
Several hundred fans braved freezing cold on Thursday to join Elvis Presley's family in Memphis, Tennessee on what would have been the King of Rock 'n' Roll's 80th birthday.

Cheers went up as Presley's former wife Priscilla and their only child Lisa Marie, along with Elvis' grandchildren, sliced an eight-tier cake frozen by the 16F temperature, then sang happy birthday to the king.

Fans got a chance to get a bite of the cake at a diner across the street from Graceland, the Presley residence that has become a shrine to his life, work and rich musical legacy.

In a ceremony held at Graceland this morning, January 8 was declared to be Elvis Presley Day in Memphis, Tennessee.

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Long live the king: Priscilla Presley, the ex-wife of Elvis, cuts a birthday cake on what would have been his 80th birthday on Thursday at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee

Elvis Presley pictured playing guitar in Culver City, California in 1962, left, and with Priscilla in 1969 at right The King of Rock and Roll died on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42

Priscilla Presley, stands in front of Graceland with her daughter Lisa Marie (center) and her grandson, Ben Keough, on January 8 which was named Elvis Presley Day in Memphis

Ben, the lone male grandchild of Elvis, isn't seen in public as much as his older sister Riley, a model. Their father is Lisa-Marie's first husband, whom she married when just 20. Priscilla married Elvis then had Lisa Marie in 1968 when she was 22 years old. Lisa Marie also had children in her earlier 20s - giving birth to Riley when she was 21 and Ben when she was 24

Priscilla (left), holds the hand of one of her twin granddaughters and is followed by her daughter, Lisa Marie (right). The Presley family returned to Memphis to celebrate Elvis' 80th with hundreds of fans

'My gosh, I'm in total shock. So many of you here!' said Priscilla Presley, 69, adding that Elvis 'would have been amazed' to see so many fans come out for his birthday.

'There's really no where else we'd rather be,' added Lisa Marie, 46, accompanied by her four children - Riley and Benjamin Keough and six-year-old twins Harper and Finley Lockwood.

Elvis Presley's grandchildren Ben Keough (L) and Riley Keough stand in front of Graceland during a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day

Riley Keough holds her little sister Finley Lockwood in front of Graceland during a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day

The twin girls were born in 2008 to Lisa Marie's fourth husband, guitarist and music producer, Michael Lockwood.

Elvis Presley was born in poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935, and as a teen moved to Memphis with his parents and absorbed the mixture of blues, rhythm and blues, and African-American gospel from which rock music emerged.

Flowers and birthday wishes from around the world lie beside the grave of Elvis Presley at his home at Graceland

A wreath commemorating what would have been Elvis Presley's 80th Birthday sits by the grave of the late singer at his home

He moved to Memphis with his parents at age 13. He died on August 16, 1977 in Memphis at the age of 42.

An American pop culture icon like few others, Presley rode high in the rock music charts in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s before his untimely death.

His legacy includes 108 songs on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 pop music chart as well as 129 records in the Billboard 200 album chart - most recently in 2002 with a greatest hits set.

'He has stayed on top all these years,' said Scotty Moore, 83, of Nashville, the guitarist and last man standing from the recording session that yielded the 1954 hit That's All Right.

Flowers and birthday wishes from around the world lie beside the grave of Elvis Presley

That first session at Sun Studios in Memphis changed everything in popular music and culture, said Peter Cooper, writer and editor for Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

'It changed all of our lives, even those of us who weren't born yet. It changed the way we dress and the way we wear our hair and the way we talk,' said Cooper.

'It was a reset button for the United States of America.'

Elvis' 69-year-old ex-wife, told fans she was in shock that so many of them had turned out in freezing temperatures to celebrate the music legend's birthday

No denying those genes: Lisa Marie's fraternal twin girls, Harper and Finley, aged seven, both have the family's Presley pout

Other birthday events on Thursday include an auction of authenticated Elvis memorabilia including his first driver's license and the jacket he wore in the movie 'Viva Las Vegas.'

Also up for grabs is the first recording Presley ever made - an acetate disc from Sun Studios on which he sang the 1940s chestnut 'My Happiness' for his mother. He was 18 at the time.

Fans with deeper pockets can meanwhile bid in a separate auction on Presley's two private jets, which have been on display since the 1980s across the street from Graceland.

Their owners say they are under an April deadline to remove the Lockheed JetStar and Convair 880 after Presley's estate said it would not renew a joint venture agreement to exhibit them.

But on social media, both Priscilla and Lisa Marie have signaled they are unhappy with the sale, which is being handled by a Los Angeles auction house.

'It is the owners who are doing all of this to try and get more money,' wrote singer-songwriter Lisa Marie on her Twitter feed, to which she added the hashtag: '#Greed.'

Ann Dunn, aged seven, of Bartlett, Tennessee, holds a guitar-shaped placard, reading 'I share my birthday with the King'

Elvis fan, Meredith Benson, 36, of New York, wears tights with the image of the late singer, during celebrations at Graceland