Nothing could stop loyal Elvis Presley fans, not even the hardly bearable heat, as they embarked on a pilgrimage to the late King’s famous home, Graceland, and held an emotional candlelight vigil Wednesday night.

As this year’s Elvis Week proceeded, thousands and thousands of Elvis Presley fans braved the heat and inescapable discomfort of traveling from places closer or further away from Memphis, Tennessee, to celebrate their beloved icon’s life and legacy.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis’s death. The King’s grave lies in a garden adjacent to his longtime home, Graceland, now a museum visited by hundreds of thousands of people yearly.

As Wednesday the 15th slowly became Thursday the 16th, the day the King passed away thirty years ago, the thousands of people gathered adorned his gravesite with flowers and kept the candles lighted.

The temperature reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to the death of a 67-year-old woman from New Jersey. She was found dead Wednesday afternoon in her travel trailer at a campground near Graceland.

According to one coroner, the woman suffered from heart problems. The heat contributed to her death. The Memphis Fire Department has said that it has treated half a dozen people, overwhelmed by the heat. An 8-year-old boy was reportedly hospitalized.

When Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, became famous in the 1950s, he was instantly a phenomenon. The large following he soon had would not be daunted by any of the criticism surrounding their idol.

During the 1960s, Elvis rounded his artistic endeavors with movies, a couple of dozen of them, mostly musicals, romantic and comedic. While he wished to be given a chance to prove his dramatic potential, these somewhat lighter movies were nevertheless hugely successful.

The 1970s represented an impressive comeback from the King of Rock and Roll, who began to give life performances again, after several years off the stage, by now in his signature flamboyant, sequined jumpsuits.

His later years were marred by abuse of prescription drugs, which eventually led to his premature death. Elvis was only 42 when he passed away in his home, from heart failure worsened by the long years of drug use.

Fans have kept his memory alive. They cherish his music, his movies, all sorts of memorabilia that they enjoy collecting. What more proof of his fans’ loyalty than being named by Forbes the second-highest grossing dead celebrity in 2006, with an astounding $40 million?