[Guest post by DRJ]

Elvis died in 1977 but he remains popular with fans and politicians the world over. As shown in this June 2006 article, he’s certainly a favorite of former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi:

“President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi have made it to Graceland.

It’s a presidential first as Mr. Bush accompanies Koizumi on a pilgrimage to the estate in Memphis that was home to rock ’n’ roll legend Elvis Presley.

Koizumi is an unabashed Elvis fan. He shares a Jan. 8th birthday with the late singer and once put out a charity record album titled: “Junichiro Koizumi Presents My Favorite Elvis Songs.” No kidding!”

The same article also noted that American politicians are not immune to Elvis’ appeal:

“Perhaps more than any other president, Bill Clinton felt a certain kinship to Presley. They were both sons of the South who rose from very humble beginnings.

But only one President claimed to have been a relative of Elvis.

“Elvis is kin to me on my mother’s side,” Jimmy Carter once boasted. “Our families came from Union County, North Carolina, and Elvis is my cousin.”

Mr. Carter said that when Elvis would come to Atlanta, “we would visit with him (and) obviously attend his concerts.”

Even at today’s NATO summit, President Bush noted that French President Sarkozy is the “the latest incarnation of Elvis.”

It seems that Elvis is more popular than ever.

— DRJ