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Every year, in the third week of August, a national obsession reaches a fevered pitch and its epicenter is Memphis, Tennessee.
Wednesday marks the 24th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death and the southern town is in full-scale tribute mode.
The city is playing host to 50,000 people who have traveled from as far away as England, Australia and China to participate in the weeklong event celebrating the life and music of the King.
Fans gather for movie marathons, concerts broadcast on JumboTron screens, and question-and-answer session hosted by George Kline, a local radio personality and friend of Presley’s.
The tribute is topped off by Wednesday’s candlelight vigil that will feature three hours of interviews from Presley’s gravesite streamed on the Internet so those who can’t attend the event can still participate.
“Last year, a guy came from China and during the vigilcast, his friends saw him and sent an e-mail,” said Scott Williams, the marketing manager for Elvis Presley Enterprises. “We went out and found the guy to let him know that his friends were watching him.”
After years of seeing cheesy Elvis impersonators on television shows and in movies, the image of 50,000 fanatics descending on their city sounds like a nightmare for local residents.
In fact, it’s the exact opposite. The city depends on the yearly celebration –- and the continued reverence of Presley -– to shine a spotlight on it. Each year, more than 700,000 people make the trip to Graceland, the legendary home where Presley lived.
“This has a huge impact on our community,” said Kevin Cane, Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau president. “The worldwide exposure that we’ve gotten for the last 24 years is just amazing. There is no slowing down.”
Indeed, the event — which started as a spontaneous outpouring of emotion from thousands of fans in 1977 — continues to get bigger every year. Many of the yearly visitors keep in touch throughout the year with the help of an e-mail newsletter that 50,000 people receive from Elvis Presley Enterprises.
And each year, those people return to honor the man they argue is the greatest entertainer of all time.
“These people are coming out to honor the king of rock and roll,” Cane said. “We’ve had 43 presidents, but we’ve only had one king.”
Over the years, parents have done their part, honoring Presley by giving their children names that evoke his memory.
Travis Aron Thornhill’s parents, for example, gave him the same middle name.
Twenty-four years later, Travis and his wife, Jessica Thornhill, of Hutchinson, Kansas, are continuing the tradition — sort of.
They named their son, who was born last Saturday, Iuma — not because of an association with Presley, but because of their love for music.
Travis’ band, Opus, has a website hosted by the Internet Underground Music Archive -– the first digital music site that offered free music downloads.
Last year, IUMA –- the company -– offered $5,000 to anyone who would name their child after the business. Travis jumped at the chance.
“When we were having the baby, my mom gave us a sign that the baby would bring us good luck and prosperity,” Travis said. “She felt that Iuma would bring good fortune. Besides, this is a typical ‘dad’s in a band’ type of thing to do. I mean, I’m not exactly Frank Zappa, but it makes sense.”
Indeed, it made enough sense that nine other couples named their newborns after the digital music company as well. Maybe Thornhill’s mother knew something the rest of the world didn’t because IUMA, which nearly went belly-up last year, was rescued by Vitaminic, an international website that also offers music to consumers.
Today, the site is flourishing again despite the bad economic times.
The baby Iuma phenomenon personifies the American cultural obsession with music. No doubt there are going to be a lot of Elvises and Arons running around the streets of Memphis this week.
