What Made Elvis Presley Tick

[Tommy]

[/b]
I'm happy to see that someone else didn't think that my "Mama's boy" idea wasn't crazy!

It sure did seem like he was sort of a Mama's boy, but it is hard to explain his relationship with his Mother. I don't believe Elvis was a sissy or anything like that, Elvis seemed pretty tough at times.

[J.P]

[QUOTE=Getlo;305172]On the contrary, the drugs had comparitively little to do with his actual career, IMO.

Of course he still had control over his own career; all he needed to do was find the balls to regain it. Or at least the desire.QUOTE]

ok i respect yer opinion buddy. i still don't agree with you, Elvis having control over his own career cos that wasn't the case, the ball or not. it was about takin' care of business and the man behind that was the one and only Col. Parker. no money no honey and the was less and less money at the end... if ya know what i mean..

[Angeline69]

I believe he was insecure and needed a great deal of approval from ones he loved. This is not a "putdown" in any way.
Just my opinion of a lost and lonely man that needed to feel loved ,needed and accepted.

I totally agree with you

[May]

"What made Elvis so close to his mother?
cause his father was an alcoholic
the mothers boy thing is a complete hoax (scotty moore)"


This is the first time I ever heard of Vernon being an alcoholic!

Me too. I thought it was Gladys who turned to alcohol towards the end of her life. Not Vernon.

[May]

I believe the fact that Elvis lived a topsy-turvey world (awake at night, sleeping during the day) that was just not natural, helped fuel his drug use. I'm not saying his career make him addicted to drugs, I just dont think it helped.

I remember DJ Fontana saying that in the early days, after a stage appearance they would have to walk Elvis up and down the road for ages just to knock off the edge of his excitement so he could get to sleep afterwards.

If what I read is correct, later on after doing his shows coming off stage he would have a natural high and therefore couldnt go straight to sleep, so took a sleeping pill. Then came the diet pills. And they naturally progressed into stronger drugs because your body becomes immune to the mild drugs if continuously used.

As far as Elvis being so close to his mother. I believe he didnt have as much respect for Vernon as he did Gladys either. She struggled to make ends meet whilst Vernon was in prison (ok, I know they struggled when he wasnt in prison either, but you know what I mean, she did it alone during that time, which made it worse). Maybe what also contributed to their close relationship was the fact that Jessie was stillborn and therefore Gladys doted a lot more on Elvis and he reciprocated.

[MissyM]

Why do you think Elvis grew up wanting to sing?
(Because he simply loved music and from the time he was little it was a way of life, a way to bond and get through hard times. The men sat around at night and played music and shared good times through it)
What made Elvis so close to his mother?
(That's the way it was, I think the harder the times the more close people tend to be. Because he was the love of her life)
Why did Elvis want to be an actor rather than a singer?
(I have no idea, but I think it might have something to do with being able to express emotions, and evolve)
Why did Elvis become so fascinated with a 14 year old girl?
(Because in his family and in the south it wasn't a big deal)

Why do you think he came out of the Army and after he didn't get to just act in the movies, he didn't stop making them?
(money, pure and simple, he needed it_
How many loves to you believe Elvis had?
(two pure ones-his mother and his daughter)

Why did Elvis always have to have a group of guys around him?
(Because that's the way it was when he was a kid, family was always around family and they often lived with each other, were taking others in)
Did Elvis' career finally control him, instead of him controlling his career?
(yes, it did because he allowed it)
Feel free to pick one or all questions to discuss, and have fun!

[debtdbruno]

It was a natural desire, considering he - like thousands of other kids - grew up around music, the Grand Ol' Opry, radio, records etc. I don't think he ever really wanted to sing as his vocation however. I think he slipped into it, saw it was going well, then went with it.



Impossible to answer accurately. She nurtured him ... actually, she spoiled him and virtually obsessed over him. Gladys was also a refuge for Elvis from Vernon's shenanigans.



Singing was something he did naturally, and for fun. As I said, he didn't see it as a job or career path initially. He thought acting was cool and many of the people who did it also cool.



She was pretty, rather naive/stupid and hung on his every word. She came along at the "right" time, ie in the wake of Gladys' death. Had Gladys been around, I like to think she'd have seen right through Cilla and what she was planning from minute one after meeting Elvis!

And, to be slightly indelicate, Cilla was willing to, er, do things that most 14-year-old girls wouldn't (and shouldn't?) be doing. If you follow me.



Part laziness, part too much trust in the Colonel. And the comparitive failures of Flaming Star and Wild In the Country didn't help matters. By 1961/62, the Elvis Presley machine was going too fast and making too much money for genuine creativity to remain a factor in his career.



Romantic: several, a couple of which bordered on obsession.

But true loves? None.

Non-romantic: Gladys and Lisa.



Loyalty to his friends. Insecurity that it would all end soon. For fun. Wherever they were, the MM and others gave Elvis the sense of still tooling around Memphis just being guys. Something normal.



It wasn't Elvis' career than finally controlled him, it was the drugs. The drugs that helped create the final nightmare that was his entire life.

100% AGREEMENT AGAIN. I don't want to be accuse of being an a*** creeper, but you have to be the most astute person on here Getlo

[debtdbruno]

Do you then believe Elvis had a sad life for the most part?

Yes I do. He was trapped by his fame. That made him a recluse, shut off, and certainly didn't help with his insecurities, lifestyle, and phobias.
Sure he had women, money, etc...but ultimately I don't think he was equiped to deal with it all that's why the pills increased, to block out things he didn't want to face

[May]

I think also, the whole fame thing didnt really help much when it came to women. Yes, it got him noticed (along with his looks!!) but because of all the hype round him, he was expected to be some kind of 'sex god' and that must have put him under some kind of pressure....even if it were just in his head.

[8mmlowa]

You must be kidding.

There is no evidence that Vernon was ever an actual alcoholic.

And as for the Mama's boy? Please. It is obvious.

you always seem to read the wrong books.

talk to people who were there and talk to the neighbours !

look at the continuing search for elvis then you get another view on this
i do my own reseach and do not just repeat gissip out of the yellowpress books.

vernon drinks he beat up glafdys ,got into jail and more .thats why elvis called home .to see what was going home.

he loved his mama like we all do - not in a creasy way.

[8mmlowa]

on the women i was wrong
sure he loved his mama his aunts and his daughter.

[May]

I read that somewhere too. Elvis always had to call home regularly in the early days as he knew his parents used to fight. Although apparently not just Vernon, Gladys was handy with a saucepan too!!

when you say you do your own research, what do you mean by this? Do you live in Memphis or Tupelo .. and do you know of Elvis's old neighbours?

[jasmine123456]

Do you then believe Elvis had a sad life for the most part?

No, He had a most fullfilled life, he did everything he could do in his life - he was a very hard-working man and I think that's the most part he is mostly loved and remembered.

[sasha]

[

QUOTE=8mmlowa;305252]you always seem to read the wrong books.

talk to people who were there and talk to the neighbours !
look at the continuing search for elvis then you get another view on this
i do my own reseach and do not just repeat gissip out of the yellowpress books.

vernon drinks he beat up glafdys ,got into jail and more .thats why elvis called home .to see what was going home.

he loved his mama like we all do - not in a creasy way.[/QUOTE]

I must agree with you.

[utmom2008]

you always seem to read the wrong books.

I guess I have read all the wrong books too.

i do my own reseach and do not just repeat gissip out of the yellowpress books.

Please tell us more about your research.

he loved his mama like we all do - not in a creasy way.

What does "creasy" mean?

[utmom2008]

Although apparently not just Vernon, Gladys was handy with a saucepan too!!

when you say you do your own research, what do you mean by this? Do you live in Memphis or Tupelo .. and do you know of Elvis's old neighbours?

She would also wait on him to come home and hit him with a rolling pin that was used to make bread.

I'm with you....I want to know more about the research as well.

[TotallyInsane]

[QUOTE=May;305251]I think also, the whole fame thing didnt really help much when it came to women. Yes, it got him noticed (along with his looks!!) but because of all the hype round him, he was expected to be some kind of 'sex god' and that must have put him under some kind of pressure....even if it were just in his head.[/QUOTE]

I don't think it was just in "his" head!!!!

[Merry]

100% AGREEMENT AGAIN. I don't want to be accuse of being an a*** creeper, but you have to be the most astute person on here Getlo

No, you too are just alike.

[Merry]

[quote=TotallyInsane;305274]

I think also, the whole fame thing didnt really help much when it came to women. Yes, it got him noticed (along with his looks!!) but because of all the hype round him, he was expected to be some kind of 'sex god' and that must have put him under some kind of pressure....even if it were just in his head.[/QUOTE]

I don't think it was just in "his" head!!!!

Yum, 'it' was through his whole body

I could say more, but I'll be good. He can know about all this when we meet in Heaven

[cibetty]

Why do you think Elvis grew up wanting to sing? He was touched by music in very early age.

What made Elvis so close to his mother? That he was an only child, and the one who stayed alive (as his twin-brother was stillborn).

Why did Elvis want to be an actor rather than a singer? Maybe because of James Dean? LOL... I think he thought he would be able to express his emotions better.

Why did Elvis become so fascinated with a 14 year old girl? I think because she was older in her soul, in her mind and Elvis was younger in his soul.

How many loves to you believe Elvis had? He loved his mother the most!! And Priscilla I think. And of course he adored his daughter.

Why did Elvis always have to have a group of guys around him? I think he needed their company, he never wanted to feel alone.

Did Elvis' career finally control him, instead of him controlling his career? Maybe...