35 years ago today, Elvis Presley died. I have no first-hand experience of his Elvisness, as his death predates my birth by a little more than a year. Elvis to me is a mythological figure, a man who shook his hips and made a nation, and then the world worship him. Perhaps he wasn’t the most original musician in the world. He certainly wasn’t the brightest guy in the world. But the women loved him, the men thought he was cool, he was a patriot, and he had amazing hair. The world could use a few more men like him.

Hail to the king baby!