The Memphis Mafia

[0349054]

Elvis never will write his own story, at 42 when he died he can't be blamed for not having written a biography. However, by all accounts Elvis seemed to have sensed he would not be occupying this earthly plain of existence for a very long time.

I welcome each new book from the guys. To me, the accounts they give are the only way anyone has of knowing what Elvis was like. Personally, accounts ( however flawed ) from people who were around Elvis are of much more interest to me than any writers interpretation of events.

[Menwithbrokenhearts]

I feel the same as Cherokee ( by the way, great post) does about most of the guys however I do , also, welcome every new book or interview by them. It paints a different part of the picture and over time, some start to ring true and some come across as contrived and out right rediculous.

About Lamar; Has anyone seen the outtakes of the On Tour movie? The part backstage where Elvis throws water on Lamar and calls him names with everyone else. He apologizes and wipes Lamar off, but you can tell that Lamar is angry but is covering it up and laughing along to stay on the ride. It you watch Lamar and not Elvis in that scene it sums it up for me and it is truly pathetic.

I believe Charlie was a good hearted fellow and loved Elvis dearly. He may have been a yes man and tried to please Elvis too much, but he made Elvis laugh and lightened the load a bit for him. He also worked hard with the band, helping Elvis prepare for Tours, on the tour, on stage, arrangements, harmonies etc.... The way he leans on Charlie on that last tour is testament to how much he needed him and respected him. Just watch the way Elvis looks at him when he is singing "Unchained Melody" in 77.

[ForeverTheKing]

Originally posted by Menwithbrokenhearts
Just watch the way Elvis looks at him when he is singing "Unchained Melody" in 77

Yes...that glance says everything about their friendship...so moving!!!

[Leroy]

In the end there were just a few people for Elvis to trust. Sam Thompson, Billy Smith, Charlie Hodge...... All the rest were taking the phrase "Takin' Care Of Business" too far. Once Elvis took the last train the real faces of those who were supposedly close would show for real.

One of the people I am most disturbt with is Joe. As a foreman he could have defended Elvis and protect him and guarantee a piece of rest for Elvis but he didn't. He was not Elvis friend, he was the Colonel's right hand. If I would have been in the position of Joe I would have made shure that all those guys around Elvis would have spend less time sucking up all of Elvis' energy because that's what they did. And they refused to acknowledge the searching spirit of Elvis. They were like kids on the lot and just wanted to have a wild time, chasing woman and being masculine about it. Elvis tried to play along for a while but he had a deeper part in him that needed to be understood. That was what made him lonely so many times. There were no matching souls in his inner circle, not on that level. Only Larry Geller could and he tried hard for a while. I know that a lot of people do not like Larry but his intentions were far better than most people think. He recognized the thinker and the searcher in Elvis. He also recognized the hunger Elvis had to be understood and to be able to relate in this way, especially that specific era, the early sixties. What Larry didn't know was that Elvis was not searching for answers but searching for a way to escape the absurdity of daily life. I have made the same search Elvis made and mostly by reading the same books and if you are willing to take a look in the mirror once in a while and to confront yourself with a couple of easy questions it can make you a better human being.

But back to Joe. To illustrate what kind of man he is I will tell you a story. When Elvis died a lot of personal items were still outside Graceland. Jewelry, jumpsuits and other stuff. It was all on an inventory list. Joe took it upon him to collect them but he never returned it to Graceland where it belonged.
Now, that's a friend ain't it?

[joanne]

Elvis never will write his own story, at 42 when he died he can't be blamed for not having written a biography. However, by all accounts Elvis seemed to have sensed he would not be occupying this earthly plain of existence for a very long time.

I welcome each new book from the guys. To me, the accounts they give are the only way anyone has of knowing what Elvis was like. Personally, accounts ( however flawed ) from people who were around Elvis are of much more interest to me than any writers interpretation of events.

I agree that most biographies are written by people who never even met the person and I would much rather hear from someone who was there although you still can`t guarantee that to be the truth.
I wouldn`t take one book and say yes that`s the complete account of what Elvis was like but if you read all the books about Elvis you get an overall picture of who he was and the truth is somewhere in the middle.
One of the problems that we are seeing happen again and again is people writing two and three books and you start to wonder what they are adding on that they couldn`t have said in the first one.
People like Dee Stanley say things for sensationalism (i.e. Elvis and his mother were lovers) hoping to sell more copies and as in her case earn more money by getting it serialized in The National Enquirer.
As I mentioned in another thread one of Elvis`s favourite actors Peter Sellers was recently the subject of a book called The Life and Death of Peter Sellers which was turned into a movie and although I haven`t read the book I watched the dvd and I was struck by how negative he was made out.
We are all flawed human beings and having seen this with Elvis I know how easy it is to make someone out to be a monster if you want to particularly if they are deceased.
The mistake that was made is the same that was done with Elvis and Me and that is to base a film or mini-series on one persons book because you are only getting the perspective from one person and everyone writes books from different angles.
The best way to have done the movie would have been like I said earlier and that is to throw everything into the pot from every book and that way you have a more balanced view of someone.
There are so many books based on second and third hand gossip and so I never fully believe everything I read particularly when people seem to recall every conversation from fourty years ago.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

I welcome each new book from the guys. To me, the accounts they give are the only way anyone has of knowing what Elvis was like. Personally, accounts ( however flawed ) from people who were around Elvis are of much more interest to me than any writers interpretation of events.

I see your point, the only concern I have with each passing year is the fading memories and the need to embelish stories which have been told time after time just to sell a book which will line the guys pockets

Thanks for your post Leroy, I enjoyed the content

Matt

[KPM]

I see your point, the only concern I have with each passing year is the fading memories and the need to embelish stories which have been told time after time just to sell a book which will line the guys pockets

Thanks for your post Leroy, I enjoyed the content

Matt

I agree 100% the need to embellish gets greater each year that goes by. If you telll the same stories over and over you don't make money. You have to add something new and as we know the more sensational the new stories- the more books are sold. I enjoyed a book called "Great American Singers" Elvis and his talent were reviewed by a vocal expert(and every other great singer of the past 100 years) It stated his vocal ablilities and range, the flexablility of his voice and his ablility to sing virtually anything. it discussed his growth as a vocalist, mention of his chrisma and looks and his being the one to sell rock. It was refreshing to read about him without the worry of hitting a paragraph which had a new startling insight on his life. Now if every young person picked up this book
to read about him, opinions might be swayed as to his artistic ablilities-who knows. Most will never see it nor read it-no dirt-no big story of his decline to grab the attention of the press and promote it. Shame its like that.

[joanne]

Whoever said Joe was Elvis`s best friend?
Joe seems an o.k. guy but I don`t know if Elvis thought of him as his best friend hence the title Elvis-His Best Friend Remembers.

[Vincent]

J. Esposito was indeed Elvis' closest friend and "trusted" confidant. Elvis seemed to appreciate the way Joe handled his business. Nevertheless he liked everybody to think they were expendable.

[joanne]

I hardly think he was a trusted confidant when Elvis knew he was leaking information back to the Colonel.
He told him something to see if it got back to the Colonel and it did and so Elvis knew what he was up to.
If you read Joe`s book you`ll find that he didn`t know a great deal of what was going on in Elvis`s head not in the way that Larry Geller did. I think Larry was probably the closest even though some people may find him a bit far out with his views.

[ForeverTheKing]

Originally posted by Joanne
I think Larry was probably the closest even though some people may find him a bit far out with his views.

I agree. The others members of the Memphis Mafia never liked Larry because he had distracted Elvis with all his talks about spirituality, religions and so on...they prefered the funny Elvis.
And this was their bigger mistake...they said to be his friends but, to be honest, I don't think they never understandood the real Elvis and his spiritual side...they just want to have fun...this is the reason why everybody tried to move Larry away from him.
They always asserted Larry was trying to influence Elvis too much and manipulate his mind but I don't think it was the truth...this is my personal opinion..

[Cherokee]

Joe is the one who always claims he was Elvis' best friend. I have heard and seen him do it countless times whenever he was a guest on for instance Larry King etc.

As far as Larry> yes, he shared with Elvis their interest in the spiritual world, and I'm sure Elvis loved being able to communicate those interests with a kindred spirit, however, I do not believe Larry brought it out in Elvis. You could pretty much say Elvis was raised on spirituality as Gladys was the first one to instill it in him, through making him aware of his deceased twin's spirit.

[Trev1]

I agree. The others members of the Memphis Mafia never liked Larry because he had distracted Elvis with all his talks about spirituality, religions and so on...they prefered the funny Elvis.

Totally agree ...all the lads wanted to do was party....like in the early 70s when Elvis lifestyle was having an effect on his health ...do you reckon the lads cared? Not on your nelly because they didnt want the party to stop ....they didnt give a crap about Elvis just themselves......

Larry and Charlie are the only ones i'd have time for......
Joe, Jerry and Billy are just okay ..the jurys still out on them...
The rest were bloodsuckers !! esp Lamar and Marty......
they even said when Elvis died 'it was like a train stopping' that says a lot
they were not concenred with his death....just that the party was over .....


Just my opinion.....
Trev

[Dovey]

I think that Larry Geller was perhaps Elvis' best friend also. The MM did not like him because they did not like him spending so much time with Elvis and did not understand what Elvis was searching for in himself.

Larry's book was one of the most believable books that I have read... Yes, I know that you can not belive everything that you read but... I do think he was always there for Elvis and Elvis loved him. The other guys and perhaps at Parker's orders did give Larry a hard time but he did not scare of and always came when Elvis called him. If the book is true, Elvis loved and protected Larry from them. (Because they did not understand the relationship between Elvis and Larry.... they sure left their imagination run wild)

Just my opinion. Dovey (one for Larry)

[Unchained Melody]

I like Larry Geller alot also. I do think he was one of Elvis' closest friends. I haven't read his book though.

[JDD]

I'm not sure who was and wasn't personally closest to E, but I sub to Sirius radio and George Klein seems to really love Elvis. People have called in and tried to get him to say something bad, and thus far he won't take the bait. I've also never read about him saying anything bad in print either. I guess that doesn't mean he hasn't, but I haven't seen it.

I never cared much for how Joe Espisito came off on TV interviews he seemed all business but I guess that was his Business.

I don't know about Sonny, but Red comes off like he was PO'ed at Elvis over the firing and he fired back, and it is my impression that (unless the call I heard was heavily edited) Elvis and him made up. They went back a long ways he seemed sorry about his part in What Happened to me. Of course this is all just my impressions.

I don't know enough about the guys other then what they wanted me to know from things they've said and released since Elvis died. I guess I didn't walk that mile in their shoes so I won't be too critical. I love Elvis, he's still a part of my life every day and I knee jerk swing into defense mode when he's bashed. That said I'll take the stories they tell with a grain of salt , they had faults , he had faults and so I take what I can here and there of whats left to know of the King and if I get a fairly similiar story from several 1st hand sources I take it more seriously. Ultimately nothing they say makes or takes from my enjoyment of Elvis because I'm in it for the long haul .

[franny]

Elvis never will write his own story, at 42 when he died he can't be blamed for not having written a biography. However, by all accounts Elvis seemed to have sensed he would not be occupying this earthly plain of existence for a very long time.

I welcome each new book from the guys. To me, the accounts they give are the only way anyone has of knowing what Elvis was like. Personally, accounts ( however flawed ) from people who were around Elvis are of much more interest to me than any writers interpretation of events.

I agree with you are saying 0349054...It's one thing to read a book that a friend wrote and another thing to read a book that a stranger wrote...

Have all the MM written books or is there still someone from the group who hasn't written one?

franny

[thehillbillycat]

I personally like the Memphis Mafia. Red, Sonny, Billy, Marty, Lamar and several others was trying to get Elvis off those drugs that he was on. People like Priscilla, Lisa, and those at EPE hate the Memphis Mafia because they tell the truth of Elvis and don't lie about it. Yes, he wanted to kill Mike Stone and a couple of others. Face it Elvis had a high temper problem. So do I at times. He was not a god, he isn't made of gold. The man was a human being. I don't like people who tried to cover part of the image. Show the whole image or not a all. Elvis said it himself "The image is one thing and human being is another", "It's very hard to live to a image". Lamar said that when Elvis and his mother was at Graceland. Some disagreemant would happen and they would scream at each other. Who was Elvis true friends? Elvis' true friends was the ones who tried to get him off those drungs. That is what friends are truely for. I know some of you might not like what I say but that is my opinion and I am sticking with it.

[franny]

I read somewhere that Jerry Schilling was not considered a member of the original MM, does anyone know if this is true? I always thought he was...

franny

[NEA]

I wonder whose singled Jerry out as not being part of the MM, franny?

I felt that Jerry appeared to be doing a lot of 'gofering' for Elvis just like a number of the more 'brawny' types of the gang. He was an extra in various Elvis movies throughout the sixties and he is seen extensively throughout the "Elvis On Tour" film-documentary.

Remember, Jerry was also on the 'Nixon Mission' along with Sonny West in December, 1970. But, perhaps one of the 'brawny' types of the MM have singled him out of the group because it so happens that Jerry has got 'brains' as well as 'brawn'??

NEA.