ELVIS PRESLEY DEAD 33 YEARS TODAY

'Thank-you very much...'

As we celebrate the birthday of Bukowski, today also marks the 33rd anniversary of the death of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley.

The King was larger than life and even in death, millions of Presley fans worldwide will pay respects today to one of true innovators in rock.

Rocker Bruce Springsteen said, "There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king."

Perhaps, though, music legend and Beatle John Lennon may have summed it up best when he said, "Before Elvis, there was nothing." (apologies to Sinatra, but hey, it's a different kind of music)...

Sultry, innovative, feral. Enjoy the performance below:

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IF ELVIS WERE ALIVE AND MADE A COMEBACK ...

... It might look like this.

Allow me to backtrack a bit. I've had more minor illnesses and colds this year than I think ever before and spent many a day and night watching crap on cable that I probably never would.

One day, there was a flick called "Lonely Street" on that starred comic Jay Mohr. Being that Mohr is a Jersey boy, I decided to give it a whirl. The film has an interesting pedigree. It's directed by Peter Ettinger and stars Robert Patrick, Nikki Cox, Ernie Hudson, Mike Starr, Joe Mantegna, Paul Rodriguez and comedian Katt Williams.

"Lonely Street" is the first film to be adapted from the popular series of detective novels by Steve Brewer.

The official synopsis as as follows:

Bumbling PI Bubba Mabry (Mohr) will take any assignment to pay the rent, so when JG (Mike Starr) offers him some serious cash to protect a mystery client from an overzealous reporter, Bubba thinks he's got it made but gets more than he bargained for when he discovers his client is Elvis -- aka "Mr. Aaron" (Robert Patrick. Mr Aaron has faked his death and is planning a comeback.

When the case takes a wild twist and the reporter turns up dead with Bubba as the prime suspect, he enlists the help of streetwise Rodent (Katt Williams) for some fast answers. With Detective Romero (Paul Rodriguez), Captain Morgan (Ernie Hudson), the beautiful bombshell Bambi Gamble (Nikki Cox), and a sexy tabloid editor, Felicia Quattlebaum (Lindsay Price), hot on Bubba's tail in this whodunit, a rock-n-roll roller coaster unfolds.



Standard comedy caper stuff and the film probably could have probably been better. So why am I writing this?

Camp and one-liners aside, what makes the film worthwhile was the stupendous performance by Robert Patrick as The King of Rock and Roll. We all love to wonder what Elvis would have been like has he lived. Did he fake his death? What would he have looked like? What would he have recorded? And I just love the fact that the novel and film depicts Presley as a health freak -- complete with wheat germ and smoothie shakes.

And wow... Patrick's take on The King is uncanny and film's comeback tune for Elvis is F@#%ing killer, embedded below...

Warning: Don't watch or listen if you don't want this tune in your head all night.

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NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE ME (flash fiction)

Guy walks into a bar - my little hole-in-the-wall bar, as matter of fact.

It was in mid-August and about three in the afternoon when I saw this elderly man, a stranger to me, limp up to the juke and labor over his selections. At the start of the first note, he smiled and made way towards the bar, dragging his cane slightly behind him.

After serving him my best sarsaparilla he told me that it was a special day and that he wished he could be with his daughter.

We talked a small bit, his songs finished long before his third sarsaparilla and, as he left, slurred "Thank you very much..."

And then it hit me and got the chills - the songs, that voice, a daughter. No one would believe me.

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ALL HAIL THE KING

Elvis Presley died 31 years ago today. Let's bow our heads and listen a little rockabilly.

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