It's been 40 years since the death of Elvis Presley in his mansion in Memphis on Aug. 16, 1977.
Those of us who were on the verge of our teenage years or had just edged into them were convinced that music wasn't invented until Bill Haley and the Comets recorded "Rock Around The Clock" in 1954. But while Haley invented it, Elvis perfected it in 1956 when he recorded "Heartbreak Hotel."
We reveled in the adult reaction to Elvis, snickering when he was denounced from the pulpit as the embodiment of evil or shaking our heads in disbelief when local government officials banned his concerts.
It was our rebellion, kicking the establishment in the shins and grinning when we got away with it.
As we grew older, the shocking reality hit that we had become the establishment, the recent targets of our shin-kicking.
But we still followed Elvis, bought his records, jammed with the upbeat material and hummed along with the ballads.
We stuck with him through his leather jumpsuit phase and engagements in Las Vegas.
Even as his appearance deteriorated and his physique transformed into a badly overweight middle-aged man, his voice still reached and touched us.
When the stories surfaced and intensified about his drug use, we didn't try to rationalize or ignore it. The voice was still there, strong and vibrant, and we could always conjure up the Elvis of the movies or The Ed Sullivan Show.
His work has been remarkably enduring. Videos of his shows and CDs of his songs are hawked endlessly on cable television. Documentaries tracing his career, featuring interviews and concert footage, still draw decent viewership.
Never has an entertainer spawned so many impersonators, people who either grew up with him or who were captured by his music and style even after he had died.
The years have dulled the edge of our rebelliousness and our collective memory is, perhaps, a triumph of nostalgia over reality.
But 40 years later, in any discussion of American music, someone will mention the King. There's no need for clarification. Everybody knows who it is.
Now that's endurance.
Elvis was 42 years old when he died, an age most of us have long surpassed. We married, began careers, became parents and grandparents, and retired.
Had he lived, he'd be 82, probably long retired from performing and spending his days at Graceland listening to himself and reliving the '50s.
Of course, if he'd be 82, all of us who memorized "Heartbreak Hotel" and saw Love Me Tender multiple times are closing in on that as well. Sigh.
Editorial on 08/16/2017