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August 16th, 1977 was one of the most tragic days in rock ‘n’ roll history. It was the day we lost “The King” at the young age of 42.

The night Elvis Presley passed, he was was supposed to fly out to Memphis, Tennessee to begin another tour. That fateful day, Presley’s then-girlfriend Gigner Alden found him unconscious on his bathroom floor in his Graceland mansion. He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead at 3:30 PM of a cardiac arrest.

Exactly 45 years after his death, Elvis Presley’s legacy has not faded in any way. Elvis remains an American rock ‘n’ roll icon whose popularity continues to grow, especially with the recent release of the biopic Elvis based on his life. Recognized as the best-selling solo music artist of all time selling over 400 million records worldwide, Elvis crossed over tons of genres including pop, rock, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues. His short years on Earth were full of an astonishing amount of accomplishments.

To celebrate his life, watch Elvis Presley perform his famous 1968 “Comeback Special” here: