Today has a special significance for me because–here’s something you probably don’t know about me–I’m a huge fan of Elvis Aron Presley. Of his music and, at his best, of the man.

I grew up in the Deep South to parents and maternal grandparents who were likewise fans. One of my earliest memories in this world is from the night of December 3, 1968–seated in my grandparents’ living room on Milford Avenue, mesmerized by Elvis’s 1968 Comeback Special. I was six, and I’ll bet you I didn’t take my ey...