Elvis, 30 Years Dead and as Big as Ever (VIDEO)

As the 30th anniversary of his death approaches, Elvis is a presence still strongly felt. He is the second biggest-earning dead celebrity after Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated $42 million from licensing deals in 2005-2006 That’s a 40-fold rise since 1979, when Priscilla Presley stepped in as executor of the estate after the death of Elvis’ father Vernon. In the last five years, remixes of lesser-known songs “Rubberneckin”’ and “A Little Less Conversation” have become No. 1 hits. Anyway you cut it Elvis is alive and rockin,’ as big as ever. Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager said it best 30 years ago “Elvis didn’t die. The body did, this changes nothing.”
Just a sample of tributes for the King’s memorial anniversary:
• Elvis Expo at the Memphis convention center that features sold-out appearances by members of his TCB Band and former wife Priscilla
• A candlelight vigil at Graceland starting on Wednesday that will be covered live by the all-Elvis-all-the-time Elvis Radio channel on Sirius Satellite. Some 50,000 fans are expected to attend.
• A new, banana-creme-flavored Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup from The Hershey Co. that encourages buyers to “Live Like The King,” with a playful nod to Presley’s penchant for excess
• Former pop star Marie Osmond, who knew Presley, is selling a limited-edition doll that imagines an infantile Elvis in pompadour, clutching a microphone and sporting his familiar American-eagle jumpsuit
• Elvis Presley pretenders in bespangled jumpsuits and 1950s sportscoats gyrated across a Memphis stage for the opening round of the first “tribute-artist” contest with an official Graceland blessing.