Thank you, thank you very much

Queen Elizabeth? Nope. Prince Charles? Nope. William or Harry? Wrong again.

Think American royalty.

American rock and roll royalty.

Yes, today marks the 74th anniversary of Elvis Aaron Presley. "The King" was born January 8, 1935 in a two room house in Tupelo, Mississippi. In doing research for this column, I learned that he was a twin, and his twin brother, Jesse Garon, was born stillborn.

Can you imagine two Elvises? Elvi? What IS the plural of Elvis, anyway?

You would be hard pressed to find another person who influenced American pop culture more than Elvis. I think he was one of the first people that was so famous that he could go by his first name only. Take that, Madonna and Prince!

At the age of 21, he was known throughout the land and the world. He parlayed his talent and good looks into a movie contract, appearing in 33 films. He has sold over one billion records globally, more than anyone else. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (three wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36. Take that, Hannah Montana!

An impressive set of accomplishments, no matter how you look at it.

In 1968, NBC aired the first one-man television special, a performance by Elvis. Dubbed the "Comeback" Special by critics and fans, the program was the highest-rated special of the year, seen by 42 percent of the viewing audience. Elvis, clad in black leather, belted out his hits and some new songs to a live audience.

This past weekend, I caught the special on cable. I was seven when the special aired and not "into" Elvis, although "In the Ghetto," "Kentucky Rain," and "Suspicious Minds" are among my favorite Elvis songs.

Elvis the icon and Elvis the man at times seemed to be at odds. He died in 1977, at the age of 42. I can clearly remember being in my living room, watching something on television and the network news cutting in with the special announcement that he had died.

Funny thing about icons. They can become almost religious figures to some, caricatures to others. Watching the '68 special, I was struck by the reaction of the audience. The stage was an "Elvis in the round" type arrangement, with mainly teenage girls sitting on the edge of the stage. Some of the girls weren't even born when many of the songs were hits, so they really didn't seem that "into" the performance. Other, older members of the audience, some still sporting the "ducktail" haircuts, were swinging and singing along.

It's hard to visualize a 74-year-old Elvis. Would he still be recording? What would he think of his likeness being used to sell everything from clothing to neon clocks?

Of course, there are those that think that Elvis is still alive, having faked his death...

Elvis is still a multi-million dollar business, one of the most valuable brands on the market. The marketing juggernaut that is Elvis shows no sign of slowing down, continuing to generate money for the estate. In 2003, the year before only child Lisa Marie sold the rights to her father's likeness, the estate had almost $45 million in sales. Elvis is now a publicly traded company, with investors from all over the world.

As the old joke goes, if he knew he would have made so much money, he never would have died.

Long live the king! (Or at least his likeness)

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.