Graceland: Elvis' Memphis home serves up poignant memories, even if you're not a die-hard fan

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Aug. 16 marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. Some people think it may also mark the height of his popularity — as older fans die off in higher numbers than are replaced by newer fans.

That could be. But if you walk through the parking lot at the Heartbreak Hotel, across the street from Graceland, you'll see that Elvis still has broad and popular appeal. In our five-minute walk, my sister and I counted license plates from Ohio, California, Arkansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Ontario, Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Massachusetts. And that's just the people who drove. There were also the bus groups and those who flew in. We met people from Japan and Brazil as well as people of all ages from all over the country — all lined up to pay tribute.

I have to confess that for us, this was not a pilgrimage. Neither my sister nor I really got into Elvis during his heyday. She was too young, and I was too nerdy. As we were growing up, our parents were more into classical music; the pop music trend was to be tolerated rather than embraced.

Oh, we watched the famous "Ed Sullivan Show" that didn't include the hips. We went to some of Elvis' movies and liked some of his songs. But it wasn't until later — until rock had dropped its roll and then gone off to flirt with metal, and Elvis became mainstream, unless he was country or gospel — that we began to appreciate him for the icon he was.

Still, we had come to pay homage to that icon. We had come to see where he had lived, to discover some of what ignited all that passion in his die-hard fans, and to capture some of the context and perspective of his life and times.

Graceland's a great place to do all that. You don't get very far without catching Elvis Fever.

The all-Elvis, all-the-time radio station fills the air with sounds of the King before we even get to the visitors center, so right away we get caught up in the Elvis sound. There are posters and flags all around, too, so we definitely know we've come to Elvis country.

There are a number of other exhibits and shows in the complex, but we decided to start off with a tour of the mansion. Even though we are there on a weekday before the beginning of the heavy tourist season, there is a healthy-size line waiting for the shuttle bus. We hate to imagine what it could be like on busy weekends in the summer. After all, they tell us, this is the second-most-visited historic home in the country, second only to the White House. Besides, there's that music to keep us company as we wait.