How do you explain Elvis Presley to someone who knows nothing about him?

Someone who is… 3?

We went to a child’s birthday pool party last weekend and an Elvis impersonator was the main attraction. He performed a few songs including “Hound Dog” and gave my daughter a doggie stuffed animal.

My daughter was mesmerized. Who is this larger-than-life Elvis person with all the jewelry and sparkles and white jumpsuit and cape? We tried to explain to her that he was a “pretend” Elvis.

She did not want to hear about “pretend” Elvis… she wanted to know about the real one and talked about it for days after the party. So, I got out my iPad and hit YouTube to find some old performances of him.

Isn’t the Internet awesome? Instantly, she was able to see all kinds of footage of the “real” Elvis… his early years, movie clips, montages with Priscilla and his later years.

Looking at all of this, I was once again reminded of just what a handsome guy he was. And stylish too. At first glance, I thought I was looking at Adam Lambert in some of the early years footage with his dark slicked back hair.

We may all sort of remember his later, bloated years, but before that, boy, was he a trend setter. Love his cuffed pants paired with loafers. His leather jacket in the ‘68 comeback special is pretty awesome. Then, there are the ‘70s, when he sported trendy-at-the-time polyester suits, oversize metal shades and mutton chops.

But for my young daughter, Elvis’ best look is his white bedazzled jumpsuit. For someone who loves sparkles and anything shiny, THIS is the Elvis look she loves. She liked that he took the white scarf off around his neck and gave it to someone in the audience in one of the clips that we watched.

She has no preconceived notions… she doesn’t know anything about his crazy life… or shocking death. And that’s the magic of a phenomenon like Elvis… he truly lives on. Generations to come will keep rediscovering his music, his movies and even his style. And it was pretty cool to witness that first-hand.