Long live the King: Graceland in your basement

Joe Krein, a 55-year-old Elvis Presley fan, feels he was born in the wrong era.  “I would go back to the Fifties in a blink to see Elvis singing on the back of a flatbed; young Elvis grabbing that microphone,” he said.

As the next best thing, the radio presenter from New York state in the US has turned his basement at home into a vintage diner filled with original records, posters, menus and other memorabilia.

“ I wasn’t there but I can surround myself with things that were, and that makes me feel closer,” said Krein. Among his stand-out items is an acetate disk of songs from the movie GI Blues made for Elvis — bought for $800 about 20 years ago from another collector.

The “King of Rock and Roll” died in 1977. His 80th birthday would have been 8 January, 2015. Yet despite the passage of time, Elvis mementos still capture the imagination — and the wallets — of collectors.  

See BBC Culture’s story on the 12 greatest Elvis covers.  - Read  More at  Long live the King
For Elvis’ 80th birthday  -  culture