The World Wide Elvis Phenomenon

Elvis fans are everywhere around the world.  They can be strangers or your next door neighbor and they can’t be categorized into any age, class, race, or specific geographic region. Their feelings for and about Elvis are complicated and sometimes contradictory and are impossible to reduce to one simple sound bite or explanation.  Many of his fans “believe in Elvis” in a way that they cannot quite satisfactorily express in words.

Elvis Presley has attained mythological status in the collective psyche of our western society.  We see his image on every conceivable mass produced consumer item from Elvis busts and ceramic statues to laminated clocks, posters, ashtrays, lunch boxes, oven mitts, address books, key rings, T-shirts and much, much more.  The image of Elvis prevails when most other pop cultural images come and go relatively quickly.  Elvis Presley remains the most recognizable cultural icon in the world even more than thirty years after his death.

His original fans, now in their sixties and early seventies, refuse to “go away” or disappear, though they are now seen by many people as quaint artifacts of times past and are rarely taken seriously.  But today’s fans now include many who became fans even in the years since his death. They range from lawyers who hang velvet Elvis paintings on their office walls as a token of middle-age rebellion, to elementary school kids who “make Elvis things” in art class and wear Elvis costumes in school plays and on Halloween.

Many books, scholarly papers, documentaries, newspaper and magazine articles have tried to explain the “Elvis phenomenon” and the powerful hold he has maintained on his incredibly loyal devotees.  All of these documentaries and books, etc., are missing the point.  What it really comes down to in the final analysis is pure magic!  As one avid long time fan explains of the connection that exists between the man, Elvis Presley, and his growing legion of loyal fans….”It’s just Elvis, plain and simple.  It’s just Elvis!”