The warden threw a party in the county jail ... The prison band was there and they began to wail ...

When I was just around five years old I first heard this song.

Every time my brother pulled out that record from its cover and placed it on the record player's turntable, this song comes on.

On the cover there was a picture of a gentleman dressed like a soldier, and handsome too. His name was Elvis Presley.

The EP contained four songs from the movie GI blues.

At the very start my older brother had just a few records in his collection.

From this collection of his, the tracks that our family got to like, were "Living Doll" by Cliff Richards, "A Little Serenade" by Tony Brent, "Come Prima" by Mario Lanza "Sail Along Silvery Moon" played by Billy Vaugn and his orchestra and some of the songs that were popular in that era.

Billy Vaughn's Orchestra and many other contemporary musicians made an impact on all of us at home, as it was probably the end of the previous era governed by a different set of musicians.

And now Elvis Presley was here and he was different, totally.

It is the difference I believe that closed the doors on the previous era! Evolution!

Jailhouse Rock was different, comparatively. Attractive, vigorous and full of energy.

The good looking man with a small tuft of hair falling over his forehead was a soldier too. That's what I thought!

GI blues was the first Elvis Presley movie to be screened in my city.

I did not have the pleasure of viewing it, but my older brother who was many years senior to me saw it more than once with his friends. How fortunate he was!

When my brother's friends used to congregate at home they used to spray some talcum powder on the cemented floor and do the twist with the music in the background, Elvis Presley's Music of course.

Jailhouse Rock was a favorite, so was Blue Suede Shoes, Don't be Cruel, and Won't You Wear My Ring Around Your Neck. These were some of the most listened to tracks at that time.

Mind you we did not have tiled floors, just cemented floors and my sister's talcum powder used to exhaust fast.

Probably Elvis generated more interest in his fans than the Beatles did in theirs, although "Beatlemania" was singled out for analysis by parents and all those who wished the young ones of that era well.

The charisma of Elvis Presley was matchless indeed!

Elvis Presley became a household name everywhere.

That famous picture of his, in the uniform of a soldier and strumming a guitar was found in almost every school-goer's scrapbook.

Many a music fan used to spend hours listening to his songs and writing down lyrics to be passed on to friends.

To many, access to music was only via radio. However, we were fortunate to have had a record player as well.

Wooden heart was the next big hit in our household. Even my father liked it!

The interest generated amongst us was not only in his music but everything else that was connected to him.

I had only seen pictures of him in record sleeves and in the magazines which my brother used to bring home.

The first and only movie I saw of him in the pre CD era was a movie entitled Roustabout. I was given this treat for "good behavior."

Many other Presley films hit the screens in cinemas close to where we lived but I was not old enough to even attempt to sneak away to the cinema.

By that time "Fun in Acapulco" and "Blue Hawaii" were amongst the movies that were being screened. 

Every single day I used to look longingly at the advertisements that were promoting these movies.

The LP album containing tracks from the movie Blue Hawaii finally became accessible to my brother one fine day and he grabbed the opportunity and brought it home for a few days.

Almost every track on that album was a masterpiece. If you have not heard tracks from the movie Blue Hawai, I encourage you to have a listen to those tracks.

Elvis Presley was unique. Really unique. Nothing can match him. Nothing can come close to him.

He provided entertainment for the young and the old. For the very young and the very old. Talk about comparing other artists with him!

I remember managers of many other artists making boasts like "I'll make him even bigger than Elvis Presley!" ... None of them ever even got off the ground!

Elvis was blessed. Blessed with talent ... his unique style of presentation, a voice that can never be compared, a brand of music to match his charisma and that face of his.

And of course, as respected fellow hubber Feline Prophet so rightly puts it, Elvis had "that killer smile!"

... concluded