09/12/2026
AMEN
I've spent a lot of time over the years telling you stories about Elvis.
Today, I want to talk about you.
The fans.
Before I give you the numbers, I want you to understand something.
Every one of those numbers has your fingerprints on it.
Every record sold. Every ticket through the gates of Graceland. Every movie watched. Every fan club formed. Every milestone reached. Every new generation that discovered Elvis after he was gone.
You helped make that happen.
Elvis gave you the music. He gave you the movies. He gave you the performances. He gave you the memories.
And most of all...
He gave you his heart.
You gave him something in return.
Elvis earned your love. But you gave him his forever.
Elvis understood the importance of his fans long before any of us could have imagined where this story would lead. There's a quote that has been attributed to him for years:
“I don't mind if the fans rip the shirt off my back — they put it there.”
He knew.
But I wonder if you know what you've done.
Let's look at the numbers.
It is estimated that more than ONE BILLION Elvis records have been sold worldwide.
More than 150 different Elvis albums and singles have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum in the United States alone.
Graceland opened to the public in 1982.
By 2016, 20 MILLION people had already walked through those gates.
They came from more than 140 countries.
And all these years later, more than 500,000 people a year still visit Graceland. It remains one of the most visited home tours in America.
Then there are the fan clubs.
At one point, Guinness World Records recorded more than 613 active Elvis Presley fan clubs around the world, representing more than 510,000 members.
Think about that.
More than half a million people belonging to organized fan clubs for one man.
And today, that community is everywhere.
There are countless Facebook groups and pages, with countless followers, sharing Elvis's music, photographs, stories and memories every single day.
On YouTube alone, Elvis's official channel has about 4.5 million subscribers, and his videos have been viewed more than 4 BILLION times.
On TikTok, Elvis-related videos have generated billions more views.
And it didn't stop there.
Elvis made 31 feature films and two concert documentaries during his lifetime, and people are still watching them today.
Then, in 2022 — 45 years after Elvis died — another movie about his life went into theaters around the world.
Elvis grossed nearly $289 MILLION worldwide.
It became the highest-grossing non-franchise movie of 2022 and the second-highest-grossing musical biopic of all time.
It received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
Forty-five years after Elvis was gone.
And people were still buying tickets to see Elvis.
Now we have EPiC, along with documentaries, television specials and new productions that continue to be made about him.
And here's another number that really got my attention.
Spotify looked at who was listening to Elvis and found that people just 18 to 22 years old accounted for 20% of all Elvis streaming during the period they measured.
Listeners between 45 and 59 accounted for 17%.
In 2019 alone, Elvis had already been streamed for more than 16.5 MILLION HOURS, and there were more than 2.3 MILLION Spotify playlists based on Elvis.
Those young people weren't there in 1956.
They weren't there for the '68 Comeback Special.
They weren't there for Aloha.
Most weren't even born when Elvis left us.
So how did they find him?
Somebody kept playing those records.
Somebody kept watching those movies.
Somebody kept going to Graceland.
Somebody kept sharing the music.
Somebody told their children about Elvis.
And then some of those children told their children.
That somebody was you.
That's what I want Elvis fans to understand.
These aren't just numbers about Elvis.
They're your numbers, too.
You bought the records.
You filled the theaters.
You formed the fan clubs.
You traveled from all over the world to Memphis.
You kept listening.
You kept watching.
You kept sharing.
And generation after generation, you kept saying his name.
After Elvis left us, you did something I don't think anyone could have predicted.
You took care of him.
You protected the memories. You kept the music playing. You kept watching the movies. You kept coming back to Memphis. You celebrated his birthdays and remembered him every August.
And you continued sharing the Elvis you loved with people who never had the opportunity to see him for themselves.
I know how much the fans meant to Elvis because I was there.
I saw it.
People call Elvis one of the greatest cultural icons the world has ever known.
He certainly gave you everything he had to give.
But an icon doesn't remain an icon for nearly fifty years by himself.
You kept him there.
So when you look at those numbers, I hope you feel something besides amazement.
I hope you feel proud.
In every number you just read about, you are in them.
I've thanked Elvis fans many times over the years.
But maybe I haven't thanked you for the most important thing.
Thank you for keeping my brother's memory alive.
Thank you for making sure another generation knows his music.
There's an old saying that we die twice.
The first time is when we take our last breath.
The second is when our name is spoken for the last time.
Well, I don't think Elvis will ever die a second time.
Because of you.
And thank you for loving him all these years later.
Elvis always loved his fans.
And you know what?
I love you, too.
