If I asked you what you were doing on this day 40 years ago, you'd likely laugh and tell me you have no idea. But when I remind you that August 16, 1977, was the day Elvis Presley died, I have no doubt the day will come flooding back with absolute clarity.
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Doesn't everyone remember the exact moment they heard the tragic news out of Memphis?
Canberra man Garry Buckley certainly does.
He was a larrikin kid growing up in Canberra's south who'd ducked inside to grab a drink when the radio sitting on top of the fridge delivered the news all the way from the United States. The King was dead.
While he remembers his mother being upset, nine-year-old Garry grabbed his drink and headed out to the backyard. He had no idea he would spend more than 20 years of his future life impersonating Elvis Presley.
Fast forward to the early 1990s, when Garry was sitting up late one night watching television and caught a documentary entitled Elvis: That's the Way It Is. He became an instant fan.
Garry immediately mail-ordered two replica Elvis outfits and, while initially reluctant to actually put the suits on, he did so in 1993 in the name of charity. It was the beginning of what is now 24 years of impersonating The King.
Garry has performed at literally hundreds of charity events across NSW over the years - "98 per cent of my shows are donated to charity" - and has visited the bedsides of many sick Canberrans. People light up when they see The King walk into the hospital ward.
While hits like Suspicious Minds and Love Me Tender are always in demand, Garry prefers performing Elvis's lesser known gospel music. He wants Canberrans to commemorate the 40th anniversary of The King's death by listening to I've Lost You.
"Dressing as Elvis is an escape from reality," Garry, a truck driver by night, says.
"In a funny kind of way, as soon as you put the suit on you start to take on a persona, you start to move like him.
"I do my own personal tribute to Elvis - the man is dead, there is only one Elvis, there will never be another Elvis."
Dressing as The King is no small feat. Garry usually enlists the help of daughter Erica, who helps put on the many layers of his suits, hairsprays his wig and makes sure his rings - custom-made in the US by Elvis's own jeweller - are sitting perfectly on his fingers.
Today Garry owns 10 Elvis replica costumes, seven of which are on display at Elvis mecca Big Al's World in Sydney. Hanging in the wardrobe of his Gordon home are three outfits - one he describes as "casual Elvis attire", the 1968 comeback leather suit and the 1971 I Got Lucky white jumpsuit.
"The crowd favourite is always the black leather," Garry said.
Over the years he's been lucky enough to meet a collection of people once close to The King, including Elvis's former friend, driver and bodyguard Red West and long-time drummer Ron Tutt.
"They all say the same thing - that Elvis was an absolute gentleman," he said.
"He would walk into a room and people would stare. He just had this aura.
"You have to have a lot of respect for the man to pay tribute to him.
"A lot of people say 'oh he was fat in the end and he was taking drugs' but everyone has issues, the man was a singer and he did his job beautifully.
"Go onto YouTube and watch his last concert of 1977 and just listen to his voice. It's fantastic, he was at his peak."
Murrumbateman man Tony Haley remembers August 17, 1977, in vivid detail.
In fact, he's pretty sure his band Eddie Haley and The Starliters played the world's first Elvis tribute show on the night of August 17th: "a cold Wednesday night in Sydney".
They vowed to perform an entire night dedicated to The King, and opened with Don't be Cruel.
"Our band manager Bob Yates hired a projector and we had the movie King Creole playing in the background while we sang," Tony recalls.
"It was just surreal, playing with a 12-foot black-and-white Elvis in the background.
"And we all stood at the bar afterwards and thought well, that's amazing, he's not here anymore. It was a weird feeling."
These days Tony has swapped Jailhouse Rock and Heartbreak Hotel for the smooth tunes of Dean Martin and Sinatra. He plays every Thursday night at The Statesman in Curtin and this Thursday's show, of course, will be dedicated entirely to The King.
"He was the greatest rock-and-roll singer - the way he just attacked songs was remarkable," Tony said.
"I don't think people give him enough credit for being such a great interpreter of rock and roll, he moved well, and he had the greatest hair."
