"He's my Teddy Bear"
July 17, 2001, 10:18 p.m.

I bought an Elvis CD today. I haven't actually purchased any of his music in a very long time as my collection of Elvis albums is quite extensive. Yet, the only place I can play one of the LPs is on the turntable...and that's not always convenient.

Some of the albums are scratchy as they are old originals and some of them are warped. So it's good to hear my favorites on the go and of course, much more clearly from the CD like "That's All Right Mama" and "Heartbreak Hotel".

Sitting here listening to his music takes me back to when I was 15 years old and I had such a huge crush on Elvis. My bedroom was an Elvis shrine. To me, he really was a "Hunk of Burnin' Love". My friends could not understand why I dug his music so much when everyone else was into the Doobie Brothers and Jethro Tull.

Not that I didn't like the Doobie Brothers and Jethro Tull, but Elvis was special in my heart. His music wasn't the best and sometimes his films made me cringe a bit - but that didn't stop me from listening and watching. It was, after all, his voice and his persona that had me in it's clutches.

Elvis put on a good show. I saw him in concert three times. It wasn't spectacular. It wasn't dramatic. It was simply Elvis and his music. It was the days before artists put on flashy concerts. It was the days when you went for the music and didn't need light shows and special effects.

That was the best Elvis. Not the early Elvis. Not the fat Elvis. But the Elvis who simply came to sing.

That was the best Elvis. And from time to time, when I listen to him sing, he still gets me all shook up.