Several thousand Elvis Presley fans lined up in the rain Friday to ensure their place in a late-night candlelight vigil past the singer's grave in Memphis, Tenn., on the eve of his death 31 years ago.

It was a lower-key event than last's year's 30th anniversary tribute that saw close to 100,000 gather at Graceland, the singer's home until his death at the age of 42.

Maybe it was soaring gas prices, maybe it was the odd-numbered anniversary year. But, for some, the King of Rock 'n' Roll is still a major drawing card.

"It's my first Elvis Week," Mary Lou Martell, 60, of Dunkirk, N.Y., told the Associated Press. "We watched it on the computer last year, and I finally said, 'I have to be part of that.' "

She set up a lawn chair at Graceland's front gates at 9 a.m. on Friday.

At about 9 p.m. ET, fans formed a single-file procession up a long, winding driveway to Presley's grave in a small Graceland garden.

The candlelight vigil was the emotional highlight of the annual week-long Memphis event known as Elvis Week, which included a fan convention, Elvis impersonator contests and a Friday midday memorial service.

Since Presley's death on Aug. 16, 1977, a sprawling complex of souvenir shops has sprouted in front of Graceland. Fans can buy Elvis busts, Jailhouse Rock T-shirts and hundreds of other Elvis mementos.

Nancy Rooks, a former Graceland cook, set up a table to sell her book, Inside Graceland: Elvis' Maid Remembers.

And Angel Durham, 38, of Whitney, Tex., waited all night Tuesday outside a Graceland souvenir shop to be the first to hand over $65 US for a boxed set of Elvis and Priscilla wedding dolls at the official unveiling of the newest additions to Mattel's Barbie series.

The one place fans can't visit, however, is Graceland's second floor, which includes the bedroom where Presley slept and bathroom in which he died.

With files from the Associated Press