To what extent had Parker control over Elvis?

[Donut]

Some say that no one could make Elvis do something he didn't want to do but, didn't the Colonel make him burn his favorite books and wasn't he in charge of his own wedding? June Juanico wrote in her book that during the time she was with Elvis they had to hide from Parker to be together, and I've heard from some of the MM that Joe Esposito was contantly in contact with him to let him know what Elvis was doing. If he only managed his career, why would he want to know...

So, do you think the Colonel had control over Elvis private life? And if he had such power over him, what was the Colonel thinking when Elvis life began to be a real mess? I've never heard anyone close to Elvis say the Colonel tried to help him with that...

[Diane]

I believe the Colonel was trying to control Elvis' personal life as well as his career and that Elvis tried to hide a lot of things from him and I sure don't blame him. I read that when the Colonel was managing Eddy Arnold, he actually moved into Eddy's house and Eddy had a heck of a time getting him out and then fired him. The guy sure had a lot of nerve....

[lightcloud]

The Peter Guralnick biographies "the rise (and) the unmaking of elvis presley" should help to answer some of those questions. The Colonel was a very controlling, single-minded man. He treated EVERYONE the same, not just Elvis! I wouldn't put all the blame on the Colonel because at some point we have to take control of our own lives. If Eddy Arnold could find the courage to fire him, why couldn't Elvis? From what I read, Elvis didn't appear to have the confidence or self esteem to stand up to him. I also believe that if he didn't have the Colonel in his life he would have found himself another manager just like the Colonel. A very complicated relationship!!!

[Donut]

I don't put all the blame on the Colonel, lightcloud, but those kind of people know too well how to play with people's insecurities and like you said it seems Elvis was very insecure.

I didn't know he moved into Eddy Arnold's house, Diane.

[Diane]

Yes he did move in with Eddy Donut. I think I read that in the book The Colonel. That's taking wanting control a bit far don't you think? As far as Elvis having the courage to fire the Colonel, I think Elvis always fought the idea that he came from "poor trash" just as his mother did and I bet the Colonel enforced that and used it all he could.

lightcloud, I agree I think the Colonel treated everyone the same way. He was very single-minded, controlling and egotistical.

[Donut]

Yes he did move in with Eddy Donut. I think I read that in the book The Colonel. That's taking wanting control a bit far don't you think? As far as Elvis having the courage to fire the Colonel, I think Elvis always fought the idea that he came from "poor trash" just as his mother did and I bet the Colonel enforced that and used it all he could.

I also bet he did. What a shame...

[KPM]

I think the Col wanted to control as much of Elvis's career as he could-and I think in his "Stealth unseen fashion" he wanted to influence Elvis's private life without appearing to Elvis to be doing so. I think his "Snowman tactics" worked much of the time to keep Elvis where he wanted him.

[hounddog]

From an outsider point of view it seems to me that the Col wasted, let slip by a lot of opportunities for Elvis. And some i believe were because he felt by giving Elvis a bit more freedom professionally he would lose some of his control over him. He also seemed to embellish himself to some degree in his private life but i do believe on occassion it was out of fear of losing Elvis. Elvis was self destructive and he was the Col's only income.

I do wonder if had Elvis been given more freedom as an artist would he still be here. How much of his drug use was due to his disappointment at some aspects of his career. But he was a grown man and it always amazed me that he just didn't fire the Col.

I think Elvis became reliant on the Col and in turn the Col used that to keep Elvis where the Col wanted him. It certainly was a complicated relationship.

[SleepyJack]

Just when my blood-pressure was levelling out a bit y`all go and mention the colonel!!! He was the root of all evil in the Elvis-world...he was a greedy,conniving,controlling,cantankerous,manipula tive,sneaky,interfering,musically-dumb,over-paid,tacky,waste of his clients` talent. He took advantage of every weakness that he could find in Elvis and used it to make himself appear far more neccessary than he actually was.He was blind to everything but profit and inflating his own ego with his "successful" deals. Elvis never had a chance to grow as an artist with Parker in charge... if they were both alive today I reckon parker would still be trying to tie Elvis into some tacky,lame deal or other..... The Colonel was as bad as he was big. Sorry about that...I get carried away sometimes.:blush:

[Donut]

... if they were both alive today I reckon parker would still be trying to tie Elvis into some tacky,lame deal or other.....

Sometimes it's like he is still operating from wherever he might be now...

[Diane]

Sometimes it's like he is still operating from wherever he might be now...

It sure does, wouldn't put it past him to try and control the minds of those who are in control of Elvis' image today...

[Ematt]

Elvis did not have the courage to Fire Parker plain and simple. It seemed Elvis did`nt do grown up responsible stuff too good.

[Jungleroom76]

Sometimes it's like he is still operating from wherever he might be now...

RIGHT ON DONUT!!! (y)

With some of the "stuff" (I use that term only because this is a family-friendly forum) that EPE releases these days and some of the incredibly questionable business decisions that are made by the various entities on behalf of Elvis, I really wonder if there is a contract somewhere that The Colonel signed to be in control of Elvis until the end of time... :hmm:

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

Just when my blood-pressure was levelling out a bit y`all go and mention the colonel!!! He was the root of all evil in the Elvis-world...he was a greedy,conniving,controlling,cantankerous,manipula tive,sneaky,interfering,musically-dumb,over-paid,tacky,waste of his clients` talent. He took advantage of every weakness that he could find in Elvis and used it to make himself appear far more neccessary than he actually was.He was blind to everything but profit and inflating his own ego with his "successful" deals. Elvis never had a chance to grow as an artist with Parker in charge... if they were both alive today I reckon parker would still be trying to tie Elvis into some tacky,lame deal or other..... The Colonel was as bad as he was big. Sorry about that...I get carried away sometimes.:blush:

So SleepyJack...tell us how you REALLY feel??? :lmfao: ;)

TCB!
Mike

[Diane]

Mike.................:lmfao::lmfao::lmfao:

[Lisarose]

Ugh! I could just copy & paste Jack's comments!
col parker, IMO, did a lot of good for Elvis, However! he didn't do enough! He claimed to be the mastermind and dealbreaker of all time, but he didn't know the half of Elvis' real worth - or he would've made sure that quality albums were produced for soundtracks! He would have pushed Elvis into acting classes and made some Oscar winners instead of saying stupid stuff like "don't go winning Elvis no Oscars".

http://photos.elvispresley.com.au/movies/1969_change_of_habit.html

He should've looked into the careers of other actors - mainstays like Paul Newman, and tried to duplicate that!

Like Sonny West said," if the col MADE Elvis, why didn't he make another Elvis?' Then he could've kept his gambling addiction alive & well (n)

[Donut]

RIGHT ON DONUT!!! (y)

With some of the "stuff" (I use that term only because this is a family-friendly forum) that EPE releases these days and some of the incredibly questionable business decisions that are made by the various entities on behalf of Elvis, I really wonder if there is a contract somewhere that The Colonel signed to be in control of Elvis until the end of time... :hmm:

TCB!
Mike

Spooky, huh? :laughing:

[May]

Like Sonny West said," if the col MADE Elvis, why didn't he make another Elvis?' Then he could've kept his gambling addiction alive & well (n)

I saw an interview where Ricky Stanley said that. Wonder who said it first!!

[Dany]

I liked all you post there. I think that colonel tried have control on Elvis but Elvis always tried con't be controlled.

[Jungleroom76]

Spooky, huh? :laughing:

Definitely spooky Donut!! :unsure: ;)

TCB!
Mike

[SleepyJack]

He had cloven-hooves and a tail...not many people know that.:hmm:

[Jungleroom76]

col parker, IMO, did a lot of good for Elvis, However! he didn't do enough

Precisely right Lisa! (y)

As I've said many times before, I give The Colonel credit for Elvis' early years of success. The Colonel had the foresight to move Elvis from Sun to RCA, to sign Elvis to appear on the biggest rated TV shows of the time (Sullivan, Dorsey, Allen, etc.) and to secure Elvis a movie contract. Perhaps my biggest admiration for The Colonel's abilities as a manager is the way he handled Elvis' career while Elvis was in the Army. By releasing new singles periodically and constantly keeping Elvis' name in the media, The Colonel very well may have single-handedly kept Elvis' career alive at a time when many other artists careers may have gone by the wayside. Out of sight, out of mind they say, but The Colonel made sure Elvis was NEVER out of sight OR out of mind and for that, I applaud him.

It's after Elvis' discharge that I have a problem with The Colonel's handling of Elvis, particularly by the mid 60's. The initial period upon Elvis' discharge was handled fine with the Sinatra TV show, getting Elvis back into the movies and releasing new music. But by the time '63 or '64 rolled around, there really needed to be a change of direction in Elvis' career and The Colonel should have seen that and done something about it. But The Colonel was too busy running around proud of the fact that he guaranteed Elvis a million dollar salary on movies that hadn't even been WRITTEN yet. Perhaps instead of securing contracts 4, 5 and 6 years in advance, The Colonel should have realized that the same old formulaic movies were starting to bore Elvis and were becoming less and less popular at the box office and on the record charts. But considering The Colonel was able to get such large movie contracts signed so far ahead (and thus giving The Colonel more money), why mess with a good thing??? :hmm:

After that, in my opinion, The Colonel should have been sent packing. Sadly he wasn't, and we all know how things turned out... :sad:

TCB!
Mike

[debtdbruno]

absolutely spot on Mike..............well said

[Jungleroom76]

absolutely spot on Mike..............well said

Thanks Deb! ;)

TCB!
Mike

[Miss Clawdy]

Like Sonny West said," if the col MADE Elvis, why didn't he make another Elvis?'

Now this should give everyone food for thought!

[SleepyJack]

His own nature,charisma and natural talent made Elvis...Parker just saw to it that everybody had a chance to see him.Parker did try(and partially succeeded) in making a second Elvis with the `60s movie idol attempt and,in the process,managed to undo a lot of what was completely "natural" about Elvis.I think that Parker would have tried to make a hundred different Elvis Presleys..depending on what the highest bidder wanted him to be.
Sorry if I always seem to be completely anti-Parker...but I guess I am. I don`t think that any other single individual did more harm,personally or professionally than he did to Elvis.

[monk37]

Parker controlled Elvis so that he would have a career

Elvis could have been destroyed by a sex scandal in the 50's, with all the tom catting he was doing

Elvis believed that Parker made him by getting him on TV and to RCA, Parker started off as a mentor/father figure - putting pressure on Elvis to not create scandal

the lesson of Jerry lee Lewis wasn't lost on Elvis

I think he probably would have left Parker if not for the army stint - it made Elvis more insecure again and he believed he needed Parker to get him back on top

then, Elvis gave Parker the best leverage - Priscilla - shades of Jerry Lee.


another part was that Elvis couldn't have trusted a northerner to manage his career and he believed Parker's fictional bio - he knew Parker was a scoundrel blowhard, but he thought he was a southern son who could put one over on everyone

it just didn't seem to occur to Elvis that he was one in everyone

[monk37]

because the "Elvis" still has to have the talent and charisma

Parker didn't understand how hollywood worked, and he didn't understand how the entertainment industry had changed

he kept doing his dog and pony shows and getting while the getting was good - repeating the same things over until they stopped working and then moved to something else