Coming clean and the King

So, I made an impossible declaration a week and a half ago. This time there was no ultimate victory. This was the phase in which I failed so I hid in a hole for a week. Now I have to come out and fess up. Gah!

I was not the first to use it, nor will I be the last. It just fits so well. Anyways, I've promised 5 blogs to J. Three of which have been specified. They were supposed to have been done by last weekend. But, though I am a procrastinator, I am not one for giving up completely. Consider this my come back before the next impossible declaration either boosts my ego or crumples me for a week and a half. Anyways, I am supposed to write a blog on why Elvis is the King, listing all those things that made/make him awesome. This should be interesting since I did not grow up listening to Elvis and have never seen any of his films (something I'm sure will be remedied within the next few months). You could say I'm a Beatles girl since the argument is you have to be primarily an Elvis person or a Beatles person (Pulp Fiction fans make me proud). I most definitely grew up listening to the Beatles and watching their films. However, I never understood comparing the two or creating one better than the other. They seem so completely different in their origins, approach and style that it confuses me when I hear people arguing which is responsible for rock and roll being so rockin' and rollin'. At this point I declare platypus and say that I am a Doors girl. There we've gotten that out of the way. Now for my task.

Since I've yet to be educated on the man I've decided to look up random facts and see how they make me feel about him as a person and not just a rock legend. Let's see, Elvis is awesome for the following reasons (and so many more):

• Elvis's entourage was known as the Memphis Mafia. And they all wore rings that said TCB (Take Care of Business). That alone makes me wish there was a Godfather-esque film involving Elvis. Could you imagine? And let me stop you if you think I'm making fun or being sarcastic. I am dead serious. That would have been an amazing feat if done just right.
• Elvis was blond until his late teens. I get that. I'm naturally blond. Black hair looks damn good and who here can't admit he'd made himself to be an amazing image.
• When Elvis discovered his wife had been having an affair with a close friend he was enraged but when his bodyguard offered to set out a contract to kill the man, Elvis let him go. I'm telling you, Godfather. 
• The day before he died he tried to get a print of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope to show to his daughter. That really does hit me right in the heart. I'm a geek so I love Star Wars sure. But the man obviously wanted to do something for his daughter and you can't say that about many musicians who make it big.
• "On 30 July 1954, Elvis played one of his first shows, at the Overton Park Shell in Memphis. He was, apparently, so nervous, that his legs started to shake. The outlandish flares the singer had chosen to wear that evening only exacerbated the shaky movement. The girls in the audience went wild, and Elvis decided to incorporate his shaky-legs routine into future shows." I have to say this is my favorite piece of trivia so far. I love that he transformed a nervous movement into his trademark moves.

• "Led Zeppelin were big fans of Elvis and were desperate to meet him when they toured the US. In 1973, the longed-for meeting came to pass, when Robert Plant and John Paul Jones met the King in Los Angeles. The Zeppelins were rendered speechless by the meeting, but Elvis broke the ice by swapping his $5,000 gold and diamond watch for Jones’s watch – which featured a picture of Mickey Mouse. From that moment on, any member of Led Zeppelin was welcome in the front row of an Elvis concert." There are no words for how amazed I am right now. All that would really come out would be an unintelligible stutter of "Led Zeppelin...Robert Plant...JPJ...speechless...Mickey Mouse watch!"
• His favorite toothpaste was Colgate (I could write an entire blog and how I always have a conversation with myself in my head when I use Colgate about how much more I like it than Crest or any others and how I want to tell people when I borrow theirs and it's not Colgate but I must be polite and not a worthless toothpaste snob). And his favorite soft drink was Pepsi. Take that Coca-Cola! (Though I enjoy some of your products, let's face the truth, Pepsi just tastes better and doesn't leave a funny aftertaste). 
• "Elvis wore a cross, the Hebrew letter chai, and a star of David around his neck. 'I don’t want to miss out on heaven due to a technicality,' he said." I couldn't help but crack a smile
• Elvis knew Cassandra Peterson as a showgirl before she became Elvira. He took an interest in her (not a sexual escapade) and told her to focus on her singing because he was impressed by her voice. Damn it Elvira, why didn't you listen to the King?!
• He sued to work as an usher in a movie theater. I actually think that is an interesting job since I love movies, and I love that he was later in the movies.
• The FBI supposedly has 600 or so odd files on Elvis. Again, Godfather.
• Seriously though, I've heard that he pretty much started from nothing and made himself into something, which is the American Dream. I also heard that he spent a good deal of that money on all of his friends and family. Somehow that sets Elvis up in my mind as a Charles Foster Kane figure. Just makes me feel like he just wanted to share all that he had because he really just wanted friendship and love. But I'm pretty ignorant on the matter so...

I challenge J to tell me some real facts (since he's pretty much an expert) and then tell me what makes him an Elvis man.

Oh yeah, and I got my alleged "facts" from here, here and here.