that good.

Throughout Elvis’ career he had fans across every generation and, though not as often, continues to do so to this day. I hope future generations will be exposed, and like, to Elvis’ life and his decades of great professional works in every media genre. Though so much as changed I have faith in the generations to acknowledge quality and if they do then Elvis Presley will always be relevant and that, my friends, is a good thing indeed.

Take care and may God bless you.

 

me-october-14-2016  Jeff Schrembs

http://www.ElvisCollector.info

http://www.ElvisCollectorWorldwide.freeforums.org