Spiral Pathways: March 2011

Lydia Hyde
2/23/11

Elvis Aaron Presley

     Vernon and Gladys Presley married in 1932. Three years later,
on January 8, Gladys gave birth to twin sons. The first arrived
stillborn, but the second, Elvis Aaron Presley, who must have
had a good luck charm with him since that time, was alive and
healthy.
     When he was 16, Elvis's family moved to Cotton Candy Land-
er, I mean, Memphis, Tennessee, sorry, where he began to work
for Sun Records.
     Eventually, he decided that he wanted to know what his voice
sounded like on a recording. He decided that he liked it okay,
so he recorded two songs for his mother in 1953. That was the
beginning of a little more action, as well as ate start of his major
career as, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll".

In 1955, Colonel Tom Parker, a successful promoter of
country and western singers, became Presley’s manager. In 1956,
under Parker’s guidance, Presley achieved his first major
success with his recording of “Heartbreak Hotel” for RCA
Victor. Other hits quickly followed, including “Don’t Be Cruel,”
“Hound Dog,” and “Love Me Tender.” Elvis’s appearances on
the Ed Sullivan TV show in 1956 helped establish him as a
national celebrity. He was on fire! He added other hits in 1957
and 1958 such as “All Shook Up” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

Presley’s early fame resulted from the way he danced and
shook his hips on stage. His movements excited teenagers, and
before long there were a thousand pretty women lined up to get
his autograph.
"Some people tap their feet some people snap their fingers,
and some people sway back and forth. I sorta do em’ all
together I guess." -Elvis Presley
Elvis in 1956, talking about his way of moving on stage.

Adults were sure that rock and roll would never last, as far as
they were concerned, Elvis wasn't nothin' but the devil in
disguise. But, of course, they had no idea that he would be
celebrity known across the globe.

Elvis and Priscilla met in Germany while he was in the
service. She looked liked an angel, walked like an angel, and
even talked like an angel. They fell in love when she was 14 and
were married when she was 18 years old. Elvis and Priscilla
married in May 1, 1967 at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The
wedding was kept a secret until the last minute it possibly
could. Elvis paid fifteen dollars for a marriage license. Elvis was
dressed in black and Priscilla wore white chiffon and a satin
six-foot train. Her ring had a three-carat diamond and twenty
smaller ones. Afterward the reception was held that featured a
five-foot cake, breakfast for a hundred, and a strolling string trio.
After the press conference, the newlyweds left for their
four-day honeymoon in Palm Springs. There daughter, Lisa
Marie was born on February 1, 1968.

     Unfortunately, it did not last long. Five years later the single
most biggest factor in Elvis’s downhill slide was the breakup of
his marriage. It's a mean old world when you got no one to call
your own, and Elvis and Priscilla both had to live through that
after they were divorced in 1973. It was tragic! Priscilla had been
unhappy for a while. She hated the Memphis Mafia and the
constant travel. She thought he spoiled their daughter by
allowing her to stay up late, eat junk food, and have whatever
toy or treat she wanted. He had lost that good luck charm.
     In his final years, Elvis alternated work and hospitalization.
His health problems included from an enlarged colon and
hypertension, to liver, kidney, and eye problems. His drug
abuse and eating habits may not have caused these problems.
     He also had a weak heart, a condition that he shared with
several family members including his Mother. Elvis’s last days
were spent playing with his daughter, Lisa Marie entertaining
her, reading to her, playing racquetball with her, and watching
t.v. with her. On August 15, Elvis, and his current girlfriend,
Ginger Alden, made a late night visit to the dentist, and Elvis
had two teeth pulled. By 2:30 the next morning he was plying
racquetball with Ginger and two other friends. About 4:00 A.M.
everyone went to bed. Ginger claimed later that she and Elvis
had talked about wedding plans. Ginger eventually fell asleep,
but Elvis read in bed.
     Later that morning Elvis’s aunt delivered the morning paper
to him along with a glass of water. Presley told her that he was
going to bed soon and would awaken at 7:00 that night to get
ready for the tour. At 9:00 a.m. Ginger woke up briefly, Elvis
was still reading and he said he was going into the bathroom to
read more, and Ginger went back to sleep. Sometime between
1:00 and 2:00 p.m. August 16, Ginger awoke and found Elvis
slumped on the bathroom floor. He had suffered a heart attack
while sitting in an armchair, reading a book called The
Scientific Search For the Face of Jesus. Tributes from singers
and celebrities came flooding in. “We lost a great friend, “
Frank Sinatra said. “There’s no way to measure the impact that
he made on our society or the void he leaves behind,” said
singer Pat Boone.
     President Jimmy Carter said that, “Elvis’s death deprives our
country of a part of itself, and that his music and personality
permanently changed the face of the American Popular
Culture.”