It was 40 years ago I found out about star power.

I've never really been into "star" gazing. So you're famous. Big deal. Well, it was 40 years ago today that I found out that, for some, it's a real big deal.

It was 40 years ago today that someone sat on the toilet in Memphis, Tennessee. That person didn't get off the toilet. That person was Elvis - mercy flush - Presley.

I was 10 years old playing out in yard at my grandparents' place. Suddenly I heard screaming coming from inside the house. No surprise. This was my mother's family home and she had 4 sisters. Everyone screamed. It was the only way you could be heard.

Suddenly the front door slammed open and my aunt Marianne came running out, still screaming. It's what she was screaming that made others pay attention. It seemed they just made a special announcement on one of the three channels people could watch that Elvis Presley had passed away. Yeah, I went back to the swing set. As long as it wasn't a relative that died, who cares.

It seemed a lot of people cared.

Here it is 40 years later and people still remember where they were when they heard the news.

It happened again a few years later when John Lennon got shot. I asked my mom who John Lennon was. She said she wasn't sure. She thought he was in a band or something back in the 60s. She sure new who Elvis was though. I guess it's true what Mia Wallace said: you're either an Elvis fan or Beatles fan - can't be both. Unless you can give two sh*ts about either of them.


 

Big Q's ramblings are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Townsquare Media or its affiliates.

More From KLTD-FM