Forty-five years ago today,
the King left the building
for the last time.

But sadly, Elvis was not convinced
of his true worth
when he departed the castle
we call earth.

As a boy the Monarch of Rock and Roll
had given the Lord his soul,
but the insecurities of his early life
had robbed him of peace of mind.
There was no peace in the
“Valley of the Dolls.”

Blind to the seductive greed of success,
Elvis Aaron Presley stumbled
into the ghetto of addiction,
infidelity and pride
where he died a pauper (though a king).

On August 16, 1977
the home he called Graceland
became “Heartbreak Hotel.”

In spite of his tragic life
doing it “his way,”
my hope is that
the One who saw Elvis
crying in the chapel as a kid
loved him tender
all the while taking his hand in His
leading him to the Eternal Land
of grace, life and peace.

I learned of his death while leading a group of senior adults on a tour of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska that sad summer day in 1977.

The radio in the visitor’s center broke the sad news. And though I was not wearing blue suede shoes, I was all shook up! And all these years later, based on the music we hear on Spotify and iTunes, Elvis is always on our mind!

I bought my first Elvis album (His Hand in Mine) when I was twelve years old in 1964.