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.
31. Elvis had at least 11 different drugs in his system when died on August 16, 1977.Among them were Butabarbital, codeine, Demerol, Placidyl, morphine, Pentobarbital, Quaaludes and Valium.
32. Sometimes it's like he never went away.James Burton, the lead guitarist of Presley's band from 1969 until his death, continued touring with synchronized footage of Presley playing behind him on a huge screen. "We play the music live, but Elvis introduces us from the screen. You hear Elvis's voice — he'll say, 'Play it, James!' You could be there five minutes, you could be there an hour, and all of a sudden you feel his presence. You forget he's really not there."
33. But he's definitely dead."He is very much in spirit, but bodily, no, he's not alive," Sam Phillips says. "How can I be sure? I touched his face and kissed him in the casket. In the music room of Graceland. I don't think I'm gonna lie about that!" Says Scotty Moore: "I would like to believe that he is still alive. But I don't believe he'd be hiding if he was."