Happy 80th To The King! Long May He … er … uh … Thank You Very Much! – Dave’s Diary

Today marks what would have been Elvis Presley's 80th birthday, and thousands of fans from around the world gathered in Memphis, Tenn., to attend special events commemorating the milestone at the Graceland estate and around the city.One of the main highlights of the celebration took place this morning on the Graceland lawn, where a ceremony  declared Thursday to be Elvis Presley Day in Memphis. With Priscilla Presley on hand for the celebration, a specially designed birthday cake was also cut.

Other events happening this week in Memphis in conjunction with the 80th birthday celebration include a number of musical performances, a screening of the Presley movies "Jailhouse Rock" and "Viva Las Vegas," a Q&A event and fan-club parties. In addition, an auction offering a variety of rare Elvis memorabilia will be held with one of the most exciting items up for bid being the first recording Presley ever made, an acetate dating back to 1953.

Every day since since Elvis's untimely death at age 42, his legions of fans have been wondering what could have been.  If Tony Bennett is still going strong, why not Elvis? How much more great music would he have made? Wouldn't Elvis support twerking? After all, he was the originator of the music inspired pelvic thrust!  Who would be the women in his life? How many more movies would he have made?  What about a lifetime Oscar?  So very many questions.

And perhaps most often wondered: What would Elvis look like today if he hadn't have died on Aug. 16, 1977? A company that specializes in answering such questions did the rendering and says this would be Elvis at 80! What do you think?