The title of this e-piphany is an effort to avoid being sued. Yes, the odds of Priscilla Presley being a regular reader of this web-log are next to nothing but why take the chance? (The word web-log always reminds of me of the time our dog ate a Christmas tree ornament. When I went out back the next day to do the "clean-up" job, I found proof. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "Yule-Log.") Elvis & Me is the name of her book so that left Me & Elvis which is too close to another book called Me & A Guy Named Elvis. Also, I didn't want to be pummeled by angry English teachers. That happened enough back when I was in school. Elvis & Myself sounds like something a self-help author would be hawking on an afternoon talk-show. "Well, Oprah, I just think we all have an inner-Elvis with whom we need to be in touch. I also like to call it Hunka-Hunka-Burnin' Me." I & Elvis looks more like an algebraic formula than a title. So, I went with Elvis & I. Not to be confused with the soon-to-be released book by The King's optometrist: Elvis & Eye.

Yesterday, January 8, would have been Elvis Presley's 73rd birthday. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee even mentioned that in his post-primary speech last night in New Hampshire. I don't think we said much about it on FirstNews. In the old days on the show, we would have played a lot of Elvis' music going into and coming out of commercials. Now, we don't get to do that kind of thing very often because of the expense. Way back when, TV stations paid a lump sum to the music publishers like ASCAP or BMI and were able to use any music, anytime on their newscasts. Then, that figure got a little too pricey and some stations started to pay on an "as-used" basis. So, if we play too many seconds of, say, Heartbreak Hotel, it has to be reported and paid for. In order to get around that kind of thing, lots of TV stations buy libraries of generic music. The songs, if you can really call them that, are divided into categories like happy, serious, rock n' roll. But, really, they all sound pretty much the same. Just think of having Kris Ketz and Donna Pitman riding up and down in an elevator with you delivering the news. That's the way the music strikes me. Muzak without the charm. Anyway, we missed using the King's music and that maybe why it didn't come to mind on the show.

Admittedly, I was a late-comer to the music of Elvis. When it came to old-time rock and roll, I always leaned toward Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. In fact, it was at an Everly Brothers concert that Phil Everly reached over and patted our daughter Samantha on the head, telling her she was quite a little dancer. (She'd been dancing in the front row for the whole show.) That made Samantha a big Everly Brothers fan but, ironically, it was also Samantha that made me a true Elvis fan. (Is that the right place for the word "ironically?" Or, should it just be "coincidentally?" I'll ask our college-age son when I get home. The incorrect use of the word "ironic" is one of his pet peeves plus he loves to correct me so this will be the perfectly ironic coincidence for him. Or, the perfectly coincidental irony.) Samantha started listening to Elvis a lot at bedtime. He was her version of a lullaby. Soon, Harrison, before he could even walk, started dancing in his car seat to Suspicious Minds.

As I've mentioned before in this space, Elvis died the same day I attended my first Sinatra concert. The Chairman of the Board paid tribute to the King with a rather obscure song called See The Show Again, written by none other than Barry Manilow. The lyrics were fitting, about a singer whose life becomes unhappy and a bit empty when the spotlight goes out and the curtain comes down.

Later, when I was one of the KMBC hosts of a local radio talk-show, one of the most caller-active shows I had involved a local doctor who insisted that Elvis was still alive. He had a tape of an alleged conversation with Presley and a photo of a frail looking white-haired man on one of those scooter-type things called a "Rascal." Just the idea that there might be more music to come from Elvis Presley got some people pretty excited. But, to be honest, by the end of the radio show, I was completely in line with another Elvis tune: A Little Less Conversation. The doctor's story was interesting and did provoke a response from listeners but it was also a little sad. I got to thinking it was better just to enjoy the legacy than pick at the life.

Elvis appeared in Madison, Wisconsin quite often when I was growing up but, sad to say, I never saw him in person. One visit did make the news, though. He was in his limo when he saw an altercation at a gas station. He made the driver stop. Jumped out of the car and broke up the fight. All while dressed in his rhinestone-covered jump-suit. Elvis was, according to the limo-driver and off-duty policeman providing security, having a pretty good laugh when he got back in the car. "Did you see the looks on their faces?" he said. I can imagine!