Pink Cadillac Day

This day is dedicated to pink Cadillacs, which have an iconic place in American culture, most notably because of Elvis Presley. Elvis mentioned a pink Cadillac in his first charting single, "Baby Let's Play House", which was released in April 1955, and bought his first pink Cadillac around the same time. It was a 1954 Fleetwood Series 60, and it was destroyed in a roadside fire in June of the same year. His second Cadillac was a 1955 Fleetwood Series 60, which was originally blue with a black roof. He had a neighbor paint it pink for him, and gave it to his mother Gladys as a gift. As Gladys didn't have a driver's licence, Elvis still did most of the driving of it. Eventually Elvis had the top changed from black to white too. Elvis also bought himself a white with pink roofed 1961 Cadillac Coupe de Ville upon returning home from his service in Germany, and let his friend and soon-to-be tour manager, Joe Esposito, borrow the 1955 car. The 1955 is his most famous Cadillac, and it now is on display in Graceland.

Although Elvis' 1955 car was a four-door sedan, the romanticized version of the pink Cadillac in popular culture is seen as being the 1959 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. Many miniature replicas of this car have been made, and it has been featured in music videos. Pink Cadillacs have also permeated the public consciousness by being given to Mary Kay Cosmetics associates, after they reach $100,000 in sales in a year. Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay, originally had a Cadillac made for herself based off a blush color, and sales directors liked it so much they bought their own. In 1969, Mary Kay Ash gave her type five sellers pink blush colored Cadillacs. Today cars are still being given out, although associates have an option to pick more cars besides just the pink Cadillac.

How to Observe Pink Cadillac Day

Obviously the best way to celebrate Pink Cadillac Day is to visit Graceland and see Elvis' most famous Cadillac. If you can't make it there, you can see some pictures of his cars online. There is an exact replica of his 1955 car that is used at many breast cancer awareness events, so this may be a good day to donate money for breast cancer research. Elvis famously gave out Cadillacs, so this may also be a good day to give gifts to friends and watch the film 200 Cadillacs. You also could watch the Clint Eastwood film Pink Cadillac, listen to John Prine's album Pink Cadillac, or Bruce Springsteen's song "Pink Cadillac". Finally, you could make yourself a Pink Cadillac Margarita.

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