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Priscilla Presley’s Latest Efforts To Keep Elvis Alive: New Album Breaks Madonna’s Record

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 12:52 PST, Dec 19, 2016

Priscilla Presley, the American businesswoman and former wife of Elvis Presley, is keeping Elvis’s memories alive through a variety of initiatives.

Elvis Presley is widely regarded as one of the greatest cultural icons of all time, and Priscilla Presley is ensuring that he stays in our memories forever. According to The Guardian, the actress revealed that she has taken it upon herself to keep her ex-husband’s memories alive in the minds of his fans all around the world.

“My fear is that people will forget about Elvis. I feel a responsibility for keeping his legacy alive. You’ll never see his sort of stardom again. He was so authentic and, in lots of ways, innocent. What you saw was what you got.”

Priscilla Presley, now 71-years-old, helped design a 450-room Graceland Guest House, located just a few blocks down from Elvis’s Memphis home in Tennessee.

She has also produced an album titled The Wonder of You in which fans can hear the beautiful voice of Elvis accompanied by musicians of The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The album features songs like “Suspicious Minds” and “Kentucky Rain,” proving that Elvis was much more than just the King of Rock and Roll. Priscilla Presley believes that her famous ex-husband had an incredible affinity with other musical styles, like opera, rhythm and blues, and African-American music.

The Wonder of You album has already sold tens of thousands of copies and topped the charts shortly after its release in October. The Standard reported that Elvis broke the UK chart records with the success of his latest posthumous album, becoming the only solo artist to achieve 13 No. 1 albums, breaking Madonna’s previously-held record.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra even performed a selection of Elvis’s songs at a U.K. concert, with Priscilla Presley’s private videos and images shown on screens throughout.

Even Kate Moss has come on board, filming her version of Elvis’s “The Wonder of You” while wearing fashion inspired by the performer, including a black leather jumpsuit inspired by Elvis’s 1968 TV special titled simply Elvis, according to Rolling Stone magazine.

Priscilla Presley’s relationship with Elvis Presley has always been considered a unique one because Priscilla was just fourteen-years-old when she first met Elvis while he was on a visit to Germany. Elvis then had to return to the United States, and Priscilla kept in touch with the singer for nearly two years.

The young Priscilla was very serious about her feelings for Elvis, and she eventually moved in with him in 1963. The couple was married in 1967 in a privately held ceremony in Las Vegas; however, their marriage failed, and the couple divorced in 1973. Despite their legal separation, Priscilla Presley says that she continued to love and cherish her memories of Elvis. In 1985, Elvis’s fans learned more about the couple’s relationship when Priscilla penned her autobiography Elvis and Me.

Today, successful pop singers interact with their fans to promote their music, and musicians are happy to share personal details about their lives with their fans. However, Priscilla Presley believes Elvis would never have appreciated the use of social media because he was a very private person. According to the Los Angeles Times, the actress describes Elvis as a celebrity who preferred to keep his private and professional lives separate.

“He didn’t even write a letter. Elvis was very private. He didn’t go around telling what he had for dinner or taking pictures in front of stores with particular outfits that he liked.”

[Featured Image by Richard Shotwell/AP Images]

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