Elvis Presley

11/5/16 | me

[JDoutrider]

!

[deport]

Thanks, I ate at Neelys several years ago and it was good. I think it was
the old location closer into downtown.

[reaganaut]

I don’t want to talk about either. To me “the King” is Christ alone

[reaganaut]

Hey no need for namecalling. Its not my fault you didn’t see the post JR made about useless vanities. Tell me what point, other than wasting bandwidth, does this vanity serve?

[reaganaut]

I am quite content. You seem to have an issue that I am not on board with your idolatry.

Your reaction is really quite hysterical and overboard.

Maybe you need to take a page from Elvis and find some ‘ludes to help you chill.

[Vendome]

I was high....

[Vendome]

No

[pax_et_bonum]

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch.

[CodeToad]

Come on! They have the same hair!

[iowamark]

Elvis must be The King. He died on the throne.

[Sybeck1]

So many to choose from. We mainly get it from Southern BBQ here in Southaven

[Nevadan]

Cutest little Elvis fan ever!
http://roseynews.com/man-sings-to-his-birds-now-watch-how-the-bird-on-the-right-reacts-lol/

[Drumbo]

In 1991, I had the privilege to drum-tech for and interview my pal Larrie Londin when he was touring with The Marlboro Music Festival's GUITAR MASTERS tour which featured Grammy winner Randy Goodrum on Keyboards, Toto's David Hungate on bass, with guitar slingers Leo Kottke, Steve Wariner, Lee Ritenour, Mark Knopfler and Larry Carlton among others joining headliner Chet Atkins.

I had an idea to help Larrie co-write a book about his extraordinary life and call it, IN THE COURT OF THE KING, referring to the 9 years he spent recording and often touring with Elvis. Portions of the interview is on the Internet at DrummerWorld and is quoted extensively at Wikipedia. Here's an excerpt:

JF: In Nashville you've recorded with Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Pride, Hank Snow, and Elvis to name a few. What was the most memorable?
LL: Definitely Elvis. I started recording with him and the Memphis Rhythm Section in 1968 and it was one of the biggest thrills of my life. He was just real special.

JF: You went to Vegas with him?
LL: Yeah, those were wild times. You expected Elvis to be this God-like condescending kind of Rock'n'roll legend...and he wasn't like that at all. He was a good 'ol country boy - kind’a shy. Moody. Yeah, shy. He was very polite and quiet spoken most of the time. He loved jokes and he liked to fool around on the bus and stuff like that, but he was nothing like some of the crap that's been written about him. At least I never saw it. He had problems, but, he wasn't a wild man except on stage. He was basically good, I guess. He had a big heart, always giving gifts. He treated his friends real good. He even treated strangers good.
I remember one show we played in the mid-west somewhere - Nebraska maybe - and Elvis had spotted this old couple in the audience. They looked like farmers. The old man wore faded overalls. They couldn't get close to him because of the crowd and he was giving out the scarves so everyone was pushing and shoving trying to get one. Elvis had one of his security guys escort these old folks up close to the edge of the stage, past the photographers and the police. Elvis wadded up one of his scarves and placed it very carefully in the old woman's hands. We all noticed because we had to vamp through the bows several times while he was doing it. After the show he came on the bus and he was real excited. He said he bet that couple would be surprised when they unwrapped that scarf. You see he had slipped a diamond ring worth about ten grand into that scarf. He thought they were poor, or maybe their farm was being foreclosed or something like that and that ring would help them survive. What Elvis didn't understand was that, those folks will never sell that ring no matter how bad things get. He just didn't realize what something like that means to a fan. Those folks probably never had any idea how much money that ring was worth, and even if they did, they wouldn't sell it at any price. Elvis loved doing stuff like that and he loved people. I never heard him speak an unkind word. He was always giving people gifts - cars and furs and rings. He was very generous.

JF: There has been a lot written about Elvis over the years. Have you ever considered putting your experiences with him down on paper?
LL: I've had offers to write a book about Elvis, but you know, they really didn't want to publish the stories I had to tell. They only wanted the dirt - the scandal. I never saw him use drugs and I never saw him being mean to people. He had problems, everybody does, but he was a sweet guy - real religious, and he was patriotic, he really loved America. The publishers said nobody wants to read about that stuff. I just couldn't be a part of another book trashing him, he was a real good guy and he was always nice to me. The writers who badmouth him didn't know the real Elvis and some of the stuff they write about him makes me mad.

JF: In all the photos and films I've seen, you are always very close to Elvis onstage.
LL: That's funny. Elvis hated drum risers. He wanted the drums on the floor right next to him, as close as possible. He wanted to feel the bass drum kicking him in the ass. He roamed around stage, but at critical moments in the show - tempo changes and endings - he was always right there close - so that I could see him give signals.

JF: What was it like near the end?
LL: (long pause) I think everyone wanted a piece of him - and there just wasn't enough to go around. When he died it tore me up.

JF: What do you think of the stories that he's not really dead?
LL: Bullshit.

[NCC-1701]

I was working in the MEMPHIS and Shelby County Tax Assessor’s Office the day he died. When word came of his death, every phone in the place lit up. Everybody wanted to know all they could about Graceland and anything else they could. A wild day that was one for the books.

[Simon Foxx]

reaganaut - my apologies - I had meant to reply to the author of the vanity, but somehow directed it to you ...

[reaganaut]

LOL its ok, I figured that might be the case. All good, FRiend

[Liberty Valance]

bttt - thanks

[Titan Magroyne]

Thank you for posting that. I imagine the true fans would indeed have bought that unwritten book, much as they’ll buy about any collection reissue. But what a sad remark on human nature that only scandal is seen as profitable.

[BykrBayb]

I agree with you. I’ve read and heard enough first hand accounts to know that Elvis was a kind man. I wouldn’t spend a dime on a book that claimed otherwise. I think most people like to read uplifting stories about Elvis, and aren’t interested in anything negative.