(Editor's note: If you want to see photos of what Elvis' grandson looks like, click here to go to a 12/21/07 Elvisblog article with three photos of fifteen-year-old Benjamin Keough.)
The blogware platform that brings you Elvisblog offers a number of features. One I especially like is “Referrer Summary,” which shows the search entries on Google, etc. that lead folks to your site (as opposed to typing in www.elvisblog.net or clicking on it from a list of favorites). To my great surprise, 67 people searching for Benjamin Keough, Elvis’ grandson, visited Elvisblog this past Thursday, February 16.
I had to assume there was something in the news that had piqued people’s interest in Benjamin Keough. After all, the only Elvisblog reference to him was a short paragraph in a February 6, 2005 article about his sister Riley Keough Presley. I went to my favorite Elvis references to see what was up, and the answer was the same at www.elvis.con, www.elvisnews.com, and www.elvisinfonet.com. Benjamin Keough had been one of the groomsmen at the recent wedding of his mother, Lisa Marie, to guitarist and record producer Michael Lockwood. The ceremony actually took place on January 22 in Kyoto, Japan, so the celebrity press obviously missed out on this event.
Riley was the maid of honor at her mother’s wedding. People have been Googling her and coming to Elvisblog a lot for the past year. The record for Riley Keough Presley hits was 322 on March 29, 2005, when she was all over the news with articles about her modeling career. This was two days after I had posted my second blog article about her. Anyway, interest in Riley on Elvisblog has dropped off as people discovered there are several sites with more stuff about her (and pictures).
However, having Benjamin Keough in the news for the first time seems to have started the same cycle of interest for Elvisblog. On Friday, February 17, there were 151 hits for Benjamin, 22 for Riley, and even four for their father, Danny Keough, who, by the way, was best man at his ex-wife’s recent wedding.
The wedding news also gave me something new to look into – the groom, Michael Lockwood. If you want to find out more about him, check out his website www.michaellockwood.com. The news pictures of the wedding show him wearing an oversized hat, as do most of the pictures on his site. He seems to have quite a collection of them. He has recorded and toured with Lisa Marie and some other high-level female singers, including Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, and Carly Simon.
Let’s all wish Lisa Marie and Michael the best of success with their marriage. The odds-makers probably won’t give it much chance, but who knows. Maybe this time it will work out.
Back to Benjamin Keough. He will turn fourteen this October. He and his sister Riley sang back-up vocals on Lisa Marie’s last album, “Now What?” Other than that, my internet search turned up very little information about him. I hope interest in him continues and grows, because it sure helps bring people to Elvisblog.
Elvis’ daughter, Lisa Marie, and his granddaughter, Riley, already have successful careers, so isn’t it logical to expect something similar from Elvis’ grandson? The day Benjamin Keough steps in front of a mike to perform, I’d love to be there.
© 2006 Philip R Arnold www.elvisblog.net