Elvis Behavioral Topic

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Elvis has been discussed at length on this and many other messageboards, the 70's seems to get zoned in on quite a lot e.g. His Behaviour, The Medication, The Clothes He Wore etc.

I think Elvis' behaviour became more eccentric in the 70's in part due to the medication he was taking and due to the fact he became more isolated from the outside world, this was probably caused by several factors:-

1) Elvis had been around a lot of the Memphis mafia for over 20 years, they were paid by Elvis and he was their boss, their livelyhood depended on Elvis, this would effect how you react to someone. For instance how do you speak to your boss whether he was your friend or not? Chances are you are going to tell them want they want to hear and keep the gravy train going.

2) Elvis was probably kept away from external influences by the Coronel and the Memphis mafia to maintain the hold and dependancy Elvis had on them. This would have stopped a fresh set of eyes on how Elvis was living and how this would come to effect his health.

3) Elvis' life had got in to a rut early on in the 1970's, for instance, when you look at Elvis' eyes whilst doing the "68 Special" and "That's The Way It Is" there is a twinkle that just isn't there in the "Elvis On Tour". Touring took a heavy toll on Elvis and this is why he took medication, to keep going through what had turned into essentially a re-run of the 60's treadmill of touring rather than movies. The medication resulted in many different side effects which lead to complications in Elvis' health and very probably effected Elvis' thought processes.

The Elvis image of the 70's is of Jumpsuits and a widening waistline, this Image has a lot to do with fashion, if you look at anyone from the 70's you would have a hard time wondering why you wore those clothes, the same will probably be said of this decade in about 30 years. The image of Elvis in the latter part of his life is purely owed to the press and the ever increasing amount of Inpersonaters/Tribute Artists who do little to qwell the overweight Elvis.

Elvis should have moved away from the Jumpsuits as many have already commented on, would this have done that much to improve the image, I don't know? Yes to a degree but it would have taken more than a change of clothes to change the path that Elvis was on, it required a drastic lifestyle change.

Many of Elvis' close "Friends" have said they had tried to help Elvis in varying different ways and were unsuccessful. One comment I have heard was that "When I was told Elvis was dead it was a shock, not a surprise but a shock". To me this speaks volumes about the people who surrounded Elvis, It's as though they had already resigned themselves to an inevitable conclusion, a Fate' Accompli. which they have themselves to some degree been accomplices.

Elvis was a pretty formidable personality and I think it would be difficult to try and influence him. There were people who had more influence to make changes for instance the Colonel. The Colonel had for the most part shaped and guided Elvis' career, throughout the years unfortunately he had found his own vices and was just happy to let the money keep coming in rather than take afimative action.

I think one of the biggest causes of Elvis' death is due unfortunately to apathy. Those who were around Elvis just did enough to get him through each day..... no long term plans existed. No-one wanted to grab the bull by the horns and really challenge Elvis, his lifestyle and addictions.

In saying the above it would be hard to say how things could have been different given the circumstances, there are a lot of other factors to be taken into consideration e.g. cashflow, pressure of responsibilty for the Memphis mafia and their payroll and of course family pressure.

Hope this generates some discussion.

Matt

[Liverbobs]

I think people tend to forget the effect that Priscilla leaving and taking Lisa with her had on Elvis, is it coincidence that the drug taking seemed to increase after this happened? Anyone who has been through something like this whether or not the relationship with Priscilla was a good one or not, the fact is she took his pride and joy and moved away, I can't remember who Elvis is reported to have said it to when he said " I would rather be unconcious than feel like this" shortly after the split.

[quinn53]

Very good points JJ. I think probably the people that were with him were doing a lot of the same things he was and didn't really care that much to put an end to it. It was said Elvis always needed a challenge, which he didn't have. The endless touring became much like the movies, the same thing over and over again. And I gotta believe that drugs played a part in the paranoia that prevailed. That said, I don't think Elvis was just a spaced out junkie. He made good music until the day he died.

[Liverbobs]

...Also with hindsight a world tour directly after Aloha would have gotten Elvis' creative juices flowing again...

[nashville cat]

I agree that Elvis felt in a rut as the 70's wore on, and after Aloha maybe he did not feel challenged anymore. Working with some new, younger creative people could have produced some fresh music and maybe provided a new creative spark. But the people around Elvis did not want to lose control, but I think if Elvis wanted to he could have branched out. I've read the Colonel was interested in doing a Gospel music special but Elvis was not interested. This does not make sense to me - it seems like a natural for Elvis and it could have been wonderful. But a lot of the fans just wanted the same songs and the same routine, so maybe that's why Elvis just stopped trying to do anything new.

As far as wardrobe goes, the fact that the jumpsuits got more and more flashy always seemed to me an effort for Elvis to draw attention from his weight gain. I think it hurt him more than helped him. Now the two-piece suits in '75 were lovely and very flattering. I wish he'd worn something like that in EIC.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

As far as wardrobe goes, the fact that the jumpsuits got more and more flashy always seemed to me an effort for Elvis to draw attention from his weight gain. I think it hurt him more than helped him. Now the two-piece suits in '75 were lovely and very flattering. I wish he'd worn something like that in EIC.

I think the shirts that he wore in 1972 would have been the way to go, Jacket worn upon entrance with shirt underneath

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Bump