Monday, December 11, 2017

Is the King dead? by Jose Maldonado

On August 16, 1977, a man they call the "greatest rock and roll performer in the world" died (Timmons1). This man was Elvis A. Presley also known as the King. The highly known rock and roll artist was 42 years old and his death was unbelievable to many (1). The King was found by his girlfriend, Ginger Alden, lying face down on the floor of his bathroom, and was later claimed that he died of a heart attack (1). Since then, there has been several conspiracy theories surrounding his death:
2.      Did Elvis Presley fake his own death?
Let's examine the theories surrounding the death of Elvis Presley, and the most logical explanation, which is that he died of a medical condition.

            There seems to be no doubt that Elvis Presley is considered as one of the most iconic musicians and artists in the history of the United States. His contribution to the formation and development of the rock and roll genre could not be underestimated. At the same time, his life remains quite mysterious and contradictive for millions of fans. Thus, many people know that Elvis Presley had issues with drugs and obesity. Also, he lived in seclusion for a long time. This behavioral pattern surprises many Presley’s followers. Accordingly, it is important to get more information about the real character of Elvis Presley to better understand his personality.
Elvis Presley is a unique individual because he is considered to be a generally recognized leader or king of the rock and roll movement. He succeeded to create the fundamental principles of the rockabilly genre and shape the new interpretation of pop music. Furthermore, his achievements in the sphere of pop culture was inevitably connected with his public image and vocal style. It means that Elvis Presley was an intelligent, charismatic, and clever innovator who understood the importance of various versatile factors in the formation of the final success. For instance, he was considered a national sex symbol for a long time (Stafford 22). At the same time, his luxurious lifestyle impressed his followers. As a result, his Graceland house is still one of the most popular touristic places in the U.S. (Stafford 32).
Elvis Presley also formed the image of the rock star due to his drug addiction. Needless to say, today rock is partly associated with drugs abuse. Elvis was among the first national stars who had such health issues. There exists an opinion that he started consuming drugs due to the misuse of prescription drugs. The singer had many health issues, such as glaucoma, back pain, allergies, and digestive troubles (Connolly 42). It was hard for him to preform concerts due to the pain or some other negative outcomes of the diseases. Therefore, Elvis Presley regularly took medications. Unfortunately, he became addicted to drugs, which probably became the reason for his death.
It is possible to state that the above-mentioned drug addiction was also caused by the mental problems faced by Elvis Presley. In his dialogues with the nearest friends, he highlighted his difficulty in the correct understanding of religious and spiritual aspects of human existence (Connolly 102). It is fair to suggest that his decision to isolate himself from society was the result of his loneliness. He was afraid that he was not valued for his personality. Simultaneously, it was hard for Elvis to understand the causes of life and the hidden meaning of his popularity. It was important for the singer to correspond to his religious life purpose. Therefore, he read many books about spiritualism and tried to conduct a regular analysis of individuality. Obviously, such a focus on the existential issue led to the constant moral exhaustion. Moreover, the social isolation made it hard for the singer to get support from other people. All these problems led to the formation of the depressive mood and facilitated the consumption of drugs.
It becomes clear that Elvis Presley faced many serious personal issues, which resulted in the partial self-destruction of his character. His prohibitive motivation began to fade after reaching its peak in youth. Nevertheless, Elvis Presley continued writing music and lyrics for the rest of his life. Many of his songs became hits after his death. It is necessary to note that his life shows that it could be extremely hard for an individual to cope with the specific impact of fame and money on everyday life. Unfortunately, Elvis became a victim of his own glory.
Elvis Presley was an iconic rock star, beloved by millions of people. There are two conspiracy theories about Elvis and his death. It was claimed that Elvis died of a heart attack. It seems that the death of Elvis is impossible for people believe. In result Elvis is believed either to be alive or have died by health issues. Let's examine the theories surrounding the death of Elvis Presley, and the most logical explanation, which is that he died of a medical condition.
The first conspiracy is that Elvis died of a medical condition. There are actual records in official sources validating the fact that Elvis actually died.  Copies of the official Death Certificate for Elvis Presley are available online.  Filed by the County Medical Examiner of Memphis, Tennessee, Case Number 77-1944 and signed on August 16, 1977, the Death Certificate can be found online at the Elvis Presley News website (“Elvis Presley Death Certificate”).   This is an official record of the state of Tennessee, and for it to have been faked would mean that many people in the state government would have had to be involved in the “cover up” and the filing of a false Death Certificate. Thus, Medical records which are official and not faked demonstrated that Elvis died from a medical condition. 
            Of course, that is what conspiracy theories are made up of, people suspecting or asserting that one or more individuals worked together to create the allegedly conspired event.  Significantly, the person at the heart of this conspiracy would have had to have been Elvis Presley himself.  While there several reasons that are asserted by the conspiracy theorists that Elvis had a good reason to fake his death, such as the fact that he had serious health problems and was not able to lose weight and that he had “lost his good looks,” and was getting old and no one wanted to see him looking like that (Glum), the creation of a large-scale conspiracy to do so is very doubtful. 
            To begin with, the conspiracy would have to have involved directly all of the first responders who went to Graceland after the report was made that Elvis had been found dead(Timmons). That could be anywhere between five and ten people, at the minimum.  For a conspiracy to have succeeded, each and every one of them would have had to be in on it and all have agreed to tell the same lie about how Elvis' body was found and when was done with it afterwards.  Further, after the body was taken to the Coroner's Office, all of the personnel there would have had to be in on the conspiracy in order to cover up the fact that no body was actually brought in or that the body brought in was not Elvis.  So, maybe there are now additionally five people with the Coroner and his assistants in the conspiracy.  But, the conspiracy would not have had to have stopped there.  An autopsy was performed on Elvis' body, the findings of which were reported on the Death Certificate (“Elvis Presley Death Certificate”). With the doctors involved, that adds another two or three people to the list of necessary conspirators.   There are probably several other people who were involved in the process, as well. 
            For all of these people to have been in a conspiracy, they would have all have had to meet together before things started to happen to figure out the plan and get their stories straight.  This is, of course, very unlikely:  Who organized the meeting?  Where was it held?  Did Elvis himself organize and supervise at the meeting?  If Elvis wasn't at the meeting, who was there to manage all of these people who were to cooperate and lie?  It's not very likely that Elvis Presley convened a meeting with as many twenty or more people to figure out a plan to fake his death.  Further, for all of these other people to have cooperated in the conspiracy, they would have had to violate their oaths of offices and lie on public documents, all punishable crimes.  Thus, the logical question arises, what was their motivation?  Why did they all agree in advance to do these things and take the risks involved in doing so?  What was in it for them?  Even more significantly, with all of these people supposedly involved, why in all the years since Elvis' death has not one come forward to admit the truth.  No one has, despite the fact that it discounts the law of averages and typical human behavior to think that not just one participant would not have “spilled the beans” by now. 
            The second conspiracy theory is that Elvis faked his death. If Elvis did fake his death, all the above generally would have to be true:  The first responders, the staff at the coroner's office, and the doctors who did the autopsy would all have to have cooperated with Elvis in a grand conspiracy to fake his death despite the fact that, in doing so, they falsified official records and, in so doing, jeopardized their jobs and positions.   Further, for them all to have been in on the conspiracy, they would all have had to remained absolutely about their joint effort in cooperation with Elvis to fake his death down to today because no one has stepped out to declare this as truth.  The alternative that Elvis did fake his death is only potentially verified by the final condition, that all of the people who were involved in the conspiracy to fake Elvis' death would have had to remain silent about it to today.
            Thus, the evidence is all against the conspiracy theory that Elvis faked his death. This is a recognized conspiracy theory and urban legend. There is the official Death Certificate for Elvis which validates his death in a required public document legal form (“Elvis Presley Death Certificate”). There would have had to be too many people involved in a conspiracy for it have been able to take place, to begin with, and/or for someone in the years following not to have broken with the conspiracy and come forth with the truth.  Thus, in several ways evidence was collected and used logical thought to discount the conspiracy theory that Elvis faked his death. Further, in regard to popular opinion regarding the conspiracy that Elvis faked his death, in a survey that was taken by twenty people, only three believed the conspiracy theory that Elvis faked his death, and seventeen did not believe the conspiracy theory that Elvis faked his own death.

As the years pass, people are still undecided on the death of Elvis Presley. As we know by now, there are many theories of his death such as:
1.      Elvis Presley fake his own death.
2.      Elvis Presley die from a medical condition.
With all the evidence and personnel involved in the after math of the King’s death, there should be no doubt that the Elvis die from a medical condition.  



Works Cited
Connolly, Ray. Being Elvis: A Lonely Life. Liveright Press. 2017.
 “Elvis Presley Death Certificate.” Elvis Presley News, 2017. 
            https://www.elvispresleynews.com/elvisdeathcertificate
Glum, Julia. “On Elvis Presley's 81st Birthday, Conspiracy Theories Remain About His Death.”  International Business Times, 2016. 
            http://www.ibtimes.com/elvis-presleys-81st-birthday-conspiracy-theories-remain-about-    his-death-2255753
Stafford, Steven. The Biography of Elvis Presley. Routledge Publishing. 2017.
Timmons, Greg. "The Death of the King": Remembering Elvis, 40 Years Later." Web. 15 Aug. 2017.
https://www.biography.com/news/elvis-presley-death-40-years-later


No comments:

Post a Comment