January 8th, 2005

Today's a very special day.

His fans and family know.

If he were still alive he'd be,

A rockin' seven oh!

So light the candles, cut the cake,

Pick a song to sing,

Then shake your hip and curl your lip,

In memory of the King.

Happy Birthday Elvis!

January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977

Darwin Lamm publisher of Elvis International The Magazine asked me to write a birthday poem honoring the would be 70th Birthday of Elvis Presley, just prior to the would be 70th Birthday of Elvis for The Magazine's 70th Birthday Tribute Issue. 

As a result the above poem was written and was published in the 70th Birthday Issue of Elvis International The Magazine January 2005.

If you would like a copy of this 70th Birthday Tribute Issue autographed by myself and Darwin I still have some copies left.  

You can message me through my etsy shop, where you can also get a copy of my book "Inspirational Poems from the heart of a cop" or one of my Share The Story Share The Love greeting cards.  Just click on the POETIC PATRIOT GREETING CARDS below link;

LIFESTYLE  Posted: Jan. 05, 2013

Darwin Lamm publishes final 'Elvis ... The Magazine'

Darwin Lamm, 71, a longtime radio show producer who has kept the memory of Elvis alive for millions of fans, is now closing "Elvis ... The Magazine."

By Amy Bentley

For 22 years, longtime Westlake Village resident Darwin Lamm published a quarterly magazine devoted to entertainer Elvis Presley that focused on Elvis, his music, his images and his legacy.

After moving to a twice-a-year format for the past two years, Lamm, 71, a longtime radio show producer who has kept the memory of Elvis alive for millions of fans, is now closing "Elvis ... The Magazine." A year and a half ago, Lamm semiretired and moved to Palm Springs, although he maintains an office in Thousand Oaks.

"It's been loved by an awful lot of people. They don't want to see it go," Lamm said of "Elvis ... The Magazine," which opened in 1988 and later became the first officially licensed Elvis publication for Graceland. The Winter 2013 issue ? the final issue ? came out a few weeks ago and will be on newsstands and in bookstores through early spring. Issues can also be purchased on www.elvisthemagazine.com.

"To the fans, I've been the one to keep the memory alive all these years. I was a fan, so I did everything for the fans," Lamm said.

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935 and died in 1977 at age 42, his health harmed by prescription drug use. If he were still alive, Elvis, one of the most important figures in music and 20th-century pop culture, would turn 77 on Tuesday.

Lamm believes Elvis' music will still be loved for years to come.

"There are thousands and thousands of us old-timers, and thousands and thousands of younger people who have been brought up with him," Lamm said. "You'd almost have to go to Memphis during Elvis week, which is in August, to see it's not just old people sharing the memory of Elvis, but it's young people as well. They bring in younger tribute artists for the younger people and they cater to younger music fans.

"You can put on an Elvis record that he recorded in 1966 and it still sounds current. You can hear the music. You can hear the voice. He started with rock and roll but he also went with gospel and country; he could do it all. He became the entertainer of the century. You're going to hear his music for a long, long time," Lamm said.

Lamm continued, "He had a niche in the music field and no one will ever surpass him. He also had a good heart and he loved his fans."

Lamm is winding down his own long career in entertainment, radio and publishing, much of it centered on Elvis, to focus on some new Elvis-related book projects. Born in 1941, Lamm was a teenager in the mid 1950s when Elvis became a huge international star. Lamm said entertainers like Elvis and Buddy Holly inspired him to start his own music career. "I was a fan of all rock and roll," he recalled.

As an 18 year-old singer and songwriter living in Vancouver, Wash., Lamm began performing around the Northwest with a band called, "Darwin & the Cupids." In 1960, their song, "How Long," was a hit and it wasn't long before Darwin & The Cupids were playing for crowds of 10,000 fans. Lamm moved to Los Angeles and from 1963 to 1965 he recorded for Dore Records as "Darwin." Lamm recorded nine records in four years and appeared on some national television shows, including American Bandstand in 1962, where he met Dick Clark.

Lamm began working as a television agent and radio show producer.

He teamed up with Clark in 1971 to launch the first radio talk show in syndication, the controversial Bill Ballance Feminine Forum.

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Lamm's company, Creative Radio Network, produced many syndicated specials. In 1977, after Elvis died, radio station managers asked Lamm to produce a radio tribute show to Elvis. The result was a three-hour special called, "Elvis Remembered." More radio shows on Elvis followed, and in 1988 Lamm produced a weekly program, "The Elvis Hour."

Lamm entered the publishing world in 1988 with a magazine he initially called the Elvis International Forum, while continuing to produce radio specials including, "The Elvis 15th Anniversary Radio Tribute" in 1992 and "The Elvis 20th Anniversary Radio Tribute" in 1997.

Lamm said it was easy to find fresh material for each magazine issue, with new tribute bands popping up, coverage of Elvis fan clubs and fan charity efforts, and lots of Elvis-related events going on. And, he noted, there's an endless supply of photos of Elvis. "He was the most photographed person in the world," Lamm said.

Lamm, who saw Elvis perform several times, said he never actually met Elvis and he blew a chance to meet him in 1971. Lamm was in Las Vegas with some friends and was offered a chance to meet Elvis at a show but passed because all his friends wanted to tag along and it was a hassle. "I passed it up thinking it would happen some other time," he said. It didn't.

Over the years, Lamm amassed a large collection of information about Elvis from interviews with celebrities and others, as well as photos from various sources. The material is included in four books Lamm has published. "Elvis: Intimate and Rare," published in 1997, was written with Joe Esposito, Elvis' road manager and best friend man. The book includes stories from musicians like Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Pat Boone and Roy Orbison. "The Beat Behind the King," with D.J. Fontana, Elvis' drummer for 16 years, was published in 2000. "Elvis Incredible" followed and features never-before-seen photos of Elvis that Lamm acquired from a photographer who was a friend of Elvis' manager. His fourth book, "Elvis: He Touched Me, the Untold Story from Rare Interviews," was published in 2008.

Lamm is working on a new series of books called "Memories of Elvis," which he said would include interviews with Elvis' friends and fellow performers.

"I know all these old people who worked with Elvis. That's why these books will be so important. This will keep those memories alive," Lamm said.