A Taste Of Honey August 13 2015

On August 16 Elvis Presley died at Graceland,his sanctuary and estate in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42 years old.
The world mourned the man who transformed how we listen to music and so much more – The Huffington Post.
“Elvis Presley’s death deprives our country of part of itself.He was unique and irreplaceable……His music and his personality,fusing the the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues,permanently changed the face of American popular culture ” wrote President Jimmy Carter at the time. And his words ring true around the world.
30 years after the King’s passing,Graceland continues to get more than 600.000 visitors a year.
I have been there and was emotionally moved by the experience. By today’s standards it is a modest home, set on a modest property but the legacy of Elvis is everywhere. If you have the opportunity to go there on one of your travels, make sure you take your time and immerse yourself in his talent as relayed through the tour headsets.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in working with his catalogue for 18 years of my career and can take some kudos out of being very involved in the 2002 project, where a global marketing strategy for a new hit compilation album, 30 # 1 Hits, sold in excess of 10 million copies, and spearheaded Elvis headlong into the 21st century, on the back of a new Number 1 single – “A Little Less Conversation”. There are very few artists, if any, that have been able to achieve this level of continuity and revival.
To celebrate Elvis Week 2015, this week’s program is not a history lesson about Elvis – it is simply a celebration of his talent and features a broad cross section of his recordings – live tracks, a few hits, newly released tracks from the Stax sessions and some of my favourite tracks from his career.
My late father, would not let me go to an Elvis movie or buy his recordings BUT he could not prevent my listening to the radio.
Many years later when he came to visit me in NYC and I was Senior Vive President of BMG Music International, he lunched in the RCA Records executive dining room above Times Square, and I said to Dad- “Elvis paid for your lunch and some of my salary which enabled me to bring you to see us.”
He smiled at me and said ” He’s not a bad fella.”
At 88, even my Dad had been touched by Elvis Presley.
R.I.P Elvis Aaron Presley- (1935-1977)