With Mariah Carey's recent eclipse of Elvis's record for most number one hits as a solo artist (she now has 18), Blender salutes the King's immortal music, his tabloid appetites and his "Fat Elvis" free fall.
26. He never called the TV repairman."There were a number of times I was around when he had been unhappy with the TV — the vertical hold wasn't holding or something," says his tour physician, Dr. George Nichopoulous, known as Dr. Nick. "He would get tired of adjusting it, and he'd shoot the set. They'd just go out and get another one."
27. Elvis remixes are very uncommon."I know that not only have [requests to remix] been denied in the past, but the use of Elvis's music in movies and documentaries has always been very, very restricted," says JXL, who mixed the surprise 2002 summer smash "A Little Less Conversation."
28. Maybe they're uncommon because he has been remixed before.In 1983. Very badly. "It was called 'The Elvis Medley,'" Jorgensen says. "It included 'Jailhouse Rock,' 'Hound Dog,' 'Teddy Bear,' 'Don't Be Cruel,' 'Burning Love' and 'Suspicious Minds.' It was in the tradition of
Stars on 45. It was a terrible idea."
29. Nobody exactly knows who first said "Elvis has left the building.""It would have been a stagehand in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1956," Jorgensen says. "It was basically to stop people from tearing down the building trying to get in the stage doors. Al Dvorin, who was Elvis's announcer on tours in the late '50s and the '70s, picked up the phrase. I think he even claims he invented it."
30. His martial arts skills helped his dancing."The last time I saw Elvis was in 1969," says his former girlfriend June Juanico. "He had incorporated karate moves into his act, which was a lot better, because his dance rhythm left something to be desired. He had rhythm in his hands and his feet, but as far as putting 'em together with his body—he couldn't."