Memphis, TN: July 20, 2005 - Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton declared July 20 to be Dusty Carr Day, celebrating the man the world has come to know as 'The Lounge Lizard King'.

"Since I was a little boy, I've heard the name Dusty Carr," said Herenton. "I knew he was from Memphis and it made me proud. I'm not so proud about his dissolute, violent lifestyle, but each man walks his own road."

Today, a chain-smoking Carr was feted with a ticker-tape parade through the downtown core, concluding with the dedication of a life-size bronze statue of the singer, located in front of the famed Orpheum Theatre. Local authorities estimated the crowd to be approximately 200,000, the largest for an event of this kind.

After demanding an "unopened" can of cold beer, an apparently disoriented Carr addressed the crowd with the same passion he has always applied to his singing. "I feel nothing in common with this city!" shouted Carr, sweating heavily under the noonday sun. "But this kind of publicity is good for my career, so I really want you to accept me as a grateful guy. Finally, I think this statue looks more like David Bowie than me, kind of faggy, but what the hell, it's free. Rock on."

Local artisan Christian Sauve developed the statue, titled after one of Carr's 1950s records, 'You Are My Angel'. "A few years ago in Las Vegas, I saw Carr use a microphone stand to shatter the skull of an audience member," said Sauve. "The man had insulted Dusty's girlfriend. It was electrifying. I knew then that I must preserve this energy with my art."

Carr accepted a key of the city from Mayor Herenton, saying, "Today I feel humbled, and in this spirit I would love to jam this big key down the shrieking gullets of all those people who called me a loathsome creep when I was a kid. You know who you are. You're fat, uneducated, bald, lonely losers and I am king of this city. So who's laughing now! Ha!"

Carr declined to perform later at a scheduled concert, reporting that he had temporarily lost the use of one leg.

Carr cast in bronze

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