Diane
What are your thoughts on the book,Elvis What Happened? by Red and Sonny West, and Dave Hebler?
-SatninLove
"There's A Sweet Sweet Spirit In This Place"....
Diane
Let's not get into yet another slanging match as to why the book was written, as that has been done to death elsewhere on many threads.
Time has proven EWH to be essentially accurate. There is not one allegation in it about Elvis that is not true. There are some factual errors re dates etc, but that is to be expected.
It is an essential part of any serious fan's reading list.
Had Elvis taken its message earlier, he would possibly still be here today, or at least not have died when he did.
You'll find some fans on here (and many elsewhere) who slam the book without having read it - which always amazes me.
It does make for some often unpleasant reading, but the truth is that Elvis - for a variety of reasons - was unpleasant himself towards the end. And so was his life.
The book is a great insight, particularly into Elvis' final descent.
Read it and learn.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
The reason most people slam the book is becouse in my opinion,it shouldnt have been written.There were other ways to get a point across to Elvis,without writing a tell-all book...How would you feel if someone wrote a book like that on you?Elvis was a very private person,and did not appreciate having his whole life written in a book for all of the world to see...no matter how many "facts" were within it...
-SatninLove
"There's A Sweet Sweet Spirit In This Place"....
Your thread is about the book itself, not why it was written.Originally Posted by SatninLove
If someone wrote a book like that about me, I'd be embarrassed ... especially if it was the truth.
That is what Elvis feared most; that the real truth about his addiction and habits would get out. He was terrified.
The irony is that, had fans found out, they'd have given him time enough to sort his life out and would never have abandoned him. Most serious fans knew something was wrong in the last two years anyway.
Other ways to get a point across, you say? Like what? Intervention? Confrontation? A direct conversation? Trying to stop the suppliers getting drugs to Elvis? Trying to make Vernon understand what was really going on?
All of these things and more were tried ... by Red and Sonny.
Nothing worked. Elvis was in complete denial, like all drug addicts.
Yes, the book was partly written because they were pissed off at getting fired. And they had a right to be annoyed, given how Elvis left his father to give them a pink slip after years of loyal service.
They did not write the book for money; I know each of them made very little from it, with no residuals today if a copy is sold.
But the inate message of the book - that no one is out of the reach of drugs and that Elvis needed help - came, sadly, too late for Elvis.
The book could have and should have been the kick in the arse, the slap in the face, he so desperately needed.
Had it all worked, Elvis would certainly have forgiven them ... and thanked them ... for giving him the freedom to get his life back.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
Unfortunately, I have read it and it was quite painful because so much of it is factual. While I don't agree with the reasons that it was written (to get Elvis to stop taking drugs etc.), it was the first actual private look into his life that was kept so private and away from the public. Whereas EPE keeps Elvis at 1973 and holding, EWH tells of those dark days after 1973 and of his descent into what amounted to his own private hell.
I do believe that much of it is factual regardless of the sensational way it was written. This was actually the first time much of the story had been put into words. Since then, it has been told again and again, and like most stories that endure with each re-telling, I am sure that some of the facts have changed and the point gets lost.
Unfortunately, Elvis died the week after it was out and the point of the Wests and Hebler never got across to him. I think that this book would have a better reputation if it had been written after Elvis died with a less sensationalized writer.
"More people today should see him not simply as a performer, but as an artist with a great soul."
John Bakke, professor emeritus
University of Memphis
My thread is about the book,but the topic of why it was written was brought up......
and i'm not saying that any of that would work..but in MY opinion,the book shouldn't have been written,no matter the reason..In my opinion,putting someone's life out there for the public to see,is not a way to make a person realize there mistakes,and "problems"..
-SatninLove
"There's A Sweet Sweet Spirit In This Place"....
You know, so little was really known about Elvis and his life. All the fans knew was his image and his music. I guess as a fan, I am really greedy about wanting to know who the person really is and how they think and what they feel. Elvis was such a dichotomy - his image was so different than the man and towards the end, his fans did realize that something was terribly wrong. The only information that was put in the press was what Col. Parker was able to control - to some extent.
"More people today should see him not simply as a performer, but as an artist with a great soul."
John Bakke, professor emeritus
University of Memphis
Actually, Elvis did read it. He was receiving copies of the galleys (typeset pages ready for the publisher) before it was going into print, courtesy of John O'Grady and others.
He knew what was coming.
Hence his abject terror.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
Maybe I wasn't clear in my post -- he read it, at least most of it, but I don't think objectively. I think had he put aside his pride and taken it to heart, maybe the message would have reached him. But then again, he was not going to change regardless of what the book said. I think that he was beyond changing for anyone and each of his close friends and Priscilla have said the same thing - he wasn't ever going to change.
"More people today should see him not simply as a performer, but as an artist with a great soul."
John Bakke, professor emeritus
University of Memphis
He would have changed, IMO, had he lived to see the book released publicly. He wouldn't have been able to hide any longer and would have had to admit to the world and his fans that he was a drug addict. As addicted as one could be. But not, ultimately, beyond help.
Also, had this happened, his public embarrassment would have been a lesson to a lot of other musicians and actors out there.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
The good ole' boys that wrote that book were also on drugs pretty heavy ~~ so how do they remember what really happened??
Yes, I have read the book and true friends would never of written that book and published it. It was all about getting even, and money for them!!! ( They were most likely stoned when they wrote it)
Anybody that believes they did it to help Elvis also believe in Alice in Wonderland. Yep, it is just my opinion !! Dovey
So you are saying that Red, Sonny, and Dave were equally addicted to drugs like Elvis??
Even if they were doing some drugs and some drinking, they were not in a constant stupor and unable to remember things. That is obvious because of the accuracy of the book. That has not been disputed.
You can hate the messengers and the motives, but that still doesn't change the facts.
Whatever impairment you use to discredit the book, simply doesn't hold any water.
well said Dovey
100% spot on as always, Getlo!!!
Agreed...and if I'm not mistaken, Red actually gets very irate/upset when people keep asking him about the book in interviews - he probably feels like 'what's in the past should stay in the past!". It's been over thirty-one years - it's time we move on.
As Getlo already pointed out, attempts at intervention were tried many times - with little to no success. Elvis was hospitalized in 1973 and 1975 in attempts to detox him - but the press was always given the excuse/reasons as being medical problems instead of drugs as the reasons for Elvis's hospitalizations.
Sidenote: The book was released on August 1, 1977 - nearly 15 days before Elvis died.
Exactly.
agree Liz and great post.
SatninLove, I feel I should apologize for only replying to your thread with thumbs down on the book. I have no problem with the book being written, what I have a problem with is that there was too much emphasis put on Elvis' addiction and so many details of what it did to him should have been left out in respect for their friend. They literally thrashed him and I feel there was never any need to go that far.
The fact that Red went out and made a living for himself without trading on Elvis' image and stays away from the others who participated in the book makes me believe he is ashamed and sorry he ever took part in it and I applaud him for that.
Diane
Like most individuals 'slipping away' , Elvis didn't realise that most (if not all of it) as true. Elvis himself believed in his projected image (of a pure, humble, shy, god-like, southern boy who entertains). However, he had problems that proved unsolvable eventually. Unfortunately, at the time, the booked shook the hell out of many fans who thought (some unfortunately still think) that Elvis was healthy.
That's why fans of any artist, actor, etc should be able to criticise constructively, to keep their idol on his / her toes, so that the tzunami of success, money and power will not sweep the talent and their life away.
oh no.. not this subject ...again
IMO:
I really have no idea why some fans having hard times accepting that most if not all contents of what the bodyguard said on the book is true... especially after 31 years,... I guess we all can forgive but not to forget ?? or just the opposite...
I find that the book is really interesting to read .
I heard that he own a restaurant ...somewhere in Memphis
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