I am not an Elvis Presley fan, but I grew up with his music. I also fondly remember those hot summer nights at the drive-in in Kermit where we went to see his movies because my dad was a fan.
My listening preferences aside, however, I do recognize Elvis' place in musical history.
So does Ella Mae.
Ella Mae is a cutie pie, a 21-month-old girl who, like me, adores her daddy and, unlike me, loves Elvis.
She also looks to have a bright musical future. Check out both Ella Mae's great relationship with her chauffeur father and her melodic stylings as she sings along with The King on "An American Trilogy."
The King is dead, 36 years ago: So why am I sharing Ella Mae's Internet performance?
Because as today's edition of the email alert that I get about what happened each day years ago informed me that on Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis Presley was found dead of congestive heart failure at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn. He was just 42 years old.
I also must admit that I've been looking for any reason to share Ella Mae's video ever since I saw it a couple of weeks ago. I don't have kids and I generally roll my eyes at most Internet postings about babies and youngsters, finding them self-congratulatory, cloying and manipulative.
Ella Mae, however, won me over with her love of her daddy and her musical enthusiasm. That little girl loves to belt it out!
Now every time I crank up the tunes in my car and sing along, I will feel a kinship with this tiny songstress.
Elvis and taxes: OK, since this is a tax blog, I've got to throw in a few Elvis tax and money tidbits.
In Forbes' latest ranking (October 2012) of the money-making prowess of dead celebrities, Elvis came in third with postmortem earnings of $55 million.
While he was alive, Elvis reportedly was the biggest taxpayer in 1973. The top individual income tax rate that year was 70 percent on ordinary earnings of $100,000 or more for single filers and $200,000 for married jointly filing taxpayers.
Elvis did his patriotic duty, entering the Army on March 24, 1958, after getting his draft notice and was on active duty until March 5, 1960. Military taxpayers get some special tax considerations, such as tax-free combat pay. As for Elvis's time in uniform, one estimate is that while Uncle Sam received The King's physical services, he lost around $500,000 in taxes due to the performance fees Elvis didn't earn during that time.
Speaking of patriotic, Elvis' manager Col. Tom Parker famously said back in the 1950s
that "I consider it my patriotic duty to keep Elvis up in the 90 percent
tax bracket."
A version of that statement also has been attributed anecdotally to Elvis himself, who reportedly even turned down suggestions he use tax shelters by saying, "Let the government take their share. I'll just make more money."
And judging from Ella Mae's video, Elvis is still making more fans, 36 years after he left the building for that big concert hall in the sky.
You also might find these items of interest:
- The everlasting Elvis and his estate's earning power
- Redefining 'wealthy' for tax purposes
- 'Tax us more,' say some rich Americans (Note: video starts automatically)
