Fans of Elvis Presley flooded Memphis yesterday by the tens of thousands to mourn the 20th anniversary of his death and celebrate the rock'n'roll memories he gave the world.
It was 20 years ago today that an ambulance crew answered an emergency call at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard.
Inside the house, a stone-sided, white columned southern mansion better known as Graceland, they found the street's namesake dead in his bedroom. He was 42 years of age and investigators would conclude he died of a drug-induced heart attack.
An estimated 50,000 people - the biggest crowd to gather in Memphis since Presley's funeral two decades ago - have come to this steamy city by the muddy Mississippi River to relive old love songs, remember teenage crushes and tell their children how Elvis put their legs to dancing.
Thousands planned to join an all-night candlelight vigil facing the hillside where Presley, his parents and paternal grandmother are buried in a garden half-circled by trellised Corinthian columns on one side and a kidney-shaped swimming pool on the other.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem the world's tallest statue of Elvis has been erected at a transport cafe.
The five-metre bronze sculpture of Elvis and his guitar stands next to the cafe and adjoining a petrol station in the village of Neve Ilan on the road to Tel Aviv.
"From now on, before filling up or dining at my place, you can pay tribute to the greatest singer of all time," said cafe owner Mr Uri Yoeli, who has turned his establishment into a temple devoted to the late American icon.
. British bookmakers William Hill say fans have finally accepted that the king of rock 'n roll is decomposing rather than composing.
Spokesman Mr Graham Sharpe said the number of fans still convinced that Presley did not die of a heart attack seemed to be dwindling.
"We've pushed the odds on Elvis being proved still to be alive out to 2,000-1 but haven't taken a bet since August last year when a fan staked £100 on Elvis returning for a live concert," he said.
Those who refuse to accept Presley is dead believe he is living in obscurity or could even be an unwilling guest on board an alien spaceship.