Tag: Going To Graceland

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June 7, 1982 — Graceland is opened to the public

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When Elvis died in 1977, he left most of his fortune to his daughter Lisa-Marie, who was only 9 at the time. The assets, including Graceland, were held in trust for her, with his father Vernon as the executor. Upon Vernon’s death in 1979, this responsibility passed to Priscilla Presley.

Taxes and other bills were eating into the inheritance, and in order to keep it going, Priscilla decided to convert Graceland into a tourist attraction. It rapidly became one of the most popular destinations in the United States, and the income it generated saved the Presley fortune. Graceland was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, and declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006.

Memphis TN Graceland gates snow.jpg
By Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com) – Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link

As mentioned in:

Going To Graceland — The Dead Milkmen

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August 16, 1977 — Elvis Presley dies

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Just one more day, and he would have been touring again. But as it happened, Elvis Presley’s lifestyle caught up with sooner than that. Over the preceding few years, he had become seriously overweight, and also addicted to drugs. By the time of his death, Presley was sick enough that he was having difficulty staying upright throughout his concerts. His friends and crew were doing their best to conceal his difficulties, but things had been slipping for some time.

Elvis was buried in Memphis, next to his mother’s grave, two days after his death – although even today, decades later, sightings of the King of Rock and Roll continue (it’s just barely plausible that a man born in 1935 might be alive today, although in Elvis’ case it would seem to be less the years than the mileage).