Elvis Presley

Humorist Dave Barry once wrote, "Eventually everybody has to die, except Elvis." Barry was being funny, as always -- but was he right? As America marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death today, the singer is still very much with us. Perhaps you've seen the new commemorative DVDs of Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas, or the custom-made Elvis bikes that Harley-Davidson is offering, or the Elvis banana-and-peanut-butter cups Reese's is selling....

NICK MADIGAN LIGHTS! CAMERA! ELVIS! COLLECTION / / Paramount Home Entertainment / $76.99 ....................... Elvis Presley didn't so much inhabit a character as amble through it. No matter the part, he resolutely portrayed the country kid who made good, his hair a slicked, unyielding coif, his gyrations and self-satisfied sneer irresistible to every woman who crossed his path. The formula is solidly evident in eight Presley movies set for release Tuesday on DVD to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death: King Creole (1958)

GUIDES 'Encounter' the world Lonely Planet has introduced a new series of pocket guidebooks, called Encounter, designed for short visits to cities around the world. The series just launched books on Barcelona, Spain; Hong Kong; Istanbul, Turkey; Las Vegas; London; New York; Paris and San Francisco. Each book features a full-color pull-out map, plus neighborhood maps, with a list of not-to-be-missed highlights in each destination and sample itineraries, plus attractions, restaurants and shops listed by neighborhood.

MARYLAND Plane crash kills three Three Joppa men were killed yesterday when a single-engine plane crashed in a wooded area near homes in Jacksonville, Baltimore County. No one on the ground was injured and the cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said. pg 1b Bentley closes her store Dwindling sales forced former Rep. Helen Delich Bentley to close her Cockeysville antiques shop today after nearly 40 years in business. pg 1b WORLD New U.N. sanctions on Iran The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted yesterday to impose new sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Critic's Pick -- Performances by Elvis Presley (above) and others are spotlighted in The Rockabilly Legends (9:30 p.m., MPT, Channels 22/67).

Lisa Marie Presley The King's daughter comes to Baltimore for a performance at Rams Head Live this Sunday. After the success of her debut album in 2003, Lisa Marie Presley established herself as an artist out of the shadow of her legendary father, Elvis Presley. Roseanne Barr will open the show with a comedy routine. Rams Head Live is at 20 Market Place. The all-ages show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at 410-244-1131 or ramsheadlive.com.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- President Bush doesn't get a lot of tender love these days on the world stage. But yesterday, taking his Japanese counterpart on a private tour of Graceland, Bush received a big hunk o' love. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi - calling it a "dream" to see the home of his longtime idol, Elvis Presley - was reduced to almost uncontrollably giddy giggling as he broke into a serenade for Bush, first lady Laura Bush and Presley's former wife, Priscilla, and daughter, Lisa Marie.

Like you, he had great hair. Like you, he was known to sing in public. And like you, he won admirers in countries far from home. That man was Elvis."

Graceland Mansion, on the outskirts of Memphis, Tenn. - a retreat with a name that sounds pastoral, vaguely antebellum, the sort of grand country estate a poor kid from Mississippi would choose after his musical talent earned him what must have seemed like all the money in the world. Thus, it's a shock to find the fabled home of the King of Rock 'n' Roll smack in the midst of mundane suburbs, presiding over a highway otherwise dominated by strip shopping centers and workaday commercial establishments.

And the musicians with the most No. 1 singles of the rock era are ... The Beatles, Elvis Presley ... and Mariah Carey. Yes, Mariah Carey. Carey, she of the five-octave range and the second-biggest-selling album this year, has tied the King for second place on the charts, with 17 No. 1 hits. Carey's "Don't Forget About Us" hit the top of Billboard's latest Hot 100 chart. She and Presley are behind the Beatles, who have 20. (The Associated Press says some music sources give Presley 18 by counting the double-sided single "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" as two hits instead of one.)