The Day Elvis Died - 1977
Kathee and I lived in Pittsburgh PA (actually out in suburbia - Level Green PA). I was 27. He was 42. I thought he was so old!
Presley's friends feel love, pain, 40 years after his death
It isn't just the legend of Elvis Presley that has unmatched staying power 40 years after his death. The guilt, pain and regret felt by those who knew and loved him lingers, too.
Prolific session musician and producer Norbert Putnam was on vacation with his family in Hawaii when he heard his friend died of a heart attack. After years of making groundbreaking music and acting in more than two dozen movies, Presley's career had slowed, and historical accounts of his life note he was fighting obesity and substance abuse when he passed away in his Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.
Putnam was standing in line to pay for items at a general store when he heard someone say Presley had died.
"I reached into my pocket, threw some money down, ran to the car, threw the food down, turned on the radio," Putnam said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
Putnam switched on the radio. The announcer said: "Elvis Presley died this morning."
"I sat there in my car and bawled like a child who had a toy taken away from him," Putnam said. "I could not believe it. I thought someone should have staged an intervention. I thought he could have been saved."We've been to Graceland. Worthwhile
Read @PhilipTerzian on the death of Elvis Presley, 40 years later: https://t.co/eH0FxUYLOt
— Mike Warren (@MichaelRWarren) August 16, 2017
It was a Saturday. I was working for Cadet Cleaners in Toronto, and we offered same day service for Toronto police. That required me to work additional hours on Saturdays. I was driving to one of the stores, turned the radio on, and heard about some famous person passing away, but it was a few minutes before they repeated his name. I recall being shocked and saddened by the news.
ReplyDeleteOh, now come on, you know Elvis' death was faked! He's alive and being inconspicuous driving a red Ferrari in Kalamazoo. :^)
ReplyDelete#FakeNews?
Sorry, just couldn't resist.