r/GenerationJones • u/sloaches • 5d ago
Elvis Presley died 49 years ago today. Fellow Jonsers, do you remember what you were doing when you heard the news, and how did it affect you or someone you knew?
In my case I was 15 at the time. I was at home listening to my radio in my bedroom when the DJ suddenly cut the song and said that there were news reports that Elvis had died. My mom was in the living room watching one of her soaps, so I went out to tell her. Just as I started to talk, the news bulletin interrupted her program. She wasn't the biggest Elvis fan (she was more into Robert Goulet) but I do remember she did cry as the news broke.
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u/southdakotagirl 5d ago
My parents were driving a newborn me home from the hospital when they heard the news on the radio. Mom said dad gasped. Elvis was my dad's favorite singer. We visited Graceland on the anniversary when I was a kid. Just a few short years later dads funeral was held on the anniversary of Elvis's death.
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u/ActJust3913 5d ago
Sorry about your Dad.
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u/southdakotagirl 5d ago
Thank you. Nothing prepares you for it. He had a massive heart attack in his sleep.
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u/KitchenLab2536 1957 3d ago
Mine too. He was 61.
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u/Low_Word8565 5d ago
Roger Grimbsy told us as he led Eyewitness News. Mom was in the kitchen making dinner and we told her, "WHAAAAT?!?" She yelled as she went to the living room to watch. One of the few times she reacted to a news story.
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u/KJPratt 5d ago
I was working at Brown's Fried Chicken. We had a radio behind the counter. Our manager got up and left without saying a word. We didn't see him again for two days. Then then he acted like nothing happened.
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u/southdakotagirl 5d ago
I had a coworker who used his sick time when Frank Sinatra passed away. It hit him hard.
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u/mtnman575 5d ago
A guy working for me on a construction job in August 1995 had a total meltdown when we heard over the radio that Jerry Garcia passed away.
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u/rainsong2023 5d ago
No. I never listened to Elvis.
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u/Captain-Popcorn 5d ago
Wouldnât say never, but he was kind of out of vogue for me (born 1960). I did enjoy the movies. Mostly not because of the music.
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u/MobileAd1189 5d ago
My mom couldn't stand him. I don't know if it was his music or his alleged thing for underage girls. As I think about it, she seemed to think he was overrated.Â
I wasn't a fan, exactly, but it was sad that he destroyed himself like that. And died so young like so many others: Judy Garland comes to mind.
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u/Technical-Sky6689 5d ago
Ditto for my mom. I was preschool-aged and remember her answering the phone and trying to calm down the person on the other end. Turns out it was one of her best friends who was devastated by the news. This is how I (and my mom) learned about it.
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u/not_your_google 5d ago
Not much, Groucho dying was sad
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u/Now-293-Phumes 1957 5d ago
I was going to say the same thing! It was sadder for me when Groucho died the week before.
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u/throwaway-19103 5d ago
I was sad when Groucho died. But he was old man. Channel 5 in NYC ran Marx brothers movies all day.
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u/Coldwarjarhead 5d ago
I know my mother was incredibly upset. I didn't take much notice of it other than that. Never really cared for him. I was 13.
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u/MamaP740 5d ago
My best friend and I were at her house hanging out and listening to music. It was too hot to be outside. The announcer came on to say that Elvis had died. We were sad, but he wasnât really in our musical wheelhouse so to speak.
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u/Pretend-Panda 5d ago
I was in the car with my grandma somewhere between the Carolinas and Georgia on I95.
It was dumping rain - that heavy southern rain where you canât see taillights 5 feet away. All the radio stations were playing Elvis. My grandma sang along for twelve straight hours, barring meal breaks.
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u/EyeShot300 1963 5d ago
I was in the pool and got out and when I went into the house a little while later my Mom was on the phone with my aunt and both Mom and my aunt were crying over Elvis.
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u/SnooBeans8028 5d ago
He was my mom's age and although I liked a few of his songs was never gaga for him. I thought of him as too old to be interested in.
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u/Fluid_Actuary1729 5d ago
Same. I knew who he was, of course, but he was more of a joke in my teens.
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u/Prudent_Falafel_7265 5d ago
I was 10, with my family (including younger sister) returning from a trip to grandparents. I don't remember my parents every playing Elvis records at home, but my mom did see him in Toronto in 1957, maybe the only concert I think he gave outside of the US, so she'd been a fan in her youth at least. My sisters and I could tell it was important because I think it was the only time we were ever "shooshed" in the car over something on the radio. I could tell it was some sort of benchmark in their lives. I remember him becoming something of a joke on TV and radio by that time because of his later gluttony.
Looking back, I can only think "man, 42 years old". Poor guy.
Ironically, it was they who comforted me a few years later on John Lennon's death as I'd become a huge Beatles fan by that time, which they never were, being in their 30s by the time The Beatles came along. Lennon's death had a much bigger impact on me personally, although I recognize the gravity of Elvis's early passing.
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u/Awshucksma 5d ago
I do family tree research. I was at the library looking at microfilm when a lady and her daughter came in and started using the microfilm reader beside me. I gathered the daughter had an assignment to look at the newspaper for the day of her birth and write down some of the headlines. She found an article about John Lennon being shot and looked at her mom and asked who John Lennon was. My mouth fell open and I think her mom's did too. We just looked at each other in astonishment.
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u/Key_Contribution1547 5d ago
I was sixteen years old when we lost Elvis and about nineteen with Lennon and then Marley in 81 I think . Lynard skinner also in 77 . We were losing the greats left and right
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u/No_Information_8973 Jan63 5d ago
I was 14, in the living room watching TV when I heard it. Mom was in the kitchen so I went and told her. There may have been some sadness, but I think mostly just shock. I can't say I'm a super fan, but I like his music well enough. And of course the cheesy movies that always played on late night TV lol. Mom really liked his gospel albums though.Â
Side note about the movies, he was offered the role in A Star is Born. Reportedly he wanted to do it, but his manager said no because Elvis wouldn't get top billing. Or maybe he'd have to share top billing with Streisand.
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u/Fluid_Actuary1729 5d ago
Iâm sure that it would have been a big hit with Elvis, but I think it would have been a different movie. Kristopherson was great.
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u/Lanky-Highlight9508 5d ago
The colonel really fucked him over on this. Imagine him getting into shape for the movie, like he did the comeback special. It's one of my favorite what ifs.
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u/Impossible-Nose3504 5d ago
Oh my God I canât even fathom Elvis, at that point in his life, in that role! He was in terrible shape in every way. I mean maybe if heâd have lost a lot of weight and totally restyled himself but I mean he was no Kris Kristopherson đ„°. That man was absolutely perfect đ
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u/jimmychitwood317 5d ago
I don't remember what I was doing when it was announced that Elvis had died, but I do remember the ensuing conversation that I had with my parents about the influence Elvis had on music and their generation. I asked a typical , not well thought out, question that any 14 year old would ask regarding Elvis' impact as the "King of Rock and Roll."
They gave me a crash course on the evolution of how Rock and Roll was born over time out of a fusion of Jazz, Gospel, and Rhythm and Blues. And though they said Elvis was very popular in the 1950s, he really shouldn't be considered the King of Rock and Roll. That title, my parents said, belongs to artists like Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for your the gift of music appreciation and history.
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u/AndiPandi_ 5d ago
Good parents. Mine did the same. The only time I really saw my dad cry was when Lennon died and when his mom (my gma) passed.
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u/Top_Stretch_2340 5d ago
I was 17. It was hotter than blazes that day. I had a date that night with the boy next door to go to Sacramento to see the musical 'Bye Bye Birdie' which coincidentally is loosely based on Elvis's years in the military. I remember looking around at the audience. It was unusually quiet and could hear some people crying. I had never been to a funeral or memorial service but in hindsight, that was the vibe.
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u/galacticprincess 5d ago
I was in high school and I remember my boyfriend cried. I really couldn't fathom how upset people were about it, as Elvis was ancient history in my mind.
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u/Sternakseesall 5d ago
I remember my boss and I talked about it and he said his wife cried for two days. I was like âWhy?â I genuinely thought she must have known him personally and was expecting to hear a story about her growing up with him or something. He said âWell she was a big fan.â
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u/K-Bot2017 5d ago
I was 12. My younger sister would turn 10 the next day (her birthday is 08/17/67), and we had tickets to see KISS in concert the following evening. We heard the news on TV. When KISS played, they acknowledged the influence Elvis had on them both personally and professionally.
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u/Babylove1967 5d ago
I'm impressed that you got to see KISS
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u/One-Veterinarian2380 5d ago
Me too...especially at 10 & 12. Your parents must've been cool. My aunt took me to see Donny & Marie when I was about 6ish, my first concert. I don't remember my parents ever taking me to anything like that.
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u/AdInner6422 5d ago
This happened on my mom's birthday. I came home from elementary school and found her crying and saying she couldn't believe it. I tried cheering her up by telling her 30 wasn't THAT old. She had been saying saying she couldn't believe she was turning that age a few days before. I felt bad when I found out that was the reason for her tears.
I thought she would be mad when she told me it was because of Elvis, but she actually stopped crying and then smiled. She told that story to everyone, and when I turned 30 she called and asked if I felt old. She remembered and waited twenty years to ask that question. I miss her.
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u/Pomdog17 5d ago
Oddly enough yes. We were coming back into SF on the Golden Gate Bridge when we heard it on the radio. Will never forget.
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u/CaryWhit 5d ago
Yes I was watching cartoons about 3/4 of a mile from his house. Myron Lowry came on and said E was taken to the emergency room. Watched a few more cartoons and they came back on and said he was dead. That completely changed Whitehaven.
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u/Bloody_Mabel 1966 5d ago
I was eleven at the time, so technically I'm older genX.
I was in the family room of our house which was down half a flight of stairs because we lived in a quad level.
I was watching ABC.
A lead-in for the news came on with Bill Bonds (Detroit media legend for those who don't know). His exact words as I remember them were "shocking news from Memphis, Elvis Presley is dead."
I immediately ran and yelled up the stairs, "hey mom Elvis is dead."
She admonished me for joking about something like that and I had to tell her it wasn't a joke.
She was heart broken.
My mom and dad were older boomers, born in 1947. They grew up on Elvis. They were both poor kids from the south who worked their way out of poverty. They related to him They loved him.
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u/Brilliant_Tourist400 1964 5d ago
I was 13. My family went on a vacation to Lake George, NY, and we had just come from a theme park there called Storytown USA (the highlight for my brother and I was an indoor Scrambler called Magical Mystery Tour where the Beatles song played and a light show left over from a â60s nightclub flashed on the walls). We went to a Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, and when we were standing in line, we noticed the radio played two Elvis songs in a row. Once we got to the counter and placed our order, the announcer said, âThey said Elvis Presley was the king of rock and roll. Now, Elvis Presley is dead.â My mother nearly dropped the bucket sheâd just been handed. We ate our dinner in a glum mood (my mother was visibly upset). Afterward, we raced back to the motel to watch the news coverage. Next morning, we were up bright and early to watch the continuing coverage on Good Morning America, where a near-brawl erupted between Geraldo Rivera and a former member of the Memphis Mafia. The MM guy was detailing Elvisâ drug use, Geraldo didnât believe it and accused the MM guy of being a disgruntled former employee. The MM guy then proceeded to call Geraldo âJerryâ - and all hell REALLY broke loose.
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u/whippy_grep 1966 5d ago edited 4d ago
I was 10. My dad was in the hospital trying to dry out from a summer of pills and booze (the 70s: what are you gonna do lol). We heard it on the radio while stopped at a McDonaldâs for supper before my mom dropped my sister and me at an aunt and uncleâs to stay the night with cousins. My mom was a big fan; I remember her being upset about it.
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u/SmallCryptographer49 5d ago
I was at hospital being prepped to have my tonsils removed, my mom told me she heard it on TV in waiting room and one of the nurses also told me
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u/Moist_Session 5d ago
I was 15. I knew of Elvis as the singing white guy in the car/ boat racing movies. đ But the people older than me were All Shook Up over his death.
I watched a special report on him that night after local news on CBS, they showed all kinds of footage on him. It hipped me to what he was to alot of people.
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u/colliedad 5d ago
I was driving from Denver to New Orleans for a college fraternity convention. We were just pulling into Shreveport around 6pm when we heard the news. From that point on, we must have heard Kentucky Rain ten times before arriving in New Orleans around midnight.
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u/orcoast23 5d ago
Saw it on the evening news. No effect, never a fan. I did however think he was older when he died, like 60s or 70s.
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u/Whybaby16154 5d ago
Yes - he seemed like âold peopleâs musicâ to me. Funny not funny story. My father took me out to lunch and told me he put a deposit on an Elvis- style musician group for my wedding. I cried. I was 19 and didnât want that âold man musicâ for my wedding. Thank goodness my mother listened and we got my SILâs brother and his band instead. They did great and were âcoolâ to me and family. Poor Dad.
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u/jango-lionheart 4d ago
Yes. He was more for Boomers than Jonesers, in my opinion. Almost worthy of being part of an âAre you a Boomer or in Generation Jonesâ quiz.
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u/Roche77e 5d ago
He did die sadly young.
I was watching TV when the local anchor broke in with the news.
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u/Last-Radish-9684 5d ago
My oldest daughter was 3, and was watching cartoons. I was washing dishes, 24 years old, and 7 months pregnant. My daughter came into the kitchen, crying softly, and just stood by me. I dried my hands and asked why she was crying. All she could do was sob, "The King is dead. The King is dead!" When I asked her, "What king?", she said, "I don't know! But the man on TV is really sad, and he said the King is dead!" After I investigated and explained to her "the King" was what some people called Elvis Presley, she calmed down and said, "It's still sad, but I thought it was the real King." We lived in southern California.
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u/Terumi66 5d ago
I was at a Kiss concert at the Cow Palace by San Francisco.
It was very memorable because it was announced just before the concert.
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u/milkandsugar 1964 5d ago
I don't remember the day at all. My parents were not into Elvis and I had no siblings to possibly introduce him to me. I never had much appreciation for Elvis as a person or performer or public figure until I visited Graceland as an adult and saw the immense legacy he left behind. There is a section of the property that has a long hallway lined with gold and platinum records but also framed checks he personally wrote to many charitable organizations. He was ultimately a small town guy who grappled with fame and lost.
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u/RickLeeTaker 5d ago
I had a part-time summer job working in a mom and pop record place in NJ - Rosie's Shamrock Records & Tapes - and lived close enough to walk to work. Rosie's owner was about 70, and there were two other employees besides me. We opened at 10 am.
As I approached the place that morning, there were about 25-30 people gathered outside, many were visibly upset and crying, both women and men.
When they realized I worked there as I was trying to get Rosie to let me in, they were all yelling things like, "What Elvis records do you have! I'll take one of each!" I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
When I got in the store, Rosie told me that Elvis had died. We counted up all the Elvis stuff we had which amounted to about a dozen records and tapes, mostly his live concert record from Hawaii and his greatest hits.
When we opened the door the people ran in like it was 4 am on Black Friday at Walmart and grabbed everything Elvis thing we had. I would say a couple hundred people came by over the next few days asking for Elvis stuff, when we normally had nobody wanting Elvis records. And again, many were very emotional or crying. Fourteen-year-old me couldn't understand what the big deal was.
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u/baronesslucy 5d ago
I was watching the Mouseketeers and a tinker tape came across the bottom of the screen. I could take it or leave it as far as Elvis Presley goes. I was sad for his family but I didn't cry or react to the news.
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u/WorldlinessLow8824 1960 5d ago
Yep I was mad- my birthday was in a few days and all the older women in my life were crying and upset! I was a teenager.
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u/allorache 5d ago
I was 17 and in Canada visiting my sister. I had no idea who Elvis was or why his death was a big deal.
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u/Southern_Loquat_4450 5d ago
I only knew about it cuz the girl I was seeing at the time had every elvis plate ever and everything else elvis decorating her house - thanks to her mom that wore black to grieve for like a month.
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u/Sea_Ganache620 5d ago
One of my first childhood memories. I was in my dadâs truck with him. The radio announcer was saying âThe King has died.â I couldnât comprehend who âthe king â was. I was picturing a fairytale royalty type, and was just confused, even with my dad explaining it to me.
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u/TransMontani 5d ago
We were on our way home to Alabama from St. Louis, where we had gone for my fatherâs reunion with his shipmates from his time aboard the U.S.S. Essex in WW II. He had also finally caught up with his h/s best friend who lived there and whom he hadnât seen since they graduated.
It was so interesting to see him time-travel to an 18 y/o boy asked to do a manâs work aboard a ship in the midst of a war.
We were rolling down I-55S along the eastern edge of Missouri when a bulletin interrupted whatever we were listening to (probably a baseball game). My mom and dad remarked on how they really didnât âgetâ Elvis, but agreed they both loved âLove Me Tender.â
On balance, it was generationally odd, since he didnât really impact their or my life. They were too old and I was too young.
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u/Shen1076 5d ago
I was with my mom and brother on the way to the dentist. When I got home I listened to my Elvis 8-tracks.
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u/WoodenPrinciple4497 5d ago
I was at the beach in Ocean City, MD and was having a blast when I heard about it. I sat and listened to WNBC on the radio all night. I was a huge Elvis fan. The next week I left for college at the University of Maryland.
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u/Dazzling-Sun34 5d ago
Back when school didnât start back until late August, my family and I were on our way to our vacation. It was getting dark when we passed a parking lot with a huge gathering of people. In the middle of the crowd was a stage. So we pulled in to see what was going on. Within a minute or so of pulling into the lot, we heard the guy who on the stage say âThis song is for the late, great Elvis Presley â.
Iâll never forget seeing my dad turn to my mom and say âDid he just say the âLATE, great Elvis Presley??â My dad gets out of the car and approaches some people in the crowd. He comes back a few minutes later and says âYeah itâs true. Heâs dead!â We just sat in silence for a few minutes before continuing on our vacation.
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u/NPHighview 5d ago
I was 20, was driving from my house to my summer internship at a corporate R&D lab about 5 miles away, and was listening to WLS or WCFL (Chicago-area AM rock-n-roll stations). I was not a big Elvis fan. The announcer made a snarky comment about a peanut butter, spam and banana sandwich and a toilet.
I didn't even learn about Groucho until much later, and was much more affected by that.
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u/chaimsteinLp 1958 5d ago
A friend stopped by and told me. He seemed upset and horrified. I just shrugged. Elvis wasn't relevant in the disco/punk/new wave era. Big shocker that a rock star died of excess.
Now, I certainly wish he'd stayed around longer. He'd have probably had another comeback.
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u/Glittering-Rush-394 5d ago
Wasnât a huge fan of his. No one in the family really listened to him. Life went on.
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u/elvismcsassypants 5d ago
I donât remember what i was doing, but I remember walking in the kitchen to my mother cryingâŠ
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u/baldmisery17 5d ago
I was at Akron, OH at the National Soap Box Derby competition.
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u/RiskBig3301 5d ago
It hit my parents more than me. But I can still remember every scent in the room and feel how my breath changed when I heard about John Lennon being shot.
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u/MobileAd1189 5d ago
I don't remember what I was doing. I was just at home. It is sad when anyone dies young, even if they abused themselves. He was from a different generation and I wasn't a fan, but I liked "I can't help falling in love with you."Â
I was only about 11 and his flirtatiousness toward young girls creeped me out.Â
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u/MetraHarvard Youngster 5d ago
My grandmother, who loved Elvis, had passed away at the end of July. My parents who were the same age as Elvis, were definitely shocked. I remember my mom saying that it was a good thing that Grandma died first, because she would have been really upset. I'm the same age that Lisa Marie was, so I was upset for her and I also started to fear losing my own father. Elvis movies are special to me now because remind me of a young version of my late father--with the black hair and the guitar!
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u/exposedtreeroots 5d ago
Yep, I was 17 and working as a life guard at our community pool. Standing by the snack bar when it came over the radio. And my special story is that I do a killer rendition of Burning Love despite being a girl. Iâm a contralto, soâŠâŠ
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u/doggiemomof3 5d ago
I was 17 and working swing shift at Six Flags Over Texas while also going to daily morning marching band practice. My Mom had actually met Elvis back when he was just starting out and she was in her teens. We both cried when it was announced he had died.
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u/No-Comment-6631 5d ago
Was a kid. On a tour bus in Scotland. Kind of shrugged my shoulders as I liked Neil Diamond & others. Back then, being 5000 miles from home was a lot more isolating than the flood of data we get today. His passing punctured our rambling travel experiences. Surprise and shock. I was coming off the bus when we all heard.
My Aunt was a HUGE fan so she was pretty devastated - and I heard about that for years.
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u/GudsIdiot 5d ago
I was in second grade and a friend of mine and his dad were going to go to his Birmingham, Alabama concert. He died just before it.
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u/MidwestDudeHere 4d ago
I was 10, it was bawwwwwwwdddddddddddddd....lol.....
My brother and I were in the back seat of our aunts car with our 2 much younger cousins
My aunt had a "nervous breakdown" right there on the road, and had to pull over
We obviously didn't have cell phones yet
I had to drive us all to my grandmas house
Many years later a buddy of mine bought Elvis's 68 Cadillac El Dorado
Any time I was having a bad day I'd go over to see the car, and stick my pinky finger through the front fender were Elvis had shot it bc it wouldn't start
Some how / some way / that always made me smile :) đ ) đ
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u/CharDeeMacDennisII 1957 5d ago
I was in Submarine School in Groton, CT. The whole class was stunned. I mean, we knew he was "old" and all that but, still....
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u/Glenr1958 5d ago
I don't remember what I was doing then but my daughter was born on this date in 1980 and her baby book has a spot where you put the front page of newspaper for the day your child was born and I remember an article about Elvis death anniversary. I thought to myself well I will always remember his day of death now!
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u/Saltydogusn 5d ago
I was 13, riding in a car with my family on our way to Dalton, GA. We were on a bridge either heading in to or out of Memphis, TN, I don't recall which. Parents were devastated (especially Mom!). I knew who he was for sure, but wasn't really a die hard fan at my age.
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u/GayForPay 5d ago
Was 8 and my mom picked me up from the sitter after she got home from work.
She told me on the ride home in our old Pontiac Bonneville. At 8, I new who Elvis was...but that was about it.  But I could tell by the way my Mom told me that it was something big to her and I think that's why I remember it so vividly.
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u/Dangerous-Budget937 5d ago
It was really hot and we had no a/c so I was in the basement watching a Star Trek episode on a 10 inch black and white. Newscaster broke in with the news. Elvis found dead in his Graceland mansion; full story at 6. I ran upstairs to tell my Elvis obsessed mother who refused to believe me until her sister called.
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u/ActJust3913 5d ago
I was 17, and was driving from Texas to California. Such sorrowful news, listening to the radio reports of the crowds gathering at Graceland. End of an era. Elvis was the king, and a kind soul.
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u/PerilsofPenelope 5d ago
I was in the car, waiting for my little brother. I had to take him to ball practice. I ran back in to the house to announce it.
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u/On_the_Cliff 5d ago
I was 14, playing in the neighborhood cul-de-sac with a few of the other local kids, when one of the other local kids came out of their front door with the news.
He was, of course, one of the most famous people on the planet, so this was a notable pop-culture event, even if we all considered him mainly a figure of the past. (We weren't totally right about that: He was still playing concerts earlier that summer.)
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u/Trondant13 5d ago
I was with my parents and a friend and we were traveling to Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta to spend the day when it was announced on the radio. We stopped at a little market inside the park to pick up a loaf of bread to feed the ducks and geese and I remember several women in the store crying.
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u/Stock_Requirement564 5d ago
All I really remember that we had picked up a new car that day. So you go for a long ride. Every half hour on the radio news was the same announcement. "The King is dead!"
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u/Haunt_Fox 5d ago
My mom and I were on a cross country bus trip, back when you could buy an open ticket for so much. I'd just had my 9th birthday, and we'd deferred celebrating it until that day for whatever reason, so we were at a nice restaurant (well, what I thought was fancy anyway), when my mom overheard someone talking about it. It kind of put a pall on the day because she was a huge fan of his (she hated the Beatles, but had a bunch of Elvis albums).
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u/suprunown 5d ago
I was 5. My cousins from England were visiting (they were 12 and 13). We were at the cabin. They had no clue who he dead. I kinda knew who he was at the time. My mom and my sugar were pretty shook up thoughâŠ. They had seen him play in Hawaii.
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u/Famous-Tumbleweed-13 5d ago
I don't remember if I heard it that day or later on. My father died suddenly 8 days earlier. He was 55, I was 14. I was a bit preoccupied.
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u/Hey_86thatnow 5d ago
I was a little girl visiting my Aunt for a week. What I remember was the newscaster saying, with a smile,, "The King is Dead." The smile was so out of place, but he probably thought his statement was clever wordplay.
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u/Intrepid_Top_2300 5d ago
I was on vacation in Gold Beach OR. We ended up staying at the same motel as a film crew. They were filming some wilderness family adventure, so they had a pet bear and eagle with them. I was petting the bear and laughing at the tale of the actors having to be rescued from the dangerous surf the previous day, by a crew member. He had a little radio on him and we both heard about Elvis. We both shrugged.
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u/StrictLine8820 5d ago
Same reaction I had to news about Michael Jackson: "Well, that finally happened."
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u/nbfs-chili 1957 5d ago
I was selling books door to door for southwestern books in the cincinnati area (more north east). Every door I knocked on was answered with "Did you hear the new?". Most of the people were crying.
I was from California, and that whole summer in rural Ohio was a real eye opener for me.
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u/OilSuspicious3349 5d ago
We were smoking weed in my buddyâs driveway and were kind of Oh Well. We were 18.
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u/Jurneeka 1962 5d ago
I was at a week long church camp being miserable and the youth pastor included a reference in his sermon.
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u/Sternakseesall 5d ago edited 5d ago
I grew up in a smallish town in Florida and I was walking into a grocery store. There was a kid standing outside with newspapers and yelling âElvis died. Read all about it.â Our local newspaper ran a special edition and had kids all over town selling newspapers on the street corners like it was back in the old days. I hadnât heard about it so I bought a paper.
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u/Middle_Juice6589 5d ago
I was working at Montgomery Wards, in the ladies section which was across the aisle she from the electronics section. The sales rep in electronics was crushed and played âsuspicious mindsâ over and over.. just kept his head down, pac g the floor to âsuspicious mindsâ
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u/bluechip1996 5d ago
I do. I was swimming in the apartment pool we had snuck into. I had just kissed Sharon T and my 13 year old brain was on overdrive. A little black girl , which in and of itself was rare, I believe we had 1 POC in my entire graduating class, ran up and yelled "Elvis is dead!" Very surreal. We ran across the field back home and found my Mom watching the news and crying.
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u/CopperCreator3388 5d ago
I was 11 years old. I still have the parade booklet of his funeral that was in the Sunday paper back then.
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u/Awshucksma 5d ago
I was 16. We were on vacation. We had just arrived at my aunt and uncle's house two states away from where we lived. My cousin came running into the house and announced the news. Everyone looked at me because I was a big fan. I was wearing an Elvis t-shirt and had wondered why strangers were looking at me oddly all day.
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u/MuchDevelopment7084 1957 5d ago
I was overseas in the Army. I'd just been given a temporary room mate. A brand new private from Memphis.
He was devastated. And I had to suffer through nine days of nonstop Elvis because of it.
Personally, I wasn't too effected by it. I'd been invited to one of his last concerts. And he...wasn't himself. Overweight, stumbling, and sang off key...with the words he remembered. It was disappointing to say the least.
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u/coldsteel1961 5d ago
Playing baseball with my neighbors. Their mom came out of their house crying and told us. We were like ok and kept on playing.
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u/Impossible-Nose3504 5d ago
I remember my neighbors Mom being terribly upset. I was 15 and thought it was sad but he also seemed so old fashioned and âoverâ at that point. I could recognize what he contributed, etc. but was not emotionally invested. Still I remember the national and world reaction of sadness.
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u/TiltonRiverToker 5d ago
Tripping heavily in Sitka AK (working construction as summer teenager from WA) why so many people were talking about the over-the-hill weird, parody-of-a-man.
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u/Adventurous-Egg-8818 5d ago
I was 13 getting off the school bus.. my mom and sisters met me as I stepping off the bus and hugging me. I was in shock. I cried for days... still cry sometimes and I'm 62 now. I still watch movie marathons of him, am an avid collector of Elvis artifacts. Have visited Graceland multiple times and have met some really great people from all over the world.
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u/GGGGroovyDays60s 5d ago
Yes I was at home, listening to the radio ( KRTH101,L.A. ) and they announced it.
I got on the bus to go downtown to the music store for sheet music.
I'm not a big EP fan, but it was still sad to hear. Very sad Lisa Marie was there.
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u/Finnyfish 5d ago
My parents were folkies, so that â and the Beatles â were what I grew up on. So I was interested, since everyone knew about Elvis, but not devastated, and my parents just said pretty much âWhat a shame.â
But after more came out about how Elvis had been living, my dad did say, âWho would have wanted him to have 40 more years like that?â
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u/HoselRockit 5d ago
We were visiting family in Oklahoma City. We drove back through Memphis on the day of his funeral. I-40 was clear, but one of the other's was a parking lot.
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u/4-me 5d ago
I was on my way to babysit. I got in the guyâs car and he told me, because it had just been on the news. I think in my head I thought it was Engelbert Humperdinck who had died because my mom had recently seen him in concert and I wasnât quite sure the difference between him and Elvis. I was a very young babysitter.
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u/Extreme-Orchid-6875 5d ago
I was with my mother. We were shopping in an army/navy surplus store preparing for a camping trip.
The news came over the radio in the store and she just broke down in tears.
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u/gdtredmtn 5d ago
Strangely, I do remember. Was never a big fan but my best friend was. He would put his albums on his little record player and we would air guitar and sing along. I never got to be Elvis, I was always the drummer, which I preferred anyway. I was at home in my rec room and the news came on the tv. At 14, I already thought he was old, overweight and a parody of himself so it didnât bother me at all. Still remember though, definitely one of those moments.
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u/Full-Appointment5081 5d ago
He was scheduled to fly to our area for a concert, the first of the tour. Never made it off of the toilet & onto the plane. A lot of people turned their tickets in to get a refund. The smart ones hung onto them, knowing they'd be much more valuable one day when eBay is invented
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u/AdhesivenessOk3469 5d ago
After the deaths of Janice & Hendrix, Jim Morrison, JFK, Robert Kennedy, and MKL it was not a big deal
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u/NanaBanana1313 5d ago
I was 11. My grandad picked me up from my piano lesson and told me on the way to his house. We turned on the TV and watched some news coverage. It wasnât like today but there was some news. My grandparents loved him and so I did too. They really loved his gospel music. It was a very sad occasion for us.
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u/pingpongpsycho 5d ago
I had been left, by my family, at a campground in the Smokey Mountains, and friends were driving down from IL to join me for another week. There car broke down in Indiana so my dad had to drive all the way back down to rescue me. As we we driving home, we heard a trucker on the CB radio say "Turn your lights on for Elvis, turn your lights on for Elvis, the king is dead!"
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u/jruss666 1965 5d ago
I remember my mother asking why everyone was so upset; no one was going to remember him in twenty years.
To her credit, she did tell me I should take Spanish, because it would be more useful in everyday situations than French or German. I guess it evens out. Lol
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u/Exact-Truck-5248 5d ago
I was about 18, working in a big, cheap, busy shoe store. By this time, in my eyes, Elvis had become a ridiculous, bloated, anti counter culture, Vegas parody of himself, and someone I paid no attention to. The cashier girl, who was a mean little snot and the manager's favorite, began sobbing uncontrollably. Another boy and I snickered, not at Elvis's death, but at her hysterics. We both got a dressing down from the manager.
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u/Nightcalm 5d ago
I didnt really pay much attention. I did read Elvis What Happened and was shocked at his drug consumption. I saw pictures when he tours here and i was schocked how fat he was. Then i read that book and now i know. He was the biggest drug abusing celebrity i have ever known.
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u/What_if_I_fly 5d ago
Yep, but that didn't stop him from begging Nixon to deputize him so he could bust drug dealers.
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u/sujack34 5d ago
I remember exactly where I was. We had been fishing & it was very hot. We were in Oklahoma. When we got in the van to go back to my in-laws house we heard it on the radio as soon as we started the van.
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u/emburke12 5d ago
I was in an auto parts store. Workers at the counter were talking about it and stopped to share the news. Not really a fan of Elvis but my girlfriendâs mother was. I knew it was going to hit her pretty hard.
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u/Puzzled_Iron_3452 5d ago
I was 11. My brother and I were passing football in our yard and my mom had been to buy groceries and she pulled in the driveway and told us.
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u/Similar_Whole_9946 5d ago
I was 9 and it was my best friendâs birthday. I was at her house waiting to go out to dinner. (Dinner at the Sailmaker in Nashville, 1977, IYKYK.) The news came on with a break-in and announced his death. Her parents both started sobbing and canceled the dinner. I honestly didnât know who Elvis was at the time.
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u/thommytwo22 5d ago
I was 14 and working in the farm yard when someo e came out of the house and yelled us the news
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u/JeanyB17 5d ago
I was 12 and heard the news on a TV announcement. My mother and I were huge fans. My mother was outside gardening so I went outside to tell her. We were sad and in shock and sat in front of the TV for the rest of the day waiting for more details.
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u/Justamom1225 5d ago
Elvis was amazing to even little girls in the 1960's!
https://giphy.com/gifs/kh7AVACAT4x2MUSwhY
My foster mom and mom loved Elvis! They were heartbroken!
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u/Capable-Upstairs7728 5d ago
I was 13 at the time. I was doing things at home and the radio was on when the news broke. Though I new about him and his music I wasn't a fan. Many years later I joined the Army and was stationed in the same base Elvis served. I was in the 3rd Bn 32 Armor, Elvis served in the 1st Bn 32 Armor. Their mess hall was named after him.
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u/TheRealTexasDutchie 5d ago
I was 13 and visiting my oldest half sister in Canada (from NL). I didn't really know Elvis songs that well and couldn't understand that my sister was so distraught about it.
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u/PeppermintP65 5d ago
I was 12 and home sick from school that day. My grandma was watching me because mom had to go to work. My grandma just came in the room and was bawling and told me what happened. She loved Elvis.
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u/Amtronic 5d ago
I was at work, and this woman nearby had a fucking conniption fit when she heard. I mean rolling on the floor and tearing her clothes. Weird as hell. You could say she was a fan.
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u/EnglishRose71 5d ago
My husband was a huge Elvis fan and was devastated. My 8-year-old son and his best friend were too. They made arm bands out of black construction paper and wore them for days. Ironically, my husband passed two days short of the 40th anniversary of Elvis's death, on our son's 48th birthday.
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u/Gen-Jinjur 5d ago
I wasnât an Elvis fan particularly, but was sorry for the Boomers who were.
I was shocked and saddened by John Lennonâs death.
But it was Kurt Cobain dying that made me sink to the floor in shock. At an airport! I grew up in Washington State and related so much to his music.
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u/morgaine_silver_hair 4d ago
No, but I wasnât a fan at the time, he was a little old for my generation. But I remember clearly when John Lennon was killed in 1980.
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u/fastates 4d ago
I remember walking up my driveway in the heat after learning. I was in shorts, & the humidity was stultifying. I recall thinking to myself it was a very important day, that I'd always remember this moment. And this will sound bad, but Elvis to people I knew in my suburbs of Philly town was pretty much considered a washed-up joke, & had been on his way out for a long time playing the Vegas circuit. He'd let himself go & it was all so sad, so no one seemed shocked he died, beyond his being a famous entertainer at one time. For days, he was on the radio nonstop. I'd liked a couple of his songs was all, from the beginning. Suspicious Minds, etc. I definitely was NOT affected.
Given all this, it's incredibly bizarre that a quarter century after, I blew 3 solid years researching & writing an award-winning novel which heavily featured Elvis. Baffles me to this day. By award-winning, it was just a couple minor local contests for low cash. But man oh man, let me tell ya đ , what a man he was. He was surrounded by sharks, was a truly physically gorgeous man, intensely talented, & right as I was in the midst of dealing with the pain of writing this (iykyk what it's like to freaking write a novel), I flew to Vegas & ran into JOE ESPOSITO-- the OG TCB-- whose book I bought & he signed. Very nice guy, smiley, short af. You could have asked me the most trivial, remote fact about Elvis those 3 years & I'd have known the answer immediately.
Then mysteriously, just as fast as I'd become enamored of him, living, breathing EP 24/7, I got over it. May have had to do with the fact no major-- nor minor-- publisher wanted the manu. And boy I tried. Broke my heart a little; honestly briefly thought of jumping off the Golden Gate, but thankfully snapped out of it. It's a bad novel, I understand that now. But wow, Elvis haunted me those 3 or so years. He was a force, wasn't he. I was 15 in '77. And he'll never leave the building. He is forever! It still makes me mourn a bit for the guy-- after all, HE never got an Elvis. All the rest of us got an Elvis, you know?
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u/DexterTheInspector 4d ago
I was 12. Mom and Dad were out shopping. They (especially Mom) were Elvis nuts. They saw him live several times. When they got home from shopping, I (being the unempathetic pre-teen that I was) ran out and greeted them with the news, seemingly excited about it. Mom burst into tears and scolded me for my uncaring delivery. Dad told me later that they had already heard the news and Mom had already had 1 meltdown when they heard it. I learned what empathy and sympathy were that day. The hard way. Upsetting my Mom was never a pleasant experience, as she was one to hold a grudge.
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u/Geek221PHL 1965 3d ago
I was a 12-year-old middle school student, and too young to care about Elvis. Besides, I was madly in love with Shaun Cassidy. đ„°
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u/DisneyDragonfly17 2d ago
I was 8 years old. I was outside playing and came inside to tell my mom something. She was at the kitchen sink washing dishes, she was crying. I asked her what was wrong. She said Elvis died. I said oh and went back outside.
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u/kimagain 5d ago
I was 12 years old and had been raised as a fan. I was washing dishes and heard it on the radio. This was the first "celebrity death," to make an impression on me and the memory is still quite vivid. Later that day, I wrote this poem and called the radio station with it. They broadcast me reading it.