Devoted Elvis Fans Leave Economic Mark in Memphis

(Memphis) Thirty-five years ago, the King of Rock and Roll died. Wednesday night, Elvis Presley fans marked his death with the annual candlelight vigil at Graceland.

A first for the vigil, Lisa Marie and Priscilla Presley were on hand.

They greeted the crowd and thanked them for their loyalty.

The crowd is one of the biggest ever to turnout out to pay their respects to Presley.

Lit from the flame from Elvis Presley’s grave, thousands of candles burned in his memory.

Thousands of people lined up outside his home?

Dottie Morgan was here that day, ”I saw the ambulance go up the driveway and I came out here and there was a police officer out here and I said ‘what happened?’ and he said Elvis is dead.”

She waited for 8 hours that day to pay her respects, now 35 years later, she’s waiting again with a candle burning.

Alongside her, thousands of people from all over the world.

“Elvis has changed my life,” Ester Plajer, who is from Argentina, said. “I studied english because of Elvis.” ‘It’s amazing 35 years after his death, he’s still the most popular entertainer in the world,” Lynn Lawlor said. “Nobody else would get a crowd like this.”

The crowd was about 75,000 people, and they’re spending big money in the bluff city.

Elvis Week has a $100 million dollar impact on the economy.

This year, restaurants say they’re busier than ever.

“It has just been wild and crazy,” Gus’ Fried Chicken Manager Sherry Needham said. Business at Gus’s is up 40 percent this week. “We had a bus load come in today, and we have about 30 more coming in,” Needham said. “Elvis week is good for Memphis.”

Loyal fans say they don’t plan on stopping their annual  pilgrimage anytime soon.

“As long as I can afford it ill keep coming,” Lynn Lawlor said. Lawlor came all the way from England. They say it’s all about paying homage to their king.

“It’s important to show people how much elvis fans are truly dedicated and we will keep doing this year after year we won’t stop,” Rabalais said.