Graceland, Elvis' legacy defied odds

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Elvis Presley's birthday -- he would have been 77 Sunday -- is a milestone this year, which marks both the 35th anniversary of his death and the 30th year since Graceland set out on the "grand adventure" that turned it into one of the best-known tourist attractions on the planet.

Graceland's role as a tourist magnet is one that its chief executive, Jack Soden, and Elvis' former wife, Priscilla Presley, gambled on against the advice of experts.

Besides the home, its furnishings and Elvis' toys -- from a Stutz Blackhawk car to a Convair 880 jet -- his estate at the time of his death amounted to $500,000 in cash. "We kind of bet the farm in terms of what liquid assets were left in the estate," Soden says.

They spent most of the money on a ticketing area across the street from the home, a small fleet of 14-passenger Dodge vans to take Elvis fans back and forth across the street, and a small staff of tour guides.

A research firm hired by the City of Memphis did a feasibility study that projected a short life for Graceland as a tourist attraction. "They said they didn't believe that Graceland would attract sufficient enough visitors," Soden says. "The belief was that Elvis' memory would fade and that it would not sustain a museum."

He and Priscilla weren't convinced.

After Elvis' death, when his body was moved to the Meditation Garden behind Graceland, Soden says the estate allowed fans to visit each day, walking up the winding driveway to pay their respects. "And they were doing it in pretty good numbers," he says.

Elvis' will named his father, Vernon, as an executor of his estate along with his accountant and NBC bank. Two years later, Vernon passed his executorship along to Priscilla on the grounds that she would best represent daughter Lisa Marie Presley's interests.

They considered selling Graceland and all of the furnishings and artifacts, says Soden, but, "Priscilla . . . knew how special Graceland was to Elvis and to Lisa. She really wanted to keep Graceland in the family."

At first, he and Priscilla thought that even if Graceland did not take off, it might at least make back the almost $500,000 investment. Within a few weeks, the newly opened home had returned that amount.

Graceland since has averaged more than 600,000 visitors a year. With tickets averaging $36, that works out to $21.6 million in annual ticket sales. Graceland spokesman Kevin Kern says roughly half of revenue is from ticket sales and half from licensing and merchandising.

The success of Elvis Presley Enterprises led to the purchase in 2004 of 85 percent of the estate by CKX Inc. Lisa Marie kept the home, all of her father's belongings and 15 percent ownership of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Elvis is routinely at or near the top of the annual Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities.