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[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame] visitors will be encouraged to add their signatures to a giant birthday card for The King.

HAPPY 75th, ELVIS!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy Museum, Radio Special, Movie Tribute Mark The King’s 75th birthday
This Friday (1/8), Elvis Presley would have been 75 years old, and several media institutions are marking the occasion with celebrations. The rock and roll pioneer passed away at the age of 42 in August, 1977.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland will begin with a cake-cutting and a discussion by curator Jim Henke about its brand-new exhibit of Presley items, including a 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV two-door coupe, a ’73-era jumpsuit, an acoustic guitar used in his ’68 comeback special and an array or firearms, some of which he undoubtedly used to shoot out his TV screen. Visitors will be encouraged to add their signatures to a giant birthday card for The King. The Hall will also honor Presley bandmates (and Hall members) James Burton, Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana and Bill Black. Fontana and Black were inducted as sidemen last April.

The Grammy Museum in L.A. will mount an exhibit of black-and-white photos, Elvis at 21, which captures moments in 1956, just prior to his breakthrough, starting this Friday and running through March 28. Organized by the Smithsonian Institute and sponsored by the History Channel, it features photojournalist Alfred Wertheimer's series of 56 candid, rarely seen snaps of the singer, promotional photos shot for his label RCA, showing the King in the studio, performing live, on tour and at Graceland. A book, titled Elvis 1956, accompanies the exhibition. The entire exhibit will go on a national tour through 2013. Museum head Robert Santelli will also be giving a course on Presley starting in January.

Elvis’ movie output will be the subject of a 24-hour marathon on cable net Turner Classic Movies starting Friday and a double-feature at L.A.’s American Cinematheque Egyptian Theatre, Sunday (1/10), featuring Elvis ’56, a 1987 documentary directed by Alan and Susan Raymond of An American Family fame, and his 1957 classic, Jailhouse Rock.

United Stations Radio Networks announced a special installment of producer Jay Gordon’s syndicated show, Elvis Only, featuring music from Sony Legacy’s new, four-disc, 100-song box set, Elvis 75 - Good Rockin’ Tonight as well as a rare, exclusive interview with longtime Presley galpal Linda Thompson.