One of those sad days in my past include the passing of Elvis Presley who was found unresponsive on his bathroom floor by partner Ginger Alden around 2:30 pm at Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was pronounced dead at the age 42 at 3:30 pm after being rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital. The cause of death was said to be cardiac arrhythmia. He had a number of pronounced health issues which included:
long-term prescription drug abuse
multiple prescription cycles
advanced cardiovascular disease
high blood pressure
extreme chronic constipation
an enlarged colon (megacolon) which may have precipitated the fatal strain during a bowel movement.
Look, you can say what you will about Elvis, his lifestyle and/or nutrition — but he was at the top of his game in the music industry and was afforded all the luxuries and abuses he could afford which were many and varied.
Despite his missteps he was still a singing powerhouse and we would do well to have not lost him as early as we did.
Thousands of people gathered outside Graceland to view the open casket. One of Presley's cousins, Billy Mann, accepted $18,000 (equivalent to $96,000 in 2025) to secretly photograph the body; the picture appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer's biggest-selling issue ever.
Alden struck a $105,000 (equivalent to $558,000 in 2025) deal with the Enquirer for her story, but settled for less when she broke her exclusivity agreement.
Presley left her nothing in his will.
A long, ground-level gravestone reads "Elvis Aaron Presley", followed by the singer's dates, the names of his parents and daughter, and several paragraphs of smaller text.
In the background is a small round pool, with a low decorative metal fence and several fountains.
He was initially interred at Forest Hill Cemetery, to his mother. After an attempt to steal Presley's body in late August, the remains of both Elvis and his mother were exhumed and reburied in Graceland's Meditation Garden on October 2.