Elvis Presley would have been 80 today. Hard to believe he died 38 years ago – he was only 42, which seems incredibly young. Of course, if you read Careless Love – The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, the second of author Peter Guralnick’s books on Elvis’s life, it’s amazing he lived to be that age. As it was, he was a walking dead man – spent emotionally, physically, and spiritually – for several years before he physically passed away. It’s a truly sad tale of someone incredibly gifted, yet so incredibly lost and abusive to his body that when you read of that final day in August of 1977 you almost breath a sigh of relief that his turmoil was over. Lots of folks blame the crew he surrounded himself with, but the fact is, if any one of them didn’t serve as his enablers he’d replace them with someone else who would.

To see someone throw away that kind of gift kinda makes me mad. But it doesn’t mean I don’t love his music – most especially, his gospel stuff in which he was as good as it gets.

Poor Elvis. He was just so gifted and yet so tragic a figure. Scott Johnson has a nice post over at Power Line blog about him, along with a great video clip from his 1968 “comeback” special. You can see in the clip how he had the world in the palm of his hands, and yet, pfffft. It’s a real shame.

Happy birthday, Elvis. You were so troubled yet you brought millions of folks so much joy. Hope you’re enjoying like in the “Promised Land”.