Elvis is still the king

Elvis Presley is still king of the dead celebrity earners with an annual income of $54 million, a new report reveals.

The rock n' roll legend came number one in the Forbes.com list of stars who still rake it in from beyond the grave. The icon's income last year was generated by admissions to Graceland, licensing and merchandising. The star's manager famously sold the rights to the singer's pre-1973 recordings to the RCA record company for just $6.7 million.

Former Beatle John Lennon is ranked fourth with a $28 million annual income.

A Forbes.com spokesman said: "The earning power of most deceased people, even famous ones, slows considerably or stops altogether when they die. But for a select few the paycheques keep coming and some draw even bigger pay-days than when they were alive."

In equal seventh with earnings of $9.4 million each came former Beatle George Harrison, composer Irving Berlin and reggae star Bob Marley.

American songwriter Richard Rodgers was in tenth place with an annual income of $8.7 million.

Former Queen frontman Freddie Mercury made his first entry into the deceased top-earners list with an annual income of $6.7 million.