Thirty years after his untimely death at 42, pop icon Elvis Presley is still on our minds and churning out the big bucks today's un-deceased chart-toppers can only covet.

As this 30th anniversary approaches you can almost hear the sound of cash registers clinking briskly as fans scoop up commemorative DVDs of "Jailhouse Rock" (1957) and "Viva Las Vegas" (1964), buy custom-made Elvis bikes from Harley-Davidson or Reese's "King"-sized banana-and-peanut-butter cups and pay for the everything with Visa's prepaid Elvis card.

Clamouring for Presley Product

You can sniff out more spent millions as Presley die-hards holiday at sea with Carnival Cruise Line's new all-Elvis excursion (hosted by Jerry Schilling, Elvis' friend), or visit Graceland in Memphis. The King's home and tourist shrine is getting a $250 million dollar renovation under the new owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, billionaire media mogul Robert Sillerman - owner of the hit TV show, "American Idol."

There's the buzz about Cirque du Soleil reportedly working on an Elvis-themed show at the Las Vegas MGM Mirage; plans for a new digital museum; new hotel and nightlife packages around Graceland to nab more tourist dough; the money-making "tribute artist" contest now officially blessed by Graceland itself and the 600 official Elvis fan clubs in 45 countries that are clamouring for Presley product.

Still a cash cow

No wonder Forbes magazine ranks Elvis as the second-highest-earning dead celebrity after Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, with an estimated $42 million from licensing deals alone in 2005-2006. That represents a 40-fold increase in revenue from 1979, when Priscilla Presley took over as executor of the King's estate after the death of his father Vernon.

Not bad for a dirt-poor boy from Tupelo, Mississippi who received his first guitar at age 12 and paid $3.98 six years later to cut a demo at a Memphis recording studio.

It's hardly the stuff that hurls most wanna be singers into the limelight and into society's cultural fabric for decades. But that's what it did for this wholesome-faced singer and dreamy sex symbol who made a fortune -- and musical history -- blending blues and pop with his signature, hip-gyrating glam.

As Sillerman continues to aggressively market the Elvis brand and make it relevant to younger audiences and their aging parents, selling the Hollywood hunk who ballooned into a jumpsuit-clad addict does face future challenges.

The 'long tail' of Elvis

Thanks to eBay, the rock memorabilia business has taken a hit. Also, while Presley's music has historically sold well posthumously, overall CD sales have dropped 25 percent since 2000.

For now, the world's fascination with Elvis (a man who collected marble statues of Venus de Milo and Joan of Arc, loved Karate, drank Pepsi and buffed his pearly whites with Colgate toothpaste) isn't slowing down.

"Before Elvis there was nothing." That's how John Lennon put it. According to Bruce Springsteen, "It was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody's ear." And as Leonard Bernstein called it, "Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force of the 20th century."

Humourist Dave Barry once wrote, "Eventually everybody has to die, except Elvis." By the looks of the late, great King's bank account, his enduring memory is still taking care of business.

Owning Elvis

  • Marie Osmond, the former pop star and Elvis friend, is selling a youthful, limited-edition doll decked out with a microphone, Presley's signature pompadour and an American-eagle jumpsuit.
  • The American firearms company America Remembers has released a special edition "Elvis Presley TCB Tribute Revolver" decorated with a picture of the King and a 24-carat-gold lightning bolt
  • Reno Fontana, the owner of Elvis' Palm Springs home, is hoping to give Graceland a run for its money. The Elvis fan has announced plans to turn the King's five-bedroom, Spanish-style desert getaway into a tourist attraction. The digs purchased by Elvis and wife Priscilla in 1970 will soon sport a refurbished decor, a new chapel, banquet hall and recording studio to attract weddings and recording business