Elvis, Still a Music Influence 44 Years After His Death

This weekend Elvis Presley would have celebrated his 86th birthday.

As we all know, he passed away in 1977 at the young age of 42. The reason Elvis was known as the “King of Rock and Roll” was because of his unprecedented success.

He sold over one billion units of his music including over 600 million here in the United States. He had 107 Top 40 hits and 18 number one hits.

His music continues to sell even to this day, some 44 years after his death. New young age groups of those who appreciate music have discovered the music of Elvis, albeit the numbers are dwindling each year but they are still very respectable.

A new documentary about him aired last year and his music lives on in commercials, movies and TV. That exposure continues the fascination with the music and persona of Elvis.

Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison all have said that Elvis was a big influence in getting them involved with music. John Lennon said “without Elvis there would be no Beatles.” Paul McCartney agreed and said that they “studied” Elvis as both an icon and mentor of Rock and Roll.

For those of you who are a little bit older and enjoyed the music of the King, please share his music and story with a younger fan who just might appreciate the legend of Elvis.

Thank you, thank you very much!