Because I feel like it...

My back hurts, I can't sleep and, all things considered, I'd rather be in Hawaii.

When I get in moods like this, I turn to music, one artist in particular. You know where this is headed.

Elvis Aron Presley.

Don't ask me why. You have your favorites. I have mine.

All I know is that whenever I hear the man sing -- particularly his gospel music and his '70s ballads -- an H-bomb could obliterate Halls and I wouldn't even blink.

Above is a photo of King Elvis the Presley arriving at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville for his 2:30 p.m. concert on April 8, 1972. (Look closely and you can see this clip in the documentary "Elvis on Tour.") Elvis would perform again at 8:30 that night. He was brought to town as the star attraction of the Dogwood Arts Festival that year.

I miss the ol' boy. I wish he were still here to make his music. As it is, I'm thankful for the 23 years of recordings that remain, most movie soundtracks excepted.

And do me a favor. Please -- pretty please -- look beyond "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" and some of the schlock. There's a lot of good stuff there. The man could sing from his soul or rock his ass off, depending on his mood.

Here, in fact, is a fantastic review of the new box set "Elvis At Stax" written by Matthew Everett in Metro Pulse.

Carrying on, living on songs... that my friends wrote for me to sing...