Bff "Elvis"

Elvis   ♥

No pictures and no music links...just ♥.

As many of you, my loyal and precious readers (both of you) know, I am a gigantic and fanatic Elvis Presley fan. I own every song he recorded and I have duplicates of several. I have a lot of his movies, though not all of them. I have a few of his concerts on tape and CD and I do now and then, just have an all Elvis all day kind of day.

I once had an Elvis room in my home. Okay twice. I had a large collection of memorabilia that rivaled some of the museums I have visited. I still have a porcelain Graceland (his home) and have visited the real one in Memphis 4 times. I have the Elvis and Barbie dolls, some beautiful music boxes and have sold a good deal of the other fun stuff I used to display in my room. It was fun for a long time, but I was tired of it and kept only the things that I really love to have near me. Some special things that one day my grand daughters might like to share among themselves. That would make me very happy.

I not only think his voice was perfection, I love his gospel songs and the fact that contrary to what many people believe about his life, he was a deeply spiritual man. He believed he answered to God and that he would be judged. I listen to his gospel music often and sing along because it makes me feel so peaceful.

A love song sung by Elvis is a LOVE song. I have so many favorites that listing them would be ridiculous. I am particularly obsessed with “The Hawiian Wedding Song”, for two reasons. I love Hawaii, I love “Blue Hawaii” (one of his movies, for those of you who are uninformed) and both reasons make that song so romantic and so meaningful to me. Mike and I have spent several anniversaries in Hawaii and have always managed to hear someone do that song while there or we have played it ourselves in our hotel or car. It is a beautiful and loving song. “I do, love you, with all my heart.” The ending of the song.

I have several books about him. “Elvis and Me” by Priscilla Presley…very revealing and very good read for any fan. The complete book of his movies is another I love to read. The movies he was so disgusted with making because he wanted to be a real actor in a great movie, turn out to be some fluff and a few very good movies. “Blue Hawaii”, “Stay Away Joe”, “Charro”. “Love Me Tender” to name just a few of the really good ones. He made a very good western star as an Indian, Half-breed or cowboy.  And may I add, he made a very nice Hawaiian boy. J

Many people think Elvis was just a drug addicted waste and basically killed himself by overdosing.

The doctor who provided his basic care was called on the carpet but not prosecuted because Elvis got pills from several sources and since no one told him he couldn’t, no one told him he couldn’t do anything. He was Elvis and he could get what he wanted when he wanted it. I believe, he never thought he was endangering his life or his health. They were prescription drugs and I think he believed them to be safe. It is important to remember this is a southern boy with little education and scholastic endeavors were not his strong point. He didn’t drink and smoked only a short time because he felt they weren’t healthy. He practiced martial arts and earned several belts in Karate to keep in shape and to protect himself. In later years, he became an expert marksman for the same reason, self protection. He was a bit paranoid, but also had fans chasing him and hanging at his front gate relentlessly, so perhaps it wasn’t really paranoia.

This man lived a big life. He was rich beyond his imagination and could buy whatever he saw that he liked. He did that. To marry the girl he fell in love with he managed to get her moved into his home before the wedding, with her parent’s approval even though she was still a teenager, at the time. They shared a bed, but did not have sex until their wedding night. Priscilla became pregnant immediately and gave birth to their only child 9 months later on February 1, 1968. They seldom had sex after her birth. Elvis had a problem with intercourse with a mother, speaking volumes about his mother issues. He loved his mother more than anything or anyone and her death changed him and also removed his touchstone. She kept him grounded, without her, he was wild and careless. Priscilla left when Lisa Marie was a mere 2 years old. Elvis loved her until the day he died, but they never reconciled or even came close. They remained friends always.

There is no singing voice before or since that will immediately stop me mid sentence, to hear, to listen and to love this man and his amazing talent. He was a beautiful young man and a bloated and drugged middle aged man who still managed to look incredibly sexy and confident on stage, though he never felt confident in performance. He continuously wondered why people paid to hear him sing. He loved it, but never knew how incredible he was. He was a humble man, contrary to public opinion.

“Aloha from Hawaii” was a concert he did in the seventies for charity and now most fans agree, it was without question his best concert performance ever. He sang nearly every hit song he had in that show and each was done to perfection. He was heavy, he was sweating profusely and I still watch it and feel like a teenager watching her idol all over. The man is a one of a kind. Never before and never since, absolutely no one compares with his success or his talent.

A true national treasure. Southern born. Rags to riches. Served in the Army. Loved his God. Became a star far too quickly and was never handled correctly. He was used and marketed and unfortunately never lead and guided.

His run here was short, but the man lived. He lived and he left a legacy for my children, their children and all generations to come. His music is forever and my adoration of him eternal.

Rest in peace my inspirational singer. Thank you for the gift of my lifetime, the music of my life.

Jo