The King is gone, but he will never be forgotten.
More than 47 years after his death, the impact of Elvis Presley, long ago crowned the King of Rock 鈥榥 Roll, remains immense in Canada.
For longtime fans like Mike Schell, the president of the Penticton Elvis Festival, he finds it hard to believe Presley has been gone since his death way back on Aug. 16, 1977 at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.
While hesa国际传媒 sorely missed by his legions of hundreds of millions of fans around the world, those still alive will keep their memories of Elvis alive this week as today marks what would have been his 90th birthday.
In Penticton, The Hub on Martin downtown is holding an Elvis 90th Birthday fundraiser on Friday featuring 2023 Penticton Elvis Festival grand champion Mat Shank.
Only a handful of tickets remain as the dinner and show was close to a sell out in a matter of days after the event was announced.
Shank calls Gatineau, Quebec home and is making the long trek all the way from la Belle Province to highlight the 90th birthday celebration show in Penticton, Schell said.
Schell has been involved with the Penticton Elvis Festival board for 21 years and 2025 marks his third year as the organizationsa国际传媒 president. This yearsa国际传媒 festival will be the 23rd annual Penticton Elvis Festival, which was postponed for two consecutive years because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淲e鈥檙e actually the largest and oldest Elvis Presley festival in North America, besides the annual one held in Memphis, Tennessee,鈥 said Schell.
Ironically, the man, musician, movie star and cultural icon he would come to admire and respect so much died tragically only three months before he was born in 1977, said Schell.
鈥淢y parents were playing his music around the house all the time ... it was part of my childhood,鈥 said Schell.
The fact Presley remains an important cultural phenomenon almost five decades after his passing, is truly remarkable, but not surprising because his music has never faded from the public consciousness, said Schell.
鈥淚 would just say his style and his charisma on stage has never been equalled,鈥 he said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 write many of his own songs, but he covered so many great songs by other artists and inevitably he made them his own songs.
鈥淔or instance, the song My Way was written by a Canadian (Paul Anka), made famous by Frank Sinatra and then it was done by Elvis and I still believe the Elvis version remains the definitive version out there to so many people.鈥
Schell made the journey to Memphis this past August to attend Elvis Week in Presleysa国际传媒 adopted hometown and realized the impact hesa国际传媒 had on so many people remains profound.
鈥淚 took in the Ultimate Elvis Championship and to watching the crowd, especially the younger people in their 20s and 30s, it made me realize Elvis and his impact is going to be around a lot longer than when after you and I are gone,鈥 he said.
The grand champion at this yearsa国际传媒 Elvis Festival in Memphis was only 21 years of age, which is a strong indicator a whole new generation of his fans is already on board with their admiration and respect for Presley, said Schell.
The 2022 hit movie Elvis, directed by Baz Lurhmann, brought Presley back into the spotlight for millions of new fans, he said.
鈥淭heresa国际传媒 been a resurgence in his appeal and popularity and I would attribute that to a couple of things, including the Elvis movie from two years ago. It had a big impact on the culture of Elvis and keeping his name alive,鈥 he said. 鈥渟a国际传媒 a month ago, another Elvis documentary was released and it really showed the vulnerable side of Elvis.
鈥淲hen he joined the army, he thought his career was done, but meanwhile, his team had recorded a whole bunch of his music. Before he officially joined the army, his music was being played all across the States. When he came back, he was just as big a star as before he left. A lot of those days are shown in the documentary and reminded his fans of just how big this guy was.鈥
Shank has become one of Canadasa国际传媒 most popular Elvis tribute artists and he always put on a superb show and fans can expect something truly special for the 90th birthday celebration bash on Friday night, said Schell.
When asked to name his five favourite Elvis songs, Schell didn鈥檛 hesitate, but he didn鈥檛 name one major hit like Hound Dog, In the Ghetto, Jailhouse Rock, Suspicious Minds or Don鈥檛 be Cruel.
His list included Burning Love, If You Talk in Your Sleep, If I Can Dream, Fame and Fortune and Steamroller Blues.
鈥淧art of my job being president of the festival, I鈥檓 also the producer of the festival shows at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre and at the park,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 actually perform in the show as the leader of the band Cadillac Kings and Queens Showband. So yes, I know his whole catalogue and just love playing all his stuff with the 10-piece band.鈥
Tickets for the 2025 Penticton Elvis Festival from June 27-29 are already selling well and organizers are confident thousands of fans will again gather to pay homage to the legend that is Elvis Presley, said Schell.
The organizing committee can鈥檛 yet reveal the name, but they鈥檝e signed a deal with a major VIP for 2025, he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e secured the biggest VIP in Penticton Elvis Festival history,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited about that.鈥
For tickets or more information, go online and visit .
