Pricilla Presley, ex-wife of Elvis "the pelvis," said the king's legacy will live on forever, but had he just come up in today's musical market, he never would be been successful, according to The Independent.
"Elvis was about the voice and connecting with people, not all these stage fireworks," the former Mrs. Presley told The Independent. "People are missing out on that today because singers can't take all those fireworks on tour. Elvis relied on his passion."
"People related to Elvis because of his humble beginnings," she continued. "It's a wonderful story. It helped that he was a beautiful specimen of a man in every way. He would be just as popular today."
Elvis never got to perform in Britain like he wanted, according to The Independent, but Graceland is going on tour as his ambassador.
After Elvis' death in 1977, Priscilla turned Graceland into a public attraction to ward off bankruptcy. More than 300 artifacts from that larger-than-life Memphis exhibit are being shipped to the O2 Arena in Greenwich for a nine-month exhibit of items ranging from his childhood, to his rise to fame, to his army days and beyond.
"Elvis didn't have anything out in Graceland that didn't mean something to him because, obviously, he has thousands of pieces and gifts from fans, so everything Elvis chose to put out was special to him," Angie Marchese, Graceland's Director of Archives, told The Daily Mail.
"I have close to a million documents, 5,000 pieces of wardrobe in the collection, it's massive. How I chose the exhibition was I asked myself: 'What are the key pieces that tell this story,' and I kept in mind that the majority of the people who come and see this exhibition will probably never have a chance to come and visit Graceland," Marchese said.
"I wanted them to feel like they were part of this magical legacy that Elvis has left behind," she continued. "So it was really important to have his school report card, or the jumpsuit he wore for the Aloha Hawaii concert or the little pieces from Graceland."
The Elvis at The O2 exhibition will include the 1968 black leather outfit that Elvis wore on the Comeback Special and the pool table on which he supposedly challenged The Beatles in 1965, according to The Independent. Entire rooms will be recreated and his TCB (Taking Care of Business) rings will be on display.
"There's the champagne bottle from our wedding - the first time I could call myself Mrs. Presley," Pricilla said, according to The Independent. "There are also business contracts and items relating to Col. Tom Parker, (Elvis' notorious manager). They all have fascinating stories attached to them."
"I'm very, very excited as we have been wanting to do this for some time," Priscilla told The Mirror. "It is a peek behind the scenes of the real Elvis, Elvis the father, son, friend, dad."
Elvis at the O2: The Exhibition of his Life - Direct from Graceland will be held at the O2 Arena in southeast England from Dec. 12 through Aug. 31, 2015.
