When was the first Elvis Week? The history of the August tradition honoring Presley

As designated by the official keepers of the Elvis flame, this year's "Elvis Week" runs Aug. 9-17 — nine days that nevertheless represent "a week of epic events celebrating the King of Rock 'n' Roll's life, music, and legacy," according to the Graceland website.

Elvis so-called Week is structured around the emotional climax of the annual "Candlelight Vigil," in which thousands of fans line up at the gates of Graceland and then process up the driveway to the Presley grave in the "Meditation Garden" on the south side of the Graceland mansion, where Elvis is interred along with his parents, his daughter Lisa Marie Presley, and other family members. The vigil begins on the evening of Aug. 15 and continues into the early hours of Aug. 16, which marks the day that Elvis died in 1977.

But when did "Elvis Week" begin?

As with many traditions, from Halloween to the chanting of "Whoop That Trick" during Memphis Grizzlies games, the origin story is somewhat obscure.

The Candlelight Vigil traces its beginnings to a fan-organized gathering outside the Graceland gates in 1978, on the first anniversary of Elvis' death.

Apparently touched by the sincerity of the tribute, Graceland managers allowed the fans to visit and lay flowers at the Elvis gravesite. According to a Graceland official, some 9,500 people visited the grave that day. In addition, "more than 100 fans, without a place to spend the night, were allowed to sleep on the grounds of Graceland last night," the evening newspaper, the Memphis Press-Scimitar, reported on Aug. 17, 1978.

That story ran on page 27. Why so far back? Perhaps because the front page was devoted to the ongoing police and fire strikes that had Memphis under curfew and afflicted by "scattered looting." The situation was exacerbated by a power blackout "that darkened the entire Memphis area and cut off the city's water supply" when a security guard at a Cordova substation "went berserk" and tripped multiple switches, the newspaper reported.

In these circumstances, it's no wonder that the Press-Scimitar on Aug. 19 of that year concluded that "fire and police strikes and the resulting curfew took the glimmer off expected boom business during Elvis Presley Week." Stated the headline: "Elvis Week Proves Slow, But the Future Looks Bright."

The use of "Elvis Week" here seems to be wishful and more or less informal, even if that same year Tennessee Gov. Ray Blanton declared Aug. 14-20 as "Elvis International Tribute Week," and the Mississippi city of Tupelo, where Elvis was born, hosted "Elvis Awareness Week."

ELVIS AT OVERTON PARK: Inside the historic 1954 Memphis concert that launched the King's career

In any case, the Elvis fans kept coming, in growing numbers.

On Aug. 17, 1980, The Commercial Appeal ran a front page story with the headline: "Elvis fans had week to cherish." The story contained no mention of an "Elvis Week," but it described many of the events held around the city in mid-August in recognition of the King's death, including an autograph session with Otis Blackwell, writer of the songs "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up," at Memphis State University, and a concert by Carl Perkins at the Cook Convention Center.

In 1981, an Aug. 7 story in the Press-Scimitar began: "It's Elvis time again." This story also made no mention of an "Elvis Week," even if it offered some 20 paragraphs of news about upcoming Elvis concerts, exhibitions and other events.

In 1982, Graceland opened to the public. Now a tourist attraction as well as a site of pilgrimage, Graceland in its first year allowed the Elvis faithful on the anniversary of the singer's death to "reverently file past Elvis' grave after their little devotion and songs at the gate," as a Graceland official told the Press-Scimitar.

By 1983, newspapers already were referring to the "annual" Graceland vigil.

That same year, the city Convention and Visitors Bureau, in partnership with Graceland, announced the first official "Elvis International Tribute Week." An April 26, 1983, story in The Commercial Appeal carried the headline "Elvis Week Could Lure 50,000 Visitors To City."

If this year's "week" is nine days, the original Tribute Week ran for five, from Aug. 12-16. The story called the five days "the first 'planned and coordinated' tribute to the singer."

As with the Memphis in May International Festival, Elvis Week events originally were expansive and city-wide. The Commercial Appeal's 1983 "Elvis Week" calendar lists Elvis-connected events hosted by a variety of organizations and establishments, including an Elvis double feature at the Whitehaven Cinema, an "Elvis Concerto" at the Mud Island Amphitheater, a Pink Palace Planetarium show, an Elvis musical at Libertyland, and a "multi-media revue" at the Gaslight Dinner Theatre.

As Elvis Presley Enterprises ousted the mom-and-pop souvenir stands that occupied a strip mall across the street and took control of the once wild-and-woolly "Elvis tribute artist" competition, Elvis Week came to refer specifically to a Graceland-hosted celebration. Now, most Elvis Week events are held on the Graceland "campus," which in recent years has expanded beyond the Elvis Presley mansion to include a hotel, a performance venue, and a complex of museums and exhibition halls. This year's schedule includes close to 50 events, ranging from a listening party for the new "Memphis" box set (admission: free) to a "Q&A Experience" with former Elvis girlfriend Linda Thompson inside the mansion's "Jungle Room" (tickets: $1,250 each).

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: When was the first Elvis Week?