1. Long Live the King: A Timeline

VALDOSTA — In August 1977, Dalton resident Greg Pellom was 14 and living in Navy housing in Charleston, S.C., when he heard the news.

“I was out playing with some of my Navy brat friends,” he said. “I remember it was very hot that day. We were running back and forth into the house to get something to drink.”

Pellom had gone into his house for some lemonade when he heard a TV announcer say the words that ricocheted across the nation: Elvis Presley was dead at 42.

“I just stood there in shock. I couldn’t believe it,” Pellom said.

Doerun resident Diane Horne was at Riverside Manufacturing, a uniform business, in Moultrie. She heard it on the radio and remembers a girl sobbing and sobbing because she never got the chance to see him live.

Darlene Griner from Omega was working at a doctor’s office in Jacksonville, Fla., when the news hit.

“I was devastated,” she said. “I felt like my dreams had been crushed. It was always a dream of mine to meet him in person.

“Everybody has to have a Prince Charming and Elvis was mine. I listened to his music on a daily basis.”

Valdosta resident Kent Moore was packing for a move from Georgia to North Carolina the day it happened, and he didn’t find out until the next morning.

He went to a little donut shop on the corner of Gordon and Oak and saw the newspaper with “ELVIS” printed in big letters across the top.

“My heart went down in my stomach. It just felt so empty, just like I’d lost a family member,” he said.

Angela Spillers, a Milledgeville resident, said everybody seemed to be in mourning. Thomasville’s Mary Kaye Nobles was one of the many stricken by grief.

She cried when her television blared the news. 

“Didn’t everybody?” she asked.

  

The Icon

Whether he was singing about a boy gunned down in the ghetto, a silly love song from a beach movie or a gospel number such as “How Great Thou Art,” the voice of Elvis Presley was recognizable from the first bar.

In a lifetime shortened by drug use, Presley embodied the personalities in those disparate musical forms and changed the face of American pop music along the way.

Since his unexpected death Aug. 16, 1977, his legend has only grown larger. From his humble beginnings in Tupelo, Miss., Presley became musical royalty. 

For many, the sensation who was told repeatedly that he should get a day job and give up on the singing is and will forever be the King.

Kent Moore is somewhat of an Elvis expert, having written two books on the man, besides being a diehard fan.

He writes that “Elvis began as a raw talent in 1954 and developed into the best-selling (more than 1 billion records sold) and arguably the best pop singer in history.”

“He blended country, gospel, and rhythm and blues to create rock and roll. Elvis’ three greatest assets were his magnificent voice, his charismatic stage presence and his versatility.

“He sang spunky rock (‘Jailhouse Rock’), lighter pop rock (‘Return to Sender’), country (‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’), blues (‘Blue Christmas’), sensitive ballads (‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’), pop standards (‘My Way’) and religious songs (‘How Great Thou Art’).

“No other singer can sing all of these genres well like Elvis did.”

Blowing the roof off the musical scene with his gyrations and nonconformist vibe, putting the fear of God into preachers’ messages about what was then considered lewd and lascivious behavior, and making the girls swoon, he swiveled his way into the hearts of a nation.

This year marks four decades since his passing, and his legacy shows no sign of dimming or fading away.

  

The Fans

To Elvis Presley fans, his life and music were magic. Elvis’ followers, particularly women, were more than fans. They truly loved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Despite Presley’s tragic, untimely death 40 years ago, the love is no less. The emotions have not waned.

Mary Kaye Nobles, a Thomasville hairdresser, is a case in point. Sunshine Corner, her South Broad Street salon, is all but a shrine to Elvis.

Upon entering the business, one is greeted by a life-size likeness of Elvis attired in a gold lame’ suit. To the right is a similar likeness, with Elvis wearing a tight, jeweled costume from his heyday Vegas performances.

Overhead is a clock that plays “Don’t Be Cruel” at the top of the hour, alternating with “Hound Dog” at the top of the next hour.

Growing up in Americus, Nobles attended movie matinees featuring Elvis films. Her favorite Elvis movie is “Love Me Tender” and “The Wonder of You” her favorite song.

“I think he had a lot of character and charisma about him,” she said. “I think he was a good person and generous and caring. … When he smiled, I mean, my God, you just melt.”

Her shop is full of Elvis memorabilia — black-and-white Elvis wallpaper in the restroom, a number of Elvis photographs, Elvis throw pillows, an Elvis snow globe and a large replica of Graceland. Elvis objects are everywhere, and she has much more at her home, including an Elvis Christmas village and a replica of a 1955 pink Cadillac.

“I have enough Christmas ornaments to decorate a Christmas tree,” Nobles, 60, said.

She saw Presley in concert in Macon in June 1977, two months before he died.

“You could tell he was sick.” Nobles said. “He was kind of puffy.”

Declining health or not, she still got chills when he made his entrance.

Kent Moore got to see Elvis at the Macon Coliseum in 1972.

“Elvis was so far away that his jump suit was a white blur but the sound was great,” he said. “He was so charismatic. He was just really electric when he came on the stage.”

Moore still listens to Elvis regularly and he’s got a lot of music to choose from. He owns all of Elvis’s studio recordings and official live recordings (about 700 songs).

“Because of the incredible variety of his songs, I don’t ever get tired of listening to him,” Moore said.

Kenneth Williams, 69, of Moultrie said during Elvis’ time, his talent was unmatched.

“When I (saw) him for the first time, I was really impressed. He kind of rocked my world,” he said. “They called him the King. He was the King.”

Sometimes it wasn’t his sensational music but just his magnetic, suave persona that won people over.

“The way he gave his handkerchiefs to one of the girls,” Doerun resident Gloria Rogers, 84, said, reminiscing about watching Elvis on TV. “I think I’d have been in heaven if it could have been me.”

Milledgeville resident Kenneth Jones saw Elvis before he was a household name but he remembers that people were drawn to the singer from the start.

“My sister lived in Memphis and I lived in Arkansas, and one time when I went to visit her, she wanted to take me out to his band. They had Johnny Cash and a whole bunch of people playing, when all of a sudden this young guy came out and everyone went wild. I said ‘Who is that?’ … and it was Elvis Presley, before he ever got started (on the national stage),” Jones said.

Len Robinson, owner of Thomasville radio stations WPAX and WTUF, was 15 or 16 when Elvis came on the scene. Robinson had a rock ‘n’ roll band, the Chevelles. It was mandatory that he learn Elvis’ songs but Robinson knew he could not mimic the moves.

“But if I told you I did not try to sound and sing like him, I would be lying, and so would every other singer of the rock ‘n’ roll era,” Robinson said, “whether they would admit it or not.”

Of course, Robinson played guitar. He had to if he was to play like Elvis. He sported a ducktail hairstyle and long sideburns.

Elvis brought about the biggest change in music that Robinson has ever witnessed, he said.

The King had it all, Robinson said: He made girls swoon, exuded sex appeal, exhibited charisma on stage and then there was the talent.

“He was the full package,” Robinson said.

  

The House

Forty years after his death, people still flock to the home that Elvis lived in for 20 years, Graceland. Since being opened to the public in 1982, the estate has seen more than 20 million visitors.

“I tell people that even if you aren’t an Elvis fan, you need to visit Graceland. There’s nothing else like it,” Dalton resident Greg Pellom said of the mansion that sits on 13 acres in Memphis.

Pellom has been hooked on Elvis ever since he was a child and heard Elvis sing “How Great Thou Art” on the radio. He’s made the trek to Graceland many times.

Moultrie resident Patsy Miller has too, but the first time she was surprised because she had expected something a little more colorful from a character such as Elvis.

“It wasn’t as fancy as I’d have thought it would have been,” she said.

But she couldn’t argue the gigantic size of the place. It’s 17,500 square feet, complete with five staircases and three fireplaces.

The tour shows off Elvis’ toys — his planes, Rolls Royces and motorcycles — not to mention his many accolades.

Sheryl Sealy of Thomasville said the award room goes “on and on and on.” Sealy was only 6 when Elvis died, but she’s a fan nonetheless, and she and her sister still text each other when an Elvis movie pops up on TV.

When fellow Thomasville resident Lisa Bynum visited Graceland, hearing Elvis songs on the tram made her emotional.

“I said, ‘I’m about to cry,’ and the lady behind me said, ‘me too,’” she said. “Even though he had so much success, it’s sad that he died at such a young age. I loved Elvis. I loved his music.”

Graceland isn’t the only home made famous by Elvis. Though not as well-known, a residence in Live Oak, Fla., has a special tie to the musical icon. It was his home in the 1962 movie “Follow That Dream.”

Elvis and his manager, Col. Tom Parker, donated the house, a miniature chuckwagon and two miniature Shetland ponies — Cheyenne and Checker Tab — to the Florida Sheriff’s Boy’s Ranch in Live Oak.

Bill Riggins, president of the Florida Sheriff’s Boys Ranch Alumni Association, said the wagon and horses were in several Live Oak parades during the 1960s.

The house was turned into the Boy’s Ranch Canteen, and for years housed a barbershop and a small canteen for the boys to purchase snacks and drinks.

Several decades ago, the canteen became the headquarters for the Florida Sheriff’s Boys Ranch Alumni Association. Riggins said throughout the years, people have donated Elvis memorabilia to him and the association.

Most of it now decorates the rooms inside of the building, keeping the King’s legacy alive.

  

The Impersonators

Normally taking on someone’s likeness is looked down on by society, but when it comes to Elvis, the more the merrier.

Robert D. Jenkins Sr. is a Dalton attorney, the author of two books on the Civil War and, for charitable causes, an Elvis impersonator.

“Like Elvis, I was born in Mississippi, though raised in Georgia, so the accent isn’t much of a reach,” he said. “Although my speaking voice doesn’t sound like his, my singing voice is naturally pretty close to his.”

When he was a child, Jenkins’ parents often played Elvis’ music, especially his gospel albums.

“I grew up singing his stuff,” he said. “That’s where it all got started. … My family members, members of my church, knew that when I sang I sounded like Elvis. So growing up, at family reunions or church events, someone would ask me to sing an Elvis song.”

Several years ago, the Humane Society of Northwest Georgia was having a fundraiser, and one of the members asked Jenkins to perform as Elvis.

“That was the first time that I actually tried to look like and dress Iike Elvis,” he said. “It was a lot of fun and I guess people enjoyed it because I’ve been asked to do it again.

Jenkins said there are so many things to point out when explaining what made Elvis so special.

“Obviously, he had a golden voice. He was handsome. When he came out, he was doing something completely new,” Jenkins said. “But I think it was more than that. He had a golden heart. He truly loved people, and that showed.

“There are stories of Elvis spotting someone walking down the road, someone he didn’t know, and immediately stopping and buying them a Cadillac so they didn’t have to walk anymore.”

Ted “Teddy Mac Elvis” McMullen of Live Oak is another Elvis impersonator who said he is blessed to have the voice to be an Elvis tribute artist. It’s something he’s done for 40 years.

“The man is never going to die spiritually ever,” McMullen said. “His music is going to keep going for ages.”

McMullen has always been involved in music, including having his own band at the age of 15. He was often told he had an Elvis-type voice.

A year before Elvis’s death, he performed his first show as Elvis. 

“I really loved his music,” McMullen said.

McMullen performs several times a year at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park but being a tribute artist is not his only connection to Presley.

His father, Bill, composed music for lyrics written by Mae Boren Axton, a family friend, and Tommy Durden in 1956 when the McMullens were living in Jacksonville. That song went on to become Elvis’ first No. 1 record, “Heartbreak Hotel.”

“He got $5 for his help,” McMullen said.

In a previous interview with the Suwannee Democrat, McMullen said Elvis sent his father a copy of his first album when it came out as a thank you and had actually signed it.

“I respect the man,” McMullen said. “There was only one Elvis and there will only be one Elvis.”

When on the stage, McMullen said he tries to entertain the people so it brings back memories. He said many of the guests were with Elvis from the beginning.

“The people that come to the shows have inspired me to keep going,” McMullen said, promising to continue until his voice can’t handle it anymore.

  

The Commemoration

The 40th annual Elvis Week in Memphis, commemorating Elvis’s life and legacy, will run Aug. 11-19, and Valdosta resident Kent Moore will join the festivities for the first time.

While there, Moore and fellow Elvis fans will see Priscilla Presley, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, songwriter/singer Mac Davis, and two band members: lead guitarist James Burton and drummer D.J. Fontana.

The grand finale will be a concert in Memphis’ FedEx Forum with Elvis singing on big screens accompanied by a live symphony orchestra. The event, which has sold out arenas around the world in the last year, has been described as “thrilling and so realistic that fans felt like Elvis was in the building.”

But even outside of Memphis, Elvis fans all across the nation and the world will remember his death — and more importantly, his life — in their own special way.

Dalton’s Pellom said he knows exactly how he’ll be spending Aug. 16, and it involves the King’s favorite sandwich.

“I’ll be watching Elvis movies, listening to his music and eating a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, with either an RC Cola or a Coke,” he said.

  

The SunLight Project team of journalists who contributed to this report includes Patti Dozier, Alan Mauldin, Charles Oliver, Will Woolever, Jessie Box, Eve Guevara, Jordan Barela and team leader John Stephen.

To contact the team, email sunlightproject@gaflnews.com.