Graceland & a Tale of Two Elvises, Part 2

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Suggested Listening for this Entry: "Moody Blue", "Way Down" and "My Way" by Elvis Presley. A concert clip of Elvis performing "My Way" a few weeks before his death is attached below. If you need a chuckle and want to know what "really" happened to Elvis, listen to "The King Gets a Day Job" by the Reverend Billy C. Wirtz.

Suggested Food and Drink for this Entry: Are there any situations where prescription drugs can be considered nourishment?

While 1957 can be considered the zenith of Elvis’ career, 1958 can be considered the year when the seeds of Elvis’ undoing were planted, although that undoing would take nineteen years to totally play itself out. In March 1958, Elvis was inducted into the U.S. Army after receiving a temporary draft deferral to complete the movie King Creole. There has been much speculation that Elvis was introduced to the use of prescription drugs while on Army maneuvers during his tour of duty in Germany. In the summer of 1958, the aforementioned King Creole was released. It was considered Elvis’ best acting effort at the time (and still is) and led Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to believe Elvis’ future truly was in film. This belief led Parker to have Elvis enter into a series of contracts for the endless string of movies Elvis made after his discharge from the Army in 1960. In August 1958, Elvis’ mother died at the age of forty-six. Many in Elvis’ inner circle claim Elvis carried the emotional trauma from his mother’s death with him for the rest of his life.

After our tour of Graceland proper concluded, we again boarded a shuttle for the short ride back across Elvis Presley Boulevard to the visitor’s center so we could see the remaining exhibits, Elvis’ airplanes and the multitude of gift shops. I found most of the additional exhibits rather mundane. Only the jump suit display and the walk through of the Lisa Marie really piqued my interest. After touring each exhibit, the visitor is funneled into a gift shop for that specific exhibit. So, the temptation to lighten your wallet is constant.

My favorite gift shop was the one attached to the jump suit exhibit. There, if you were so inclined, you could order replicas of various jump suits Elvis wore back in the day. The least expensive model, a rather plain black suit came in at $1900. The most expensive, and by far the most intricate suit available for purchase was the replica of the suit worn by Elvis during his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert and worldwide television broadcast. The white suit, complete with accompanying cape and belt, was a cool $3000. Ips joked he and I should go into together and buy it. For a second, I thought that was a grand idea until, looking at him, I remembered I’m about twice his size. Anyway, I’d have to be Elvis for Halloween every year for the remainder of my life to get my money’s worth. So, I’ll just settle for Elvis sunglasses my aunt bought me during her visit to Graceland a few years earlier.

Elvis’ primary airplane, the Lisa Marie was named after his only child, daughter Lisa Marie Presley. The Convair 880 jet was purchased from Delta Airlines in 1975 for $250,000. The extensive refurbishment Elvis ordered for the plane brought the final cost to over $600,000. From the time the refurbishment was complete until his death, the Lisa Marie was Elvis’ primary aircraft and delivered the King to and from all his concert appearances. The smaller Hound Dog II was used for shorter, personal trips.

Elvis’ airplanes were the last stop on our official tour of Graceland, but Ips wanted to make one more stop. To make his visit to Graceland complete, Ips required a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich from one of the onsite restaurants. Personally, I despise anything banana, so I sat on the sideline for this part of the Graceland experience.

Unfortunately for Elvis, he ate a lot of peanut butter and banana sandwiches in the mid 1970s. And, a lot of burgers, and ribs, and French fries, and banana pudding. And, a lot of prescription drugs. The meticulous Elvis of the 1950s who cared about every detail of his music and appearance was gone. In its place, was an Elvis who cared very little about anything.

After Elvis’ discharge from the Army in 1960, he returned home to Graceland ready to jump right back into his recording and movie careers. Colonel Parker had made grand plans for his boy. First up were recording sessions that produced several hits, including “Stuck on You” and “It’s Now or Never”. Second, was a welcome home TV special hosted by Frank Sinatra. Third, was the first of Elvis’ post-Army films, GI Blues. For better or worse, the first few of these films did well at the box office, leading the Colonel to believe these sappy, light romance musicals were Elvis’ future. The more of these formulaic movies Elvis starred in, the worse his music became. (I should mention here I wish Tom Cruise would have stayed with the Top Gun, Cocktail, Days of Thunder formula. Maybe the American movie going public wouldn’t have to deal with the Scientology poster boy any longer!) By the mid-1960s, Elvis was nearing has been status as the British invasion spearheaded by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones made him an afterthought to the American record buying public.

In 1968, Elvis was ready for a change. He was tired of the movies, the bad music and he missed performing for audiences in concert. Colonel Parker had contracted with NBC for Elvis to do a Christmas special for the TV network. The Colonel envisioned Elvis in a tuxedo singing Christmas carols for an hour. The producers at NBC had something else in mind. They knew the special was the one shot Elvis had to revive career. The producers won out, convincing Elvis to go a different route. What resulted is what is now known as the ’68 Comeback Special. You’ve seen the photos, Elvis in the black leather outfit rocking away. The special opened the door for Elvis to return to live performing. From 1968 until the Aloha from Hawaii special in 1973, Elvis had a good run, scoring hits with “Suspicious Minds” and “Burning Love”, among others.

While Elvis’ career made a recovery during this period, his personal life was headed down a different path. His divorce from wife Priscilla coupled with his drug abuse led to bizarre behavior and isolation. By the mid 1970s, everything was taking its toll. RCA, the record label Elvis’ recorded for since 1956, became desperate for material and Elvis became more disinterested. RCA recorded many of Elvis’s concerts in hopes getting something worth releasing to the record buying public. Finally, a recording truck was sent to Graceland so Elvis could record in the comfort of his home. Some of the songs recorded at Graceland became the basis for Elvis’ final album of new material, Moody Blue.

By all accounts, the Moody Blue sessions at Graceland were a disaster. For days on end, the recording equipment would be set up and the musicians in place only for Elvis not to come down from his bedroom. Or, for him to appear hours after everyone was set to record. The piano player on the sessions, Tony Brown, has often told the story of how Elvis would take his vocal microphone off the stand and wander around the room while the band was playing, thus ruining the take as Elvis’ microphone would pick up the additional volume of whatever instrument Elvis was wandering past.

All through this period and up until his death, Elvis continued to perform in concert. Much of this was driven by the fact Elvis and the Colonel were spending money as fast as they could get it. Elvis spent his portion on extravagant gifts and whatever his latest obsession was, while the Colonel, a chronic gambler, lost his portion at the craps tables. Desperate for cash in 1973, the Colonel convinced Elvis to sell his rights for all future royalties from existing recordings back to RCA in exchange for $5.4 million. The Colonel, as Elvis’ manager, received 50%!o(MISSING)f the proceeds from the deal, now considered one the most idiotic financial moves ever made by a star performer.

Everyone knows about Elvis’ death. An overweight, drug addicted Elvis was found dead of heart failure on the floor of his bathroom on August 16, 1977. With his death, the tale of the two Elvises who lived at Graceland came to an end. What began that same day was the tale of dead Elvis, one that still goes on to this day and will forever.

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Notes on Graceland & A Tale of Two Elvises:
Much of the historical information in these entries comes from Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, both written by Peter Guralnick The two books together make up the definitive Elvis Presley biography. Guralnick performed meticulous research and detailed interviews throughout the process of writing the books. The books are required reading for anyone who wants to know the real, non-tabloid story of Elvis Presley.

In December 2004, Lisa Marie Presley sold 85%!o(MISSING)f the Elvis Presley Estate to businessman Robert F.X. Sillerman for $100 million. Lisa Marie still holds title to Graceland and Elvis’ personal items, but Elvis’ likeness, the right to use the Elvis Presley name, etc. are now controlled by Sillerman, who plans to further market the Elvis brand . As noted above, the Estate receives very little in the form of record royalties from RCA as Elvis sold those rights to RCA in 1973.

As if the rumors of Elvis sightings in the years following his death weren’t enough, there are those who believe Elvis’ twin brother was not actually stillborn. They believe instead that Jesse Garon Presley survived and was sent to live with relatives because Elvis’ parents could not afford to support two children. They also believe Elvis’ father fabricated the story of Jesse being stillborn once Elvis became famous to cover up the potential embarrassment of the Presleys' actions. In the spring of 1983, writer Nick Tosches met and interviewed a man by the name of Johnny Smith who claimed to be Jesse Garon Presley and who told the story of being given up by the Presleys as a child. Smith also claimed to be the Jesse Presley who recorded and released the songs “Bosom Devine” and “God’s Barbecue” in 1954 and claimed he changed his name to Esau Smith upon recording and releasing “My Gal Shaves” and “Combinate That Number, Jack” in 1955. At the time of the interview, Smith was working as a blackjack dealer in a Los Angeles afterhours club. The complete story of Tosches’ meeting Smith is told in Tosches’ book Unsung Heroes of Rock ‘n’ Roll. The book also contains profiles on many of the country and r&b artists from the 1940s and early 1950s who laid the foundation for the rock and roll artists who followed.

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Photos

The Lisa Marie
Elvis loaded the plane's namesake, his daughter Lisa Marie, on board for a flight to Colorado from Memphis just because Lisa Marie had never seen snow. The father and daughter stayed approximately 30 minutes in CO while Lisa Marie played in the snow and immediately returned immediately to Memphis.

More Lisa Marie
Lisa Marie, the person, obviously inherited some of her father's eccentricities. Why else would she have married Michael Jackson?

Taking Care of Business in a Flash
Elvis' 70's slogan for life adorns the tail of the Lisa Marie.

Sincerely Elvis
One of the many extra exhibits (and gift shops) at Graceland.

Elvis Has Left the Building
One of the gift shops has an entire section dedicated to the famous words uttered over the PA system at end of Elvis' concerts telling the crowd to leave because there won't be an encore.

The Fellas...
near the end of their Graceland experience.