Musical Icon: Elvis™

Celebrate the life of Elvis Presley during Musical Icon: Elvis™ on Saturday, August 10,
and Sunday, August 11, at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). Kick off Elvis Week with a sing-and-playalong
of famous Elvis tunes, documentary screenings and talks about the King of Rock and Roll, and a hipswiveling
Elvis stick puppet craft.

Born in 1935, Elvis absorbed the sounds of gospel, pop, and country music while growing up in Tupelo,
Mississippi. When his family moved to Memphis in 1948, he became fascinated with the African American R&B
sounds he heard along Beale Street. With hits including “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” and “Jailhouse Rock,”
Elvis became the idol of a dynamic new youth music phenomenon called rock ’n’ roll. By the 1960s, Elvis’s fame
helped make him a successful actor as he starred in films including Blue Hawaii and Viva Las Vegas. Elvis deeply
influenced music and pop culture, and his legacy lives on today.

At Musical Icon: Elvis™, play some Elvis tunes with friends and family at a sing-and-play-along led by local music
educator and Arizona State University doctoral candidate Austin Showen. Join other Elvis fans in playing
instruments, dancing, and singing along to his songs.

Stop by the MIM Music Theater to watch documentaries about the King of Rock and Roll. On Saturday, see the
1981 documentary This Is Elvis, which takes viewers from backstage to front row, following Elvis’s performances
around the world. On Sunday, see Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, a 2001 remastered version of the iconic 1970
documentary, which explores Elvis’s triumphant return to live music performances after a long career in film
acting.

David Wegehaupt, MIM’s associate curator for United States / Canada and Europe, will lead a talk titled “Elvis:
Songs for the Silver Screen,” exploring musical highlights from Elvis’s film career, an era in which some of the
King’s biggest hits were produced. By the late sixties, Elvis had recorded over two hundred songs for the thirtythree
movies he appeared in. At a scholar talk, join Mike Shellans, senior lecturer at Arizona State University’s
School of Music, as he presents his findings on three major musical events in Elvis Presley’s life: the 1960 Frank
Sinatra Timex Special: Welcome Home, Elvis; the 1968 Comeback Special: Elvis; and the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii
Via Satellite. Shellans will discuss Elvis’s personal and musical preparation for these “comeback” specials and the
impact these shows had on Elvis and his fans worldwide.

There will be many activities for guests of all ages to enjoy throughout the weekend. Make a hip-swiveling Elvis
stick puppet craft, play Elvis songs on the guitar at an instrument spotlight activity, get a whimsical caricature
portrait, and capture memories from the weekend at MIM’s photo booth. Café Allegro will offer a special Elvisinspired
lunch menu available for purchase, featuring fried chicken and waffles, beef stew, and peanut butter
mousse and banana parfait. The Museum Store will offer a selection of gifts celebrating Elvis available for
purchase, including mugs, socks, lunchboxes, sippy cups, books, and CDs.

While at Musical Icon: Elvis™, guests can see a display dedicated to the King in MIM’s Artist Gallery. Highlights
include the Gibson acoustic guitar Elvis played during his famous ’68 Comeback Special, the telegram Elvis and
his manager sent to the Beatles to congratulate the band three days before their historic 1964 appearance on
The Ed Sullivan Show, the Martin D-28 acoustic guitar Elvis played during his final concert more than forty years
ago, and a black jacket worn for part of the ’68 Comeback Special and during a visit with President Nixon at the
Oval Office. All objects are on loan courtesy of the Graceland Archives, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Memphis,
Tennessee.