Elvis Presley died at age 42 in August
1977. Thousands lined the streets of Presley’s hometown on the day
of his funeral. The nation, the music world, and fans from around
the world were in shock over his passing. Even to this day, some say
that Elvis didn’t die, he just wanted to get away from it all.
The sales numbers may seem small compared to a few of today's
musicians, but then many have come and gone without fanfare and few
remained on top for 25 years. The number of hits remains large as
Elvis had an 107 hits on the pop music charts. His first hit was
Heartbreak Hotel in 1956 and his last was Guitar Man, after his
death in 1981. Presley had 28 gold records, 12 number one songs and
38 top-ten hits.