The king of rock and roll

Tomorrow, January 8, would have marked the 70th birthday of Elvis Presley. The official Elvis website has some interesting events noted for tomorrow.

The Elvis phenomenon is really remarkable. Most performers struggle for years to become well-known, and the best have a breakthrough moment that catapults them to major stardom, and the fame gradually decreases, similar to the familiar "Bell Curve." Elvis had a radically different trajectory. He skyrocketed to fame fairly quickly, where he remained until the dreaded "movie years" on the 1960s. He returned to the international spotlight with performances in Las Vegas and Hawaii, the latter of which was watched in forty countries by an estimated 1 to 1.5 billion people. He again declined in popularity until his death in 1977, and has become in death as popular as he had ever been in life.

Elvis, still takin' care of business after all these years.