Priscilla Presley Pays Tribute To Elvis & Attends Graceland Vigil On 45th Anniversary Of His Passing

Aug 19, 2022 by apost team

Beloved as the “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley was a pivotal figure in the music industry and, to this day, is still recognized as one of the greatest performers of all time. 

Although Elvis passed at the age of 42 on Aug. 16, 1977, his musical legacy lives on. On the 45th anniversary of his death in 2022, his ex-wife Priscilla paid tribute to the legend, as she attended a vigil alongside tens of thousands of fans at their former residence Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Elvis was born on Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. His identical twin brother was delivered 35 minutes before him but did not survive. Elvis had a close relationship with his mother, Gladys Love, and remained close to her until her death in 1958.

Known for hits such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” Elvis’s music career took off with his first No. 1 hit “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956. He was also an actor, starring in a total of 33 films, including “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Hawaii,” “King Creole,” “Viva Las Vegas” and “Flaming Star.” 

Elvis was drafted into the army in March 1958. After basic training, he was deployed to Germany on Oct. 1, 1958. 

Cupid’s arrow struck a year later during a party Elvis hosted in Bad Nauheim, Germany. Priscilla Beaulieu — as she was known then — was a doll-faced 14-year-old girl who caught his eye.

On March 2, 1960, Elvis returned to the U.S. While he could leave the army behind, he could not leave Priscilla behind. Their love affair led Priscilla to eventually move from Germany to join Elvis in Graceland. After many visits, Priscilla’s parents let her move with Elvis to Tennessee in 1963, and the two tied the knot in 1967.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2012, Priscilla Presley talked about her life and relationship with Elvis. It was widely reported that Elvis groomed her as a teenager, making her dress and look the way he wanted her to. Priscilla explained:

“After we got married in May 1967, when I was 21, I got pregnant straight away. Initially, I was devastated. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, here I am married and now I’m pregnant and I'm not going to look attractive anymore.’ It was certainly a rocky time.”

Elvis recreated her in his own image as time went on and wanted her to “match” his looks. At one point, Priscilla even called herself Elvis’ “living doll.”

Although the pair divorced in 1973, they remained friendly, raising their daughter, Lisa Marie, together. Elvis died on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42 at his Memphis home of Graceland and his funeral was held two days later. Then-president Jimmy Carter credited Elvis with having “permanently changed the face of American popular culture.”

Now, 45 years later, Priscilla opened up to Today about their life and her thoughts on the Baz Luhrmann biopic “Elvis” released on June 24, 2022.

“I mean what a great movie,” she said, “Baz Luhrmann I have to say is a genius, I don’t know anyone else who could’ve done this movie like he did.” She said one of the hardest things about watching the movie was reliving Elvis’s most painful and challenging moments.

“He wanted to do movies, serious movies, and (his manager) Colonel Parker probably should have stayed a publicist. He didn’t take Elvis where he wanted to be, and that was hard because I lived it,” she added. She revealed Elvis also had ambitions to be a serious actor.

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“I lived the arguments that they had, I lived Elvis trying to explain he didn’t want to do the movies with all the girls and the beaches and everything, that he really wanted to do serious things. So living that, with him, and watching the movie, it brought back a lot of memories,” Priscilla continued in the same interview.

Priscilla admitted she had some apprehension when she heard the movie was being made, but that Lurhmann’s assurances comforted her. “He put me a little at ease but I still didn’t know how it was gonna come out,” she said.

After a private screening with Elvis’s longtime friend Jerry Schilling, Priscilla said she was left speechless. “We didn’t talk at all and at the end we went, ‘Wow, this is Elvis,’” she recalled. She later attended the movie’s premiere with Lisa Marie and her granddaughter actress Riley Keough.

The now 77-year-old Priscilla remained adamant about keeping Elvis’s legacy alive.

“Anything he wanted to do or wished to do as far as in life, I want to try to get that to happen. It’s a big responsibility,” she said. 

Her plan appeared to be working, with 30,000 fans showing up for a vigil marking “The King’s” death at Graceland, which Priscilla had opened to the public in 1982. “To see the amount of people that still come to see Elvis is unbelievable,” she remarked of the vigil.

Now, new fans are discovering him through the movie and through his timeless classics. Graceland’s vice president of archives and exhibits Angie Marchese told Today that younger fans are showing up after discovering his music on streaming platforms.

“Elvis still has that charisma that’s able to attract fans nearly 45 years after his passing,” Marchese said. “I think Elvis will always be a pretty big deal.”

What do you think of Priscilla Presley’s mission to keep her ex-husband’s legacy alive? Which Elvis Presley hits do you have on replay? Have you watched “Elvis?” Let us know and pass this on to all the fans of “The King” you know.