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...

Kicking off Elvis Week

Hi gang.

Sorry it's been awhile since I've pulled up a chair. Had some fun with sciatica (insert your old man joke here) and a killer migraine that didn't want to quit.

Tomorrow kicks off Elvis Week. Nope, I won't be walking in Memphis, but I am going to commit to blogging something about The King for seven straight days, culminating with the special show that Brad Reeves and I will be doing on WDVX-FM at 10 p.m. (Eastern) Thursday, Aug. 15, that will include a tribute to Elvis. Don't miss it -- 89.9 FM or 102.9 FM in Knoxville, TN or online at www.wdvx.com.

This photo is from Elvis' March 15, 1974, concert at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville. Somebody had given him an orange and white "guitar." Go Vols!

Happy Elvis Week. And hail, hail rock and roll!