All shook up: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (left) poses in Elvis Presley’s sunglasses in the Jungle Room of Elvis’s home in Graceland, Tennessee, on Friday as (from left) Elvis’s widow Priscilla, daughter Lisa Marie and President George W. Bush look on. (Reuters)

Memphis (Tennessee), June 30 (AP): President George W. Bush’s going-away present to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was some kind of “good luck charm”.

Amid the ceramic monkeys, floor-and-ceiling green shag carpet and animal-head armrests of Graceland’s Jungle Room, the delighted Prime Minister just couldn’t hold back the Elvis lines.

All it took was a simple invitation from Bush. “You’re a pretty good Elvis singer,” the President said, in an obvious prompt to his guest. Bush knew what was coming, having previously experienced Koizumi’s tendency to burst into song when it comes to the late rock ‘’ roll legend who is the Japanese leader’s undisputed musical hero.

Koizumi quickly complied. “Love me tender,” he sang. “Wise men say, ‘Only fools rush in.’”

Enter the special tour guides for the two leaders’ private tour of Graceland: Presley’s only child and heir, Lisa Marie, and her mother, Priscilla. “I want you, I love you,” remarked Koizumi, spouting more Elvis tunes. Draping his arm around Lisa Marie, he crooned some more: “Hold me close, hold me tight.”

Bush and Koizumi’s outing to Graceland was the most anticipated portion of the Japan leader’s US visit. It drew an enormous travelling press corps to accompany the men. Even Bush termed it “an unusual experience”. Swivelling hips, spangled jumpsuits and gaudy interiors are not Bush’s usual style.