Elvis and Me
Encyclopedia
Elvis and Me is a 1985 biography
written by Priscilla Presley
(with ghostwriter
Sandra Harmon). In the book, Priscilla talks about meeting Elvis, their marriage, and the factors that led up to the couple's divorce.
The book rights were purchased in 1987, and it was then made into a television movie
directed by Larry Peerce
in 1988. starring Dale Midkiff
as Elvis and Susan Walters
as Priscilla.
Priscilla describes how her father reluctantly allowed her to live in Memphis, Tennessee
to be near Elvis. The initial arrangement was that Priscilla would live with Vernon Presley and his wife while attending a Memphis school. Contrary to this arrangement, Priscilla gradually moved in with Elvis.
While describing a "cleansing period" in Elvis's life, Priscilla claims that "Any sexual temptations were against everything he was striving for, and he did not wish to betray me, the girl waiting for him at home who was preparing to be his wife."
According to her account, Elvis told her that they had to wait until they were married before having intercourse. He said, "I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it." Priscilla adds, "Fearful of not pleasing him—of destroying my image as his little girl—I resigned myself to the long wait. Instead of consummating our love in the usual way, he began teaching me other means of pleasing him. We had a strong connection, much of it sexual. The two of us created some exciting and wild times."
Elvis liked old movie classics revolving around family or struggles to survive in the world such as Les Misérables
, Wuthering Heights
, It's a Wonderful Life
, Mr. Skeffington
, Miracle on 34th Street
, Letter from an Unknown Woman
and his favorite, The Way of All Flesh the story of a self-sacrificing father.
Priscilla's book describes several episodes involving Elvis' explosive temper and his jealous nature; including how he went into a rage and threatened to fire a male employee who had acted too "friendly" with Priscilla.
with other women led to several confrontations. Priscilla says she was aware he had been dating Anita Wood, a girl from Memphis, when they first met in Germany and that he had continued the relationship for nearly two years following his discharge from the army. When he asked Priscilla to move to Memphis he told her the relationship with Wood was over, but she describes later finding a packet of love letters from Wood in the attic at Graceland. However, according to Elvis's own words, he did not make love to Anita Wood the whole four years he was with her. "Just to a point," he said, "then I stopped. It was difficult for her too, but that's just how I feel."
Presley admitted he had a number of affairs with some of the women who co-starred in his films, but all the relationships were before he met Priscilla and "meant nothing." Nevertheless, she understood these affairs were going on while he was professing love to Anita Wood.
In a televised interview on January 14, 2005, with Larry King
on CNN's
Larry King Live
, Anita Wood said that following media reports of a girlfriend in Germany, Elvis "had me believing that she (Priscilla Beaulieu) was just a friend and her daddy was in the Army with him, and there was nothing to it whatsoever."
, who co-starred with him in the film Viva Las Vegas
. In her book, Priscilla devotes four pages to the subject (175 to 178). There was a lot of publicity about a romance between Elvis and Ann-Margret during the 1963 filming, and in the following weeks when Presley returned to record music and prepare for his next film. Despite his denials of an affair, Beaulieu went to Los Angeles and stayed with him. Aware Priscilla was there, Ann-Margret took matters into her own hands and suddenly announced to the Los Angeles press that she was engaged to Elvis Presley. The news was picked up by every major newspaper in America and Elvis informed Priscilla that he and Colonel Tom Parker
thought it best for her to "go back to Memphis till it calms down." Beaulieu picked up a vase and fired it across the room, screaming that Ann-Margret should "keep her ass in Sweden
where she belongs." But desperate to please him, she went back to Graceland the next day. Elvis returned two weeks later, admitted to the affair, but promised it was over. Of all the movie stars Elvis Presley worked with, Ann-Margret was the only one to attend his funeral.
The very next line of Priscilla's book says that after the Ann-Margret ordeal she soon suspected there were other women. She began traveling with him but says she would still "get crazed with worry." She was afraid that the moment she was away from him, another woman could slip in. Priscilla relates how her insecurities would lead her to imitate the other woman's appearance (changing her clothes, hairstyle and makeup), to hopefully please him.
If she forcefully challenged Presley on her suspicions he would threaten to send her home to her parents. One such confrontation led to a screaming match where he told her to get out. Bags packed, chauffeur ready to take her to the airport, Elvis changed his mind at the last minute and she willingly stayed. Priscilla writes that it was years later before she realized his tactics were part of a need to control her. This pattern began before they were married, but in her 2005
made-for-television documentary titled Elvis by the Presleys, she admitted he had affairs with other women during their marriage.
had overwhelmed the music industry and Presley’s record sales declined noticably. Uncertain about who he was and where his career was going, Elvis turned to spiritualism
, dragging an uninterested Priscilla with him. He had not performed live for several years and labeled most of his movies a joke. By the time filming was to begin on Clambake
(released 1967), Presley's growing distress with the quality of his films led to a despondency accompanied by overeating and his normal 170 pound (77 kg) weight ballooned to 200 lb (91 kg). The movie studio
ordered him to lose the weight in a hurry, marking the introduction of diet pills to the already excessive regimen of placidyls and Dexedrine which would eventually kill him.
In his search for a "higher state of consciousness" Presley became fascinated with the occult
and metaphysical phenomena
. During his spiritual quest everyone around them saw Presley's personality change dramatically from vibrant and playful, to passive and introverted. Presley went through a period of celibacy, in keeping with the teachings of an Indian guru. "He was going through a cleansing period, physically and spiritually . . . . He loved me and deeply wanted to be faithful to me but never felt certain that he could resist temptation. It was a persistent battle, and it even got to the point where he felt he had to resist me." For the next few weeks, Elvis felt the need to withdraw himself from the temptations of sex. He said, "We have to control our desires so they don't control us. If we can control sex, then we can master all other desires." When they were in bed, "he took his usual dose of sleeping pills, handed me mine, and then, fighting off drowsiness from the pills, pored over his metaphysical books." Priscilla was not interested, and recalled Elvis saying "Things will never work out between us, Cilla, because you don't show any interest in me or my philosophies."
When this phase of his life passed, she and Elvis had a bonfire and burned the stacks of magazines and books he had accumulated on the subject. They tried marijuana
during this time, but did not like it as it made them ravenously hungry. Although Presley abhorred street drugs, Priscilla tells how they used LSD
. While they both thought it had been an "extraordinary experience," they were afraid of it and experimented that one time only.
. She wrote that being called Mrs. Elvis Presley sounded better than live-in Lolita, teen heartthrob or the other labels given her in the past by some of the press. After the wedding ceremony Frank Sinatra
's private jet flew them to their Palm Springs, California
home. Romantic that he was, Elvis carried his new bride across the threshold singing "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", then carried her straight to the bedroom.
After a second wedding reception at Graceland for friends and Memphis locals, Priscilla and Elvis went to his ranch near Horn Lake, Mississippi
where they locked themselves away for several days of much needed privacy. However the press and the curious lined a fence on the property's perimeter and stood on the tops of cars to take photos.
While they planned on having children, they had hoped to wait awhile, and Priscilla was not prepared for her pregnancy
. She considered an abortion
, in part because Elvis had made derogatory comments in the past about "women using pregnancy as an excuse to let themselves go." Feeling insecure, she dieted to the point that by the time she gave birth, she then weighed less than she had before getting pregnant. During her pregnancy they had made love passionately until she began hearing rumors about Elvis and his co-star on the set of the film Speedway
. When Priscilla Presley asked her husband about the stories he dismissed them out of hand, telling her she was being overly sensitive due to her "condition." However, six months into her pregnancy, Nancy Sinatra telephoned Priscilla and said she wanted to give her a baby shower
. Priscilla was apprehensive about such a request coming from a woman she hardly knew, but Elvis convinced her to accept the offer. Priscilla went along with it and she and Sinatra got along well together. Everything seemed fine until a week or so later, when Elvis informed her he needed time to think and wanted a trial separation. Numb, all she could say was: "You've got it. Just tell me when to leave." She lived in agony for days, but he changed his mind without ever saying a thing. Two months later, their daughter Lisa Marie
was born in Memphis on February 1, 1968.
network to do a television special
. NBC executives offered "open development" along with a young director named Steve Binder
, who was receptive to presenting Presley in a way he could be himself. Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
was an enormous success, the highest-rated television special of the year and his closing song titled "If I Can Dream
" became his first million-selling record in several years.
The television special motivated Elvis and he began recording at the African American
-influenced American Sound Studios in Memphis owned by Chips Moman
. Filled with new energy, he recorded so many songs, that RCA Records
needed a year and a half to release them all. Included in these sessions were hits such as "Suspicious Minds
" which went to No.1 on the Billboard Charts
, "In the Ghetto
" and "Kentucky Rain
." He was signed on to perform for a month at the new International Hotel in Las Vegas. Every show was sold out with thousands turned away at the door. This success led to a five-year contract for appearances twice a year, with the largest fee ever paid to any singer in history. Unfortunately, his renewed popularity brought a large increase in the number of death threats, requiring a significant increase in personal security.
After years of personal unhappiness due to the state of his career, for a time his triumphant return to a live stage brought new vitality to their marriage. However, the renewed stardom, with regular touring around the United States and appearances in Las Vegas, meant he was away from his family more, and renewed the problem of other women in his life. When Elvis suggested Priscilla cut back on her visits to see him, it only added to her anxieties. Things grew worse when she returned to their Palm Springs home and found a number of letters from girls showing they had obviously been there.
Priscilla Presley admits she had two affairs of her own, and the up and down marriage was irreparably broken down by 1972. The last straw came when Elvis, possibly having learned of the second affair with her karate instructor, forced himself on her in his Las Vegas hotel room, telling her, "This is how a real man makes love to a woman."
Separated on February 23, 1972, the Presleys divorced amicably on October 9, 1973, mutually agreeing to share custody of their daughter. Elvis had made another televised special called Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii in January 1973, but after not seeing him for several months prior to the actual court hearing, Priscilla was bewildered by his physical appearance. She remarked on how swollen his hands were when she held them in hers. Less than four years later, Elvis died. After his death, his father Vernon agreed to have Elvis's body reburied to deter thieves.
's book, Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (1997), a completely different account of Priscilla Presley's life, painted her in a rather negative light and described her as a "wild child" and "sexpot". The sources of this book are several people who knew Elvis and Priscilla well, among them: many friends from Priscilla's childhood and adolescence, Elvis' stepbrother Rick Stanley, Mike Edwards, Elvis' ex-girlfriends and the wives of the Memphis Mafia
men. The author writes that Priscilla promised sexual favors in exchange for meeting Elvis with Currie Grant, a married, 27-year-old former Army buddy of the singer, and that she was not a virgin on her wedding night, as she and Elvis had slept together on their second date. The book also says that Priscilla did not want to come to live with Elvis, but that her marriage was part of a mastermind for fame hatched by Priscilla and her mother, and that she never loved Elvis. Finstad takes many quotes that Priscilla has made and calls them a web of lies.
Priscilla denied Currie's allegations and successfully sued him for defamation. She won more than £46,000 in the lawsuit. She had wanted £6m from Grant. Finstad, "too, had been threatened with suits from Priscilla Presley and her church (of Scientology
)." Notwithstanding, neither Finstad nor her publisher was a party to the lawsuit.
" by Depeche Mode
(#368 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/4) was inspired by Elvis and Me http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596213/personal_jesus.
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
written by Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the ex-wife of singer Elvis Presley, and the mother of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley....
(with ghostwriter
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
Sandra Harmon). In the book, Priscilla talks about meeting Elvis, their marriage, and the factors that led up to the couple's divorce.
The book rights were purchased in 1987, and it was then made into a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Larry Peerce
Larry Peerce
Larry Peerce is an American film and TV director whose work includes the theatrical feature Goodbye, Columbus, the early rock and roll concert film The Big T.N.T. Show, and One Potato, Two Potato , the first U.S...
in 1988. starring Dale Midkiff
Dale Midkiff
Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
as Elvis and Susan Walters
Susan Walters
Susan Walters is an American actress and former model, best known for her role as Diane Jenkins Newman in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2004...
as Priscilla.
Memphis: Elvis' family and Graceland
Priscilla Beaulieu Presley writes that Elvis did not approve of his father's relationship with divorcee Dee Stanley and did not attend their wedding. After the marriage Elvis bought a home on Dolan Drive in Memphis where Vernon Presley and his new wife resided. On the rare occasions Dee Stanley-Presley came to Graceland, Elvis did his best to at least be civil towards his stepmother.Priscilla describes how her father reluctantly allowed her to live in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
to be near Elvis. The initial arrangement was that Priscilla would live with Vernon Presley and his wife while attending a Memphis school. Contrary to this arrangement, Priscilla gradually moved in with Elvis.
The nights with Elvis
Her descriptions of the nights she spent with Elvis before their marriage suggest that the star was not overtly sexual towards her. The couple kissed and engaged in petting, but Elvis always stopped the make out sessions before it led to actual intercourse.While describing a "cleansing period" in Elvis's life, Priscilla claims that "Any sexual temptations were against everything he was striving for, and he did not wish to betray me, the girl waiting for him at home who was preparing to be his wife."
According to her account, Elvis told her that they had to wait until they were married before having intercourse. He said, "I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it." Priscilla adds, "Fearful of not pleasing him—of destroying my image as his little girl—I resigned myself to the long wait. Instead of consummating our love in the usual way, he began teaching me other means of pleasing him. We had a strong connection, much of it sexual. The two of us created some exciting and wild times."
Daily life with Elvis
Priscilla notes that prescription drugs were present from the first time she visited Elvis Presley in America. He took placidyls to get to sleep in ever increasing doses. Elvis would wake up at his normal time around 4:00 in the afternoon, but would be groggy and irritable for a few hours from the heavy dose of pills. He then began taking Dexedrine in order to wake up.Elvis liked old movie classics revolving around family or struggles to survive in the world such as Les Misérables
Les Misérables (1935 film)
Les Misérables is a 1935 American drama film based upon the famous Victor Hugo novel of the same name. It was adapted by W. P. Lipscomb and directed by Richard Boleslawski...
, Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (1939 film)
Wuthering Heights is a 1939 American black-and-white film directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film depicts only sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The...
, It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, Mr. Skeffington
Mr. Skeffington
Mr. Skeffington is a 1944 American drama film directed by Vincent Sherman, based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth von Arnim.The film stars Bette Davis as a beautiful woman whose many suitors, and self-love, distract her from returning the affections of her husband, Job Skeffington...
, Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
, Letter from an Unknown Woman
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948 film)
Letter from an Unknown Woman is a film directed by Max Ophüls. It was based on the novella of the same name, which was written by Stefan Zweig...
and his favorite, The Way of All Flesh the story of a self-sacrificing father.
Priscilla's book describes several episodes involving Elvis' explosive temper and his jealous nature; including how he went into a rage and threatened to fire a male employee who had acted too "friendly" with Priscilla.
Affairs with other women
Conversely, she writes about Presley's double standard for his own behavior. His promiscuityPromiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...
with other women led to several confrontations. Priscilla says she was aware he had been dating Anita Wood, a girl from Memphis, when they first met in Germany and that he had continued the relationship for nearly two years following his discharge from the army. When he asked Priscilla to move to Memphis he told her the relationship with Wood was over, but she describes later finding a packet of love letters from Wood in the attic at Graceland. However, according to Elvis's own words, he did not make love to Anita Wood the whole four years he was with her. "Just to a point," he said, "then I stopped. It was difficult for her too, but that's just how I feel."
Presley admitted he had a number of affairs with some of the women who co-starred in his films, but all the relationships were before he met Priscilla and "meant nothing." Nevertheless, she understood these affairs were going on while he was professing love to Anita Wood.
In a televised interview on January 14, 2005, with Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
on CNN's
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, Anita Wood said that following media reports of a girlfriend in Germany, Elvis "had me believing that she (Priscilla Beaulieu) was just a friend and her daddy was in the Army with him, and there was nothing to it whatsoever."
The Ann-Margret affair
Of the many women involved with Elvis Presley the one who worried Priscilla Beaulieu most was actress/singer Ann-MargretAnn-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
, who co-starred with him in the film Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American romantic musical movie starring music icon Elvis Presley and actress/dancer Ann-Margret. This movie is regarded by many fans of these actors and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the apparent on-screen chemistry between Presley...
. In her book, Priscilla devotes four pages to the subject (175 to 178). There was a lot of publicity about a romance between Elvis and Ann-Margret during the 1963 filming, and in the following weeks when Presley returned to record music and prepare for his next film. Despite his denials of an affair, Beaulieu went to Los Angeles and stayed with him. Aware Priscilla was there, Ann-Margret took matters into her own hands and suddenly announced to the Los Angeles press that she was engaged to Elvis Presley. The news was picked up by every major newspaper in America and Elvis informed Priscilla that he and Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
thought it best for her to "go back to Memphis till it calms down." Beaulieu picked up a vase and fired it across the room, screaming that Ann-Margret should "keep her ass in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
where she belongs." But desperate to please him, she went back to Graceland the next day. Elvis returned two weeks later, admitted to the affair, but promised it was over. Of all the movie stars Elvis Presley worked with, Ann-Margret was the only one to attend his funeral.
The very next line of Priscilla's book says that after the Ann-Margret ordeal she soon suspected there were other women. She began traveling with him but says she would still "get crazed with worry." She was afraid that the moment she was away from him, another woman could slip in. Priscilla relates how her insecurities would lead her to imitate the other woman's appearance (changing her clothes, hairstyle and makeup), to hopefully please him.
If she forcefully challenged Presley on her suspicions he would threaten to send her home to her parents. One such confrontation led to a screaming match where he told her to get out. Bags packed, chauffeur ready to take her to the airport, Elvis changed his mind at the last minute and she willingly stayed. Priscilla writes that it was years later before she realized his tactics were part of a need to control her. This pattern began before they were married, but in her 2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
made-for-television documentary titled Elvis by the Presleys, she admitted he had affairs with other women during their marriage.
The Beatles' shadow, mysticism and drugs
By 1965 The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
had overwhelmed the music industry and Presley’s record sales declined noticably. Uncertain about who he was and where his career was going, Elvis turned to spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
, dragging an uninterested Priscilla with him. He had not performed live for several years and labeled most of his movies a joke. By the time filming was to begin on Clambake
Clambake
Clambake is a 1967 musical film starring Elvis Presley, and co-starring Shelley Fabares and Bill Bixby—the last of his four films for United Artists. The movie reached No. 15 on the national weekly box office charts.-Plot:...
(released 1967), Presley's growing distress with the quality of his films led to a despondency accompanied by overeating and his normal 170 pound (77 kg) weight ballooned to 200 lb (91 kg). The movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
ordered him to lose the weight in a hurry, marking the introduction of diet pills to the already excessive regimen of placidyls and Dexedrine which would eventually kill him.
In his search for a "higher state of consciousness" Presley became fascinated with the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
and metaphysical phenomena
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
. During his spiritual quest everyone around them saw Presley's personality change dramatically from vibrant and playful, to passive and introverted. Presley went through a period of celibacy, in keeping with the teachings of an Indian guru. "He was going through a cleansing period, physically and spiritually . . . . He loved me and deeply wanted to be faithful to me but never felt certain that he could resist temptation. It was a persistent battle, and it even got to the point where he felt he had to resist me." For the next few weeks, Elvis felt the need to withdraw himself from the temptations of sex. He said, "We have to control our desires so they don't control us. If we can control sex, then we can master all other desires." When they were in bed, "he took his usual dose of sleeping pills, handed me mine, and then, fighting off drowsiness from the pills, pored over his metaphysical books." Priscilla was not interested, and recalled Elvis saying "Things will never work out between us, Cilla, because you don't show any interest in me or my philosophies."
When this phase of his life passed, she and Elvis had a bonfire and burned the stacks of magazines and books he had accumulated on the subject. They tried marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
during this time, but did not like it as it made them ravenously hungry. Although Presley abhorred street drugs, Priscilla tells how they used LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. While they both thought it had been an "extraordinary experience," they were afraid of it and experimented that one time only.
Marriage, family, and the Nancy Sinatra factor
Priscilla Ann Beaulieu and Elvis Presley were married on May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. She wrote that being called Mrs. Elvis Presley sounded better than live-in Lolita, teen heartthrob or the other labels given her in the past by some of the press. After the wedding ceremony Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's private jet flew them to their Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
home. Romantic that he was, Elvis carried his new bride across the threshold singing "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", then carried her straight to the bedroom.
After a second wedding reception at Graceland for friends and Memphis locals, Priscilla and Elvis went to his ranch near Horn Lake, Mississippi
Horn Lake, Mississippi
Horn Lake is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. Horn Lake is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, which is located just a few miles to the north. As of the 2000 U.S...
where they locked themselves away for several days of much needed privacy. However the press and the curious lined a fence on the property's perimeter and stood on the tops of cars to take photos.
While they planned on having children, they had hoped to wait awhile, and Priscilla was not prepared for her pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. She considered an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, in part because Elvis had made derogatory comments in the past about "women using pregnancy as an excuse to let themselves go." Feeling insecure, she dieted to the point that by the time she gave birth, she then weighed less than she had before getting pregnant. During her pregnancy they had made love passionately until she began hearing rumors about Elvis and his co-star on the set of the film Speedway
Speedway (film)
Speedway is a 1968 action film musical film starring Elvis Presley as a racecar driver and Nancy Sinatra as his love interest.Scenes were shot at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina...
. When Priscilla Presley asked her husband about the stories he dismissed them out of hand, telling her she was being overly sensitive due to her "condition." However, six months into her pregnancy, Nancy Sinatra telephoned Priscilla and said she wanted to give her a baby shower
Baby shower
In some countries, a baby shower is a way to celebrate the pending or recent birth of a child by presenting gifts to the parents at a party. The term "shower" is often assumed to mean that the expectant mother is "showered" with gifts.-Description:...
. Priscilla was apprehensive about such a request coming from a woman she hardly knew, but Elvis convinced her to accept the offer. Priscilla went along with it and she and Sinatra got along well together. Everything seemed fine until a week or so later, when Elvis informed her he needed time to think and wanted a trial separation. Numb, all she could say was: "You've got it. Just tell me when to leave." She lived in agony for days, but he changed his mind without ever saying a thing. Two months later, their daughter Lisa Marie
Lisa Marie Presley
Lisa Marie Presley is an American singer and songwriter, also known as the "Princess of Rock and Roll". She is the only child of Elvis Presley, and daughter of Priscilla Presley.-Early life:...
was born in Memphis on February 1, 1968.
The '68 Comeback Special to the end
Free to shape his own career after the MGM motion picture contract expired in 1968, although still required to complete two more films, Presley accepted an offer from the NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network to do a television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
. NBC executives offered "open development" along with a young director named Steve Binder
Steve Binder
Steve Binder is an American producer and director. He found success behind the camera on influential TV shows showcasing music, like The T.A.M.I. Show and Hullabaloo...
, who was receptive to presenting Presley in a way he could be himself. Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
Elvis, starring Elvis Presley, was the title of a 1968 United States television special. Sponsored by The Singer Sewing Machine Company, it aired on December 2, 1968 on the NBC television network...
was an enormous success, the highest-rated television special of the year and his closing song titled "If I Can Dream
If I Can Dream
"If I Can Dream" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley, written by Walter Earl Brown and notable for its direct quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was recorded by Presley in June 1968, two months after King's assassination...
" became his first million-selling record in several years.
The television special motivated Elvis and he began recording at the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
-influenced American Sound Studios in Memphis owned by Chips Moman
Chips Moman
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...
. Filled with new energy, he recorded so many songs, that RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
needed a year and a half to release them all. Included in these sessions were hits such as "Suspicious Minds
Suspicious Minds
"Suspicious Minds" is a song written by American songwriter Mark James that, after the failure of his own recording, was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman becoming one of his most notable hits and a number one in 1969, "Suspicious Minds" was widely regarded as the single that returned...
" which went to No.1 on the Billboard Charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
, "In the Ghetto
In the Ghetto
"In the Ghetto" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1969. It was written by Mac Davis and made famous by Elvis Presley who had a major comeback hit with the song in 1969. It was released in 1969 as a 45 rpm single with "Any Day Now" as the flip side...
" and "Kentucky Rain
Kentucky Rain
"Kentucky Rain" was a 1970 hit song for Elvis Presley. Featuring then-unknown pianist Ronnie Milsap and written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, the single peaked at number 16 on the pop charts....
." He was signed on to perform for a month at the new International Hotel in Las Vegas. Every show was sold out with thousands turned away at the door. This success led to a five-year contract for appearances twice a year, with the largest fee ever paid to any singer in history. Unfortunately, his renewed popularity brought a large increase in the number of death threats, requiring a significant increase in personal security.
After years of personal unhappiness due to the state of his career, for a time his triumphant return to a live stage brought new vitality to their marriage. However, the renewed stardom, with regular touring around the United States and appearances in Las Vegas, meant he was away from his family more, and renewed the problem of other women in his life. When Elvis suggested Priscilla cut back on her visits to see him, it only added to her anxieties. Things grew worse when she returned to their Palm Springs home and found a number of letters from girls showing they had obviously been there.
Priscilla Presley admits she had two affairs of her own, and the up and down marriage was irreparably broken down by 1972. The last straw came when Elvis, possibly having learned of the second affair with her karate instructor, forced himself on her in his Las Vegas hotel room, telling her, "This is how a real man makes love to a woman."
Separated on February 23, 1972, the Presleys divorced amicably on October 9, 1973, mutually agreeing to share custody of their daughter. Elvis had made another televised special called Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii in January 1973, but after not seeing him for several months prior to the actual court hearing, Priscilla was bewildered by his physical appearance. She remarked on how swollen his hands were when she held them in hers. Less than four years later, Elvis died. After his death, his father Vernon agreed to have Elvis's body reburied to deter thieves.
A different view in Suzanne Finstad's book
In Suzanne FinstadSuzanne Finstad
Suzanne Finstad Bestselling American author, biographer, journalist, producer, and lawyer born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. .-Work pre-1990:Finstad received the Frank Wardlaw Prize in 1984 for literary excellence for her first book, Heir Not Apparent , drawn from her experiences as a young law clerk...
's book, Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (1997), a completely different account of Priscilla Presley's life, painted her in a rather negative light and described her as a "wild child" and "sexpot". The sources of this book are several people who knew Elvis and Priscilla well, among them: many friends from Priscilla's childhood and adolescence, Elvis' stepbrother Rick Stanley, Mike Edwards, Elvis' ex-girlfriends and the wives of the Memphis Mafia
Memphis Mafia
The "Memphis Mafia" was the nickname for a group of friends, associates, employees and "yes-men" whose main function was to be around Elvis Presley from 1954 until he died. Several filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour...
men. The author writes that Priscilla promised sexual favors in exchange for meeting Elvis with Currie Grant, a married, 27-year-old former Army buddy of the singer, and that she was not a virgin on her wedding night, as she and Elvis had slept together on their second date. The book also says that Priscilla did not want to come to live with Elvis, but that her marriage was part of a mastermind for fame hatched by Priscilla and her mother, and that she never loved Elvis. Finstad takes many quotes that Priscilla has made and calls them a web of lies.
Priscilla denied Currie's allegations and successfully sued him for defamation. She won more than £46,000 in the lawsuit. She had wanted £6m from Grant. Finstad, "too, had been threatened with suits from Priscilla Presley and her church (of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
)." Notwithstanding, neither Finstad nor her publisher was a party to the lawsuit.
Personal Jesus
The song "Personal JesusPersonal Jesus
"Personal Jesus" is Depeche Mode's 23rd UK single, released on August 29, 1989, and the first single from the album Violator. The single reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" by Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
(#368 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/4) was inspired by Elvis and Me http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596213/personal_jesus.