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Elvis week is now in the history books. There were many highlights and the fans were there from all over the world. There were ETA’s galore, and many celebrities who performed. Some of the note, BJ Thomas, Ronnie Milsap, the Holladay Sisters, and the Memphis Boys, Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman who were on the famous Memphis sessions that produced Suspicious Minds, Don’t Cry Daddy, In the Ghetto, and Kentucky Rain, to name a few. There was James Burton, Ronnie Tutt, and Glen D. Hardin of the TCB band, Estelle Brown of the Sweet Inspirations, Andy Childs, who produced the big screen show and emceed many events of the week, and Terry Mike Jeffries, a multi-talented artist who has been singing for Elvis fans for many years. A surprise guest we got to meet in the lobby, Jose Feliciano, (Feliz Navidad) sat for a picture with us. 

The big event on Friday night featured all the original cast members from the 1969 opening at the Las Vegas Hilton International Hotel. Interviewees included James Burton, Ronnie Tutt, Glen Hardin, Jim Murray and me from the Imperials, and Estelle Brown of the Sweet Inspirations.  

Saturday morning I was interviewed with Jim Murray about our times with Elvis and we shared some insight into our life with the king of rock and roll.  

Our big event was Saturday night, Gospel night, with the Blackwood Brothers Qt and the Imperials. Larry Strickland and Ed Hill from the Stamps were there to sing with both groups some gospel songs we love and Elvis loved. We capped off the night with the audience singing How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace along with us. 

It was an amazing week for Elvis fans and it’s our hope that they took home with them some memories that won’t fade away over time. Rock and roll is fun music and we enjoy singing it but the high it gives you is temporary. Gospel music feeds your soul and can change your life forever if you let it. To many, it makes them feel good. To others and to us, it’s music that has eternal value. As the last verse of Amazing Grace says; “When we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no fewer days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun”!