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American Morning
25th Anniversary of Elvis' Death
Aired August 14, 2002 - 09:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The King is gone, but definitely still the King, though. The 25th anniversary of Elvis' death. This keeps popping up everywhere across America, but nowhere else more, though, than Memphis.
Gary Tuchman standing by outside Graceland.
Hey, Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good morning to you.
It is incredible to believe that a quarter century has gone by since Elvis Presley died on August 16th, 1977. In the year's since, his home, Graceland, has become a huge tourist mecca. And this week, more than 100,000 people are expected to tour the mansion that Elvis Presley called home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): They come from all over the world, people who adore him, people who try to look like him, people paying their respects to the king of rock 'n' roll, buried in the backyard of his mansion known as Graceland, next to his grandmother, his mother and father.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was absolutely the most fantastic singer I have ever heard.
TUCHMAN: Elvis Presley lived the last 20 years of his life in Graceland, a 23-room mansion that sits on about 14 acres of land, real estate now described as priceless.
But when he bought it, it cost:
ANGIE MARCHESE, GRACELAND CURATOR: A little over $100,000, and that was in 1957.
TUCHMAN: Angie Marchese is the curator of Graceland; 100,000 visitors are expected to tour the mansion this week, the 25th anniversary of Elvis' death, but it's almost always busy here.
MARCHESE: Even as the first generation of Elvis fans are no longer around, their children are coming.
TUCHMAN: Inside Elvis' home, the furniture, the art, even the carpeting on the ceilings have not been changed since his death. A sparkling chandelier so big it had to be brought into the home in pieces hangs above a portrait of his ex-wife, Priscilla, and their daughter, Lisa Marie.
The living room has stained glass, and a vintage 1950s 15-foot couch. The kitchen is a huge room, that could accommodate many cooks and guests. A TV room features three televisions next to each other, because Elvis learned that President Lyndon Johnson had a similar set- up. There is apparently no truth to the rumor that he smashed TVs at Graceland in anger.
MARCHESE: No, no, no, that happened in a hotel room in Las Vegas.
TUCHMAN: Elvis was never a subtle man in life. And in death, subtlety is not part of the Graceland tourist experience. Visitors walk through an Elvis fan detector. They see his private plane, the Lisa Marie, named after his daughter, permanently parked across the street. Tourists even get married in a chapel on the grounds. Samantha and Fred Chamberlain flew in from England to become man and wife at the home of the King.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cried. I cried. The whole experience was just overwhelming.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Did you feel like Elvis' spirit was here when you were getting married?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, definitely. He definitely looks over us, hopefully the planning (ph). Everything has gone so smoothly.
TUCHMAN: Graceland has always been a point of pride for Memphis, as evidenced during a news conference Elvis held at Graceland in 1960, after coming back home from two years in the army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to keep Graceland? Do you have plans of moving away from Memphis?
ELVIS PRESLEY, SINGER: No, sir, I have no plans for leaving Memphis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to keep Graceland?
PRESLEY: I'm going to keep Graceland as long as I possibly can.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: And true to his word, his will left the mansion to his daughter, Lisa Marie, which means Presleys have now owned Graceland for 45 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Lisa Marie will be here this week, along with her mother Priscilla. They'll be attending a concert on Friday, the actual commemoration date of Elvis' death 25 years ago. It's a concert which will have Elvis' bandmates participating and Elvis himself, not because Elvis is alive, but because Elvis will be appearing on a video screen. That will be Friday.
One more thing we want to tell you, an interesting and timely anecdote, happened back in 1976. A young musician scaled this fence right behind me to try to visit Elvis. Many people did that. But this young musician had the name of Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen idolized the King, but he never had a chance to meet him. The Boss never met the King, even though the Boss idolized the King. Otherwise, Springsteen has now been performing longer than Elvis Presley, number one album on the charts, but he really said the King was an Idol of his.
HEMMER: Efforts from Miami Steve (ph) and Bruce to get over that wall failed miserably that night.
Thank you, Gary. Enjoy it that. Gary Tuchman in Memphis, Tennessee.
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