From the Archives: Remembering Elvis on His Birthday

We love us some Elvis here in the Archive, so, of course, we're going to celebrate his 74th birthday. 

He's been gone now for 31 years.

Yet Forbes Magazine still ranks him as the Number One earner among deceased celebrities.

And you'll hear him sing "If I Can Dream" at the Barack Obama Inauguration.

So just who are all those Elvis fans still out there?

The folks at Yahoo broke down searches for the name Elvis Presley.

54% are women.

Texas registered the most searches (Tennessee ranked 9th).

Rockford, Illinois had the most searches by city.

After Elvis's death in 1977, WDEF aired a tribute to the entertainer.

So to mark the birthday,  I've pulled three interviews from that special featuring local people with ties to Elvis.

The host is Jerry Lingerfelt.

First, we meet a local businesswoman who jumped on the Elvis bandwagon early.

She became a fan and got to know him before he ever hit it big.

Our second interview was a retired ROTC teacher who taught Elvis.

He also gave him his first ride in a Cadillac.

And finally, a local teenager who was inspired by Elvis. 

This Central High student made a reputation by lipsynching to Elvis performances.

You even get to see him perform at the old Dr. Sage's!

You can count on the Elvis Remembered special resurfacing in the future.

But if you can't wait, check out the Archive story about Tommy Jett's tribute record that we ran last summer.