In 1987, Deacon Anthony Liguori became an Elvis tribute artist to help preserve the artist’s legacy. In concerts, he plays songs from all the different stages of Elvis’ life — the young ’50s rocker, the leather-clad ’60s star, and the latter-day ’70s Vegas-era Elvis in the white flowing outfits with the scarves — the way Liguori said he believes that people remember him best.
The death of Hollywood luminary Sidney Poitier in January reminded Americans of his important and inspiring legacies, including the first leading-performer Oscar bestowed on a black person and the 1963 film tied to that victory. “Lilies of the Field” explored the country’s weakness and goodness in a parable-like drama.
There are mile stones that are embedded in the minds of people of a certain generation. Everyone knows where they were when they learned that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, everyone was glued to their television when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, and everyone remembers how they felt on August 16, 1977, when Elvis Presley passed away at just 42 years old.
Willie Nelson’s love of inspirational songs dates back to his childhood in Abbott, Texas, and “Amazing Grace,” a hymn he first heard in church as a young boy.
