ELVIS PRESLEY: 40 years ago, the King of Rock left the ‘building’

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977.

On Tuesday night, August 15,  fans gathered at Graceland to begin an overnight vigil.

According to @MailOnLine, his ex-wife, Priscilla, greeted fans before the event; later their daughter, Lisa Marie, lit candles for the visitors.

Video: After an all night vigil on the grounds of Graceland in 2015, Elvis fans took part in a rockin’ tribute to the king

Organizers haven’t yet released how many people were at the event, but they prepared for as many as 50,000.

Video: Cant help falling in love

Once candles were lit, the visitors walked through the grounds of Graceland in a solemn vigil procession.

For the first time after years of such vigils, Graceland charged for admittance this year – causing some anger.

But the organizers said that the money was needed for the extra security due to the large number of visitors.

Elvis Presley is a modern musical hero.

He is pretty much credited with creating rock n roll, gave birth to the idea of super-stardom and rocked the world of music through evergreen tracks such as Blue Suede Shoes, Suspicious Minds and Can’t Help Falling In Love.

Video: Blue Suede Shoes – Elvis Presley

But even though his musical canon suddenly ceased in the mid to late sixties, his relevance and importance to modern day music is arguably one of the most important. Counting albums released posthumously, Presley has 13 UK number one records to date  – just two releases short of The Beatles’ unbeaten tally of 15 number one LPs.

However, it’s no secret that Elvis’ life ended in tragedy and mystery, as the star made his metamorphosis from hunky, wild child rocker to a man struggling to cope with the pressures of fame.

Video: The Transformation of ELVIS From 18 to 42 Year Old

It is recorded that he died at 2pm on Tuesday 16 August, 1977.