Linda Sigmon and 4,832 people have already signed. Sign the petition now! NBC: Honor the 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s 1968 Comeback Special
March 2, 2018: 5,389 have signed. Let’s get to 7,500!
CHANGE.ORG
Petitioning NBC
Honor the 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s 1968 Comeback Special
Dave Rogers Columbus, OH
On December 3, 1968, NBC aired what has since become known as Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special which was not only the most watched TV special that year, but also the catalyst for a rebirth in Elvis’ career and the motivating factor in his decision to return to performing in front of live audiences again after several years of making movies in Hollywood.
We are petitioning NBC to replay the unedited version of this special on the 50th Anniversary next December 3, 2018, in the same time slot of 9:00PM EST in honor of this historic television and cultural event.
This will not only be a great show of respect for the life and legacy of Elvis, but also a true thrill for his millions of fans around the world.
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MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2018
I POSTED THE FOLLOWING ON MY FACEBOOK PAGES LAST NIGHT…
I thank my friend Debbie KF who took the below photo of an Elvis billboard in Canada. Debbie thinks that Jesse may enjoy seeing that he is on a billboard in Canada currently. I love seeing this too.
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A friend to my site, Shawn K., wrote to bring something to my attention about the Federal badge which was on display at Graceland back during one of our visits from years ago. I displayed a photo of this badge on my March Current News page. Shawn wrote to say that this badge which we photographed at Graceland shows “retired” at the very bottom. Shawn wonders when Elvis was issued a “retired” badge and if it could have been sometime AFTER Elvis left that image behind on August 16, 1977. This is interesting as we all know that Elvis was still wearing his DEA STAFF logo jogging suit right up until the early morning hours of August 16, 1977 which, I think, meant that he was still active in that work at that time.
Below is an enlarged copy of our photo of the badge on display at Graceland and also a photo of his badge which President Nixon presented to him.
I thank Shawn for pointing out this interesting fact.
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My good friend, Simon Laxon, has been so busy creating more wonderful video comparisons between the photo of Jesse and various photos of Elvis. I love them all and appreciate Simon making these for all of us to enjoy.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Lisa Marie Presley will headline a concert in Memphis, Tenn., to mark 41 years since the death her father, Elvis Presley.
She will perform at the Graceland Soundstage on Aug 15. Darlene Love, who performed on Elvis’ “’68 Comeback Special,” and former Elvis backup singer Cissy Houston will each perform at Elvis Week for the first time in August.
Elvis Week festivities also include a live concert with Elvis performing on video, associates of Elvis who will be guest speakers and the traditional candlelight vigil past Elvis’ grave on the evening of Aug. 15.
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Hear Elvis Presley’s Rare, Stripped-Back Take of ‘Suspicious Minds’
Track will appear on soundtrack to new HBO doc ‘The Searcher’
Hard to believe, but there really was a time when Elvis Presley was just another aspiring musician hoping to break through.
And here’s proof: a 1955 concert poster with Presley among the opening acts, listed in small print toward the bottom and well below Faron Young, headliner Hank Snow, the Wilburn Brothers and others.
The kicker is that the show happened in Raleigh — and the only known copy of this poster is up for auction, with bidding to start at $5,000. It’s a rare piece of rock ‘n’ roll history.
“We’ve never seen this poster before, so it was exciting to find,” said Giles Moon, consignment director for entertainment and music with Texas-based Heritage Auctions. “Not only for the particular date and venue, but any poster of Elvis from the ’50s is exceptionally rare.
On May 19, 1955, Hank Snow’s All Star Jamboree tour, featuring a new young talent named Elvis Presley, ended at Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh. It marked the beginning of the end of the touring relationship between the headliner, Faron Young, and featured player Presley. Young later recounted that each night of the tour Elvis got bigger and wilder crowds. Before intermission, each show included a new talent portion in which Presley took the stage, with the headliners performing after intermission.
As the tour progressed, fans began to shout for more Elvis during the other performances, and he was called back for encore after encore. In the early days of the tour Colonel Tom Parker, as booking agent, actually paid teenagers $5 apiece to scream for Presley. He used the publicity photographs to send to the newspapers in the next cities on the tour. Other performers on the tour recalled how much they discounted Presley and his odd onstage behavior. Most country singers thought that he was a fad who would quickly fade, but Presley soon found himself the headliner, and few established stars would agree to perform with him on a tour.
When guests tour Elvis Presley’s Graceland, they have the chance to take a peek inside the office of Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father. In this episode of Gates of Graceland, go inside the office with Graceland’s Vice President of Archives, Angie Marchese, and host Tom Brown. Find out what furniture was brought to the office from the Presley family’s Audubon house, dig into Vernon’s filing cabinets and more in this video.
He was a boy from Tupelo who grew up to become the biggest star in music. Along the way, he absorbed a staggering range of influences, creating a revolutionary sound in his lifelong search for self-expression.
Following his creative journey from childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions, the two-part presentation Elvis Presley: THE SEARCHER debuts SATURDAY, APRIL 14 (8:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO. The documentary includes stunning atmospheric shots taken inside Graceland, Elvis’ iconic home, and features more than 20 new, primary source interviews with session players, producers, engineers, directors and other artists who knew him or who were profoundly influenced by him, as well as never-before-seen photos and footage from private collections worldwide.
Memphis soul-music legend David Porter, the co-author of such classic hits as “Hold On! I’m Coming” and “Soul Man,” recently took time to offer his thoughts on Elvis.
Q: You were a teenager when Elvis became a star. What were your initial impressions of him?
David Porter: This was a white kid in the 1950s going on Beale Street, learning from masters of black music like Roy Hamilton, Jackie Wilson and others. He was different, interesting, but not something you felt the magnitude of at first – not until you heard Dewey Phillips playing “That’s All Right” on [his radio show] “Red, Hot & Blue.” Hearing what he was doing, singing black music with a confidence and a uniqueness, made me and other African-American talents say, “This guy has something.” And he did!
Q: Did you initially see his r’n’b covers as a respectful borrowing, or a weaker copy of THE ORIGINALS (like Pat Boone) diluted for the white audience? What did your fellow musicians think of him?
DP: We felt that maybe he was opening up a market that had been not fully opening up to black music, breaking down barriers to a greater appreciation of what black music truly was. That opened up more doors for artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Brook Benton and so many others. He was not Pat Boone, because he was soulfully expressing the songs with an r’n’b flair, showing what black music was through his perspective.
Q: Even if it wasn’t Elvis’ conscious goal to break down boundaries for his audience, it seems like that’s what he did.
DP: What Elvis did for me was cement in my mind the great potential reach of r’n’b and soul music. The credibility that he bought to it, whether he viewed it that way or not, doesn’t matter, because this was the net result.
Q: Is there a common strain running through great Memphis music? Elvis and Otis Redding must have shared some musical DNA.
DP: The common thread that runs through great Memphis music is emotional connectivity. You can’t help but feel the passion, the pain, the joy that comes when true Memphis artists put their truth into the song that they are singing. The “it” factor comes only through the great ones.
Q: Are there any songs of yours in particular that you would have liked to see him sing? Elvis could have done a great job on “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby.”
DP: “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby” is one. The second is “You Got Me Hummin’.”
Q: What did you take away from the film on a personal level?
DP: This documentary gives the complete picture of the person, his greatness, some of his secrets, some of his ups, some of his downs and an abundance of his power.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018
My good friend, Tim Graves, gave me permission to share his very rare photo here for everyone to enjoy. My sincerest thanks to Tim.
Tim’s description: “Check this photo. This is DJ Fontana and Elvis. This is a promo shot with DJ first and Elvis second. This is a very rare photo.”
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THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018
My good friend, Mike M., shared the following Ebay item for sale. Very nice, indeed!!!
I want to share with everyone that Jesse phoned me this afternoon. He sounded wonderful and is feeling well today. We had a very nice visit and had a while to talk. One of the things he brought up in our conversation which I don’t think he will mind my sharing is this: He was telling me about some small items which he has in a box from Graceland. It is some things which his father kept…some of them, Jesse remembers, others he does not know where they came from. He said that his Daddy was a hoarder…he kept everything. I said that is why there are so many things saved from the course of his life…because his Daddy kept everything. He said, that is right.
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SENT TO JESSE THROUGH THIS POINT ON FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018
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SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2018
My good Facebook friend, Jeannette H., sent me the below photo for comparison to Jesse’s photo. This is such a good comparison of Jesse’s mouth. My thanks to Jeannette for sharing.
Jeannette wrote“Mouth sooo Jesse“.
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MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
I have several thoughts that I would like to share after viewing the HBO documentary which aired this past weekend, Elvis Presley: The Searcher.
There were two parts to this movie…Part 1 and Part 2. I don’t have much to add about Part 1. I thought it was good and factual.
Part 2, for me, is another story. I do NOT like the portrayal of Col. Parker. Most of all I do NOT appreciate that they even brought a mention of “drug addiction” into the movie at all.
Because of my 26 years of knowing Elvis (Jesse) personally, I have quite a different take on both of these two subjects.
I don’t think that Jesse will object to me telling several things about Col. Parker that I have never shared before, now that Col. Parker is gone. Jesse and Col. Parker were close until the day Col. Parker died in 1997. Col. Parker’s death was one of the events which Elvis used to prove to us that he really was Elvis. He phoned our mutual acquaintance, the man who actually asked Elvis to contact me to begin with, and told him about three weeks before Col. Parker died, that “Col. Parker is dying“. At that time it had not been published anywhere that Col. Parker was nearing the end of his life. In Jan. 1997 on the day that Col. Parker passed away, Elvis called our mutual friend and said “See, I told you so.” I was driving home from work that day and heard on the radio that Col. Parker had died. I was so elated that, through Elvis, I had known this was coming for weeks because of what he had told our mutual friend. After being elated that Elvis’ statement was proven true, then I felt sad that the Col. had died.
I had always believed that after 1977, Col. Parker was the person taking care of things for Elvis so that he had income and things that he needed done were done by the Col. This was just my gut feeling up until long after I became acquainted with Elvis myself. I was worried when I heard about the lawsuit by EPE which took control away from Col. Parker. At the time, I worried and wondered what that was going to do to Elvis’ well being.
There are two things that Jesse has made clear in his book and in his conversations with me that have given me a totally different view of the Col. than what is portrayed in this documentary by Priscilla and Jerry Schilling. First of all, in his book, he wrote that the Col. was “the mastermind” behind the faking of his death on August 16, 1977. Below is a page of his letter in which he wrote this statement:
This page is copied from my own copy of the rough draft.
FOOTNOTE ADDED: In this second letter about Col. Parker shown below, you will again see that it was Col. Parker who came up with the plan to fake Elvis’ death. So, we have Col. Parker to thank for Jesse being with us today.
Jesse told me, in recent years: “I didn’t know what I was going to do when Col. Parker died.” These are his exact words to me. He also said that Col. Parker took many secrets to his grave.
I do fully understand that there were times when there were differences between Elvis and Col. Parker. In that extremely high level of pressure and stress on both of them, I know that it was inevitable that there were disagreements. But, I also know how loyal Elvis is to his friends and I know that he never forgot all that the Col. had done for him to help bring him to the heights that he reached.
I just hated to see them portray Col. Parker in such a negative way in this documentary…they blamed him for so many things. Elvis was always aware of how much money the Col. was making. I am certain he felt that the Col. deserved to be well compensated for all that he had done for him.
The second thing about part 2 of the documentary which troubles me is the dialogue regarding the “drug addiction“. I didn’t like that people like Tom Petty who did not even know Elvis were making statements. I also did not appreciate that Priscilla Presley has NEVER once since 1977 mentioned the physical health problems with which Elvis was struggling to deal as he tried to keep on being “Elvis” for the world. It seems that when this topic comes up, people act like the Drs. were just giving medicine to Elvis for no valid medical reasons. Elvis DID have very valid health issues for which he had to have the medicine to survive and to keep being Elvis with his work.
He had a colon issue with which he had dealt for many, many years and which worsened with time. He had been told that he needed surgery for this problem and was wrestling with that worry and decision. This was a problem which could have taken his life eventually. He was worried that if he had the surgery, he would not be able to continue to perform. He had insomnia…a problem with which he had struggled always. He had a sleep walking problem with which he had dealt for most of his life. His mother always worried about him being away from home because of that problem and asked others to always be with him to watch for this. He had a number of fractures in his spine from all of the hard work he did on stage during his many moves. He had pain in his hands from holding microphones for all those years. He had glaucoma for which he was being treated. He had so much stress and some depression from life events and the demands upon him. I honestly don’t know how any one human could have possibly dealt with all that he did and still continue to perform his music so magnificently and to appear to his audiences to still be having fun when on stage…MOST of the time. He certainly did go to heroic lengths to continue as long as he did.
Below are two pages from another letter which he wrote for the Introduction to his book in which he mentions some of the above reasons for leaving.
Below you will see that he wrote that he was “…lonely, depressed and in bad health.“
Below is one of my own videos from my YouTube channel. I watched this news report when it aired and recorded it because they had announced that they were going to do a segment about Elvis. In this video, you will see and hear a very compassionate young Dr. who documents some of Elvis’ health problems and states how much Elvis went through to go out there and keep on being “Elvis” for those fans.
You will see that I posted this video on YouTube at the same time that I started my Website in May 2009.
ELVIS IS ALIVE. NBC August 16, 1997 news report about Elvis’ health problems in 1977.
Although this person was not mentioned at all in the HBO documentary, I still want to add a few words in defense of Dr. Nick. Dr. Nick has also been given an unfair portrayal. Some people even blame him for the “death of Elvis“. Dr. Nick was a true friend to Elvis up until the day he died. Jesse also told me that Dr. Nick took “secrets to his grave”.
I want everyone to just stop and think for one minute about all the loyalty, devotion, love and dedication it took for Col. Parker and Dr. Nick to stand strong in protecting Elvis/Jesse until they died. Considering the unfair attacks and criticisms of these two men, most people would have caved in under that kind of pressure and just threw up their hands and admitted that Elvis did not really die. It took so much fortitude for both of them to stand their ground and not throw Elvis/Jesse to the wolves. Let’s all recall that someone even actually took a shot at Dr. Nick at a sports event. Many people blame him to this day for “Elvis’ death“. These same people will not accept the documented truth that Elvis did not die and lives to this very day thanks to his dedicated friends who made it possible for him to escape the life that was literally going to kill him had he not left when he did.
Jesse told me himself that “Dr. Nick was railroaded“.
I know for an absolute fact that Jesse held appreciation and affection for Col. Parker and Dr. Nick when they each died. Do you not think that what Elvis/Jesse thought of these two great men was and is much more important than public opinion?
So, that is my opinion about some of the topics which were touched upon so heavily in the Part 2 of this documentary. I hope that something I have written will cause someone to stop and think on the truths which I know firsthand from Elvis, who IS Jesse.
Please don’t judge so harshly these two brave men in whose shoes you have not walked.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018
Just want to let everyone know that Jesse phoned me this afternoon. However, I am sad to say that we were not home. He left us a sweet and lengthy message and he sounded well. My heart is heavy because I missed speaking with him…but very happy to hear his voice and know that he is OK.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018
This month is the 26th anniversary of my very first contact from Elvis/Jesse. As I have done in some years past, I want to share the images of my very first two post cards from him. I treasure every single thing I have ever received from him and have kept it all safe.
I cannot express the absolute joy and ecstasy I felt when I read the first card and then the second one. It really touched my heart so deeply when I read that he had written “…you have waited long enough.“. He knew about my newsletters which is the reason for the first contact I had from a man who was in touch with him. That man told me, in his first phone call, “He really liked your newsletters.” That man introduced me to another man who was friends with Elvis and he asked Elvis to contact me. And the rest is history…over a quarter century of friendship. I have been so very blessed.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018
Below is a current screen capture of our total site visitors count. As I explained before, some browsers do not display the counter on my site. Firefox is the only browser which does do so among the several browsers that I have.
I want to sincerely thank each and every person who visits my site. Your presence is truly appreciated.
This display is as it appeared on Friday, April 20th
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SENT TO JESSE THROUGH THIS POINT ON FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018
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SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2018
My good friend, Jeannette H., shared the below photo with me for comparison to Jesse. I love this one!!! I thank Jeannette so very much.
Isn’t this a grand match?!?!
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My wonderfully creative friend, Simon Laxon, has just published a new video comparison of a photo of Elvis with Jesse’s photo. Another beautiful match. My heartfelt thanks to Simon.
I truly enjoy seeing the matches done with the photos of Elvis in the 70’s. He was a little heavier then, but the bone structure is always the same. After 1977 when he lost weight, then the bone structure became more obvious and thus he matches the 1950’s and 1960’s photos even more easily.
You will hear J. D. Sumner relate one of his last conversations with Elvis from June 26, 1977 in the below video. Elvis had asked J. D. to come to Graceland because he had something “pretty important” to discuss with him. J. D. said that he stayed busy and just didn’t get to Memphis before August, 1977. I am pretty sure that I know what the topic was that Elvis wanted to discuss with J. D. I feel pretty certain that it had to do with Elvis’ plans for his future…
Jesse did get in touch with J. D. at some point in time after August 16, 1977. I know this for certain because Jesse phoned me one Saturday night and told me that he had just got off the phone with J. D. and that they had been talking about me. I was surprised because I did not know for certain that J. D. knew who I was. This made me feel really good, of course. Jesse then told me that the next time that I saw J. D. that I should go up to him and J. D. would have something in his pocket for me. Unfortunately, J. D. passed away without my going to see another of his shows and so I never learned what it was that J. D. had for me. But, knowing Jesse, I expect it would have been a nice coin of some type or a piece of jewelry.
I believe that I do know how and why J. D. knew who I am. Way back in 1990-1991 when I was publishing my newsletter, a good friend to me did a taped conversation with a young man who had known a man who was killed after telling people that he knew that Elvis was alive and that he would be killed. Later on this man was found dead on an interstate ramp and his car had been ransacked…he had a lot of material in his car relating to Orion the singer, etc. After I published this story in my newsletter and also made the tape of the conversation available to my subscribers, J. D. came to the young man who had the taped conversation with my friend and gave him a job at a very nice salary. This young man did not know J. D. and had never put out the word that he was interested in a job of any sort related to J. D. nor the music industry…so his job offer from J. D. just came from out of the blue. The impression which we got was that J. D. wanted this young man close by where he could keep an eye on him. I won’t reveal the name of my friend who provided the taped conversation to me or the name of the young man who J. D. hired. I do have the full copy of my newsletter articles regarding this topic, the taped conversation, and also I had the copy of the news article about the man’s car with his body having been found on the interstate ramp which was shared with me later.
I have NOT asked Jesse any questions about any of the above happenings. I do NOT ask any prying questions of Jesse…I never have done so. My ONLY interest in speaking with Jesse is that of being his trusted friend and knowing that he is doing alright.
Below this video, you will see two photos of me with J. D. taken after two of his concerts which Tom and I attended. These shows were BEFORE my conversation with Jesse. I had sent Jesse the photos of me with J. D.. I did not tell J. D. my name at the two times that I met him. We loved J. D. and enjoyed his shows so very much. I was so sad when he died.
My good Facebook friend, Jeannette, has shared another wonderful Elvis photo with me for comparison to Jesse. As always, I thank Jeannette so very much for her help and support.
Please also take notice that this one also shows the prominent slanted collar bone in both Elvis’ and Jesse’s photos.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
Jesse phoned this afternoon and we had a very good visit. He is well today. We had been away for most of the day and the phone rang just as we walked in the door. He had already called earlier and he told me he had left a long message for us and told me to listen to the message when we hung up.
He spoke to me today, once again, about his mission of giving Jesse 42 years which is the same number of years that Elvis had. I told him that he cannot go thinking that he can leave when that mission is completed…he has got to stick around for me. I know that millions of other people feel just as I do.
Jesse said that he had started watching the HBO documentary “Elvis Presley: The Searcher”, which I had sent to him on DVD. He has watched some of Part 1 and is enjoying it so far. He said that the scenes shown in Tupelo brought back a lot of memories for him. He has read my article regarding Part 2, which I posted on here, and he did not mind what I had written. I print out my new posts on the site and send to him and I tell him every week that, if there is anything at all which I have posted that he does not like or wants changed, to just let me know and I will fix anything at all PDQ.
Tomorrow is Tom’s and my 48th wedding anniversary and he wished us a happy anniversary. My best friend had mentioned it to him.
As always, Jesse’s call made my day!
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FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2018
My good friend, Mike M., shared the following excerpt from a book with me. It is so good that I felt compelled to share it here for my visitors.
This is taken from a book which I wish to fully credit and to also pass along the full ordering information for this book.
The title of the book is THE GENUINE ELVIS by Ronnie McDowell.
Elvis fans will love this collection of reflections about the King. Join a few of his family, friends, and fans, including Pat Boone and Ronnie McDowell, as they describe their personal experiences with Elvis Presley through anecdotes, photographs, and paintings.
by: Louise Smith
Widow of Elvis’s Cousin Gene Smith
My experience with Elvis began back in the early ’50s. I recall working in a clothing store that offered in-store credit and layaway. My mom also worked there part time on Saturdays. On this particular Saturday, two guys, dressed kind of different from most people of that time, walked into the clothing store. My mother asked one of the boys if he would like to buy a new pair of shoes. He said, “Good gosh, I guess these shoes that I have on would make ol’ man Crump sick!” The man he was referring to was our mayor in Memphis at the time and he was in the hospital really ill at that very moment. Everyone in the store began to laugh at this young man’s way of responding about his shoes and Mr. Crump. He went on to pick out some clothes for himself and his friend. He then had to fill out a credit application.
I was in charge of getting the information from this young man and his name was Elvis Presley. I got really aggravated with him because every time that I tried to fill out his application, he would want to know my name and address. Finally, he quit clowning around and I got his credit application handled. I told Elvis he would have to pay on his account once a week. He said, “Fine by me. And my cuz here, Gene Smith, is going to open up an account too.”
I recall another Saturday when Elvis and Gene came in the store around lunch and they invited me to go eat at Kay’s Diner. Elvis had parked his car down on Beale Street. The street was lined with mostly pawn shops, and Elvis ran ahead of Gene and me to where three big brass balls hung out over the sidewalk. He stopped right under them and started yelling out, “Hurry up, Louise, and kiss me beneath the balls.” I could have killed him! Elvis was always up to something. That memory stands out in my mind so vividly because little did I know that the experience of working in the clothing store would end up leading me to my husband, Gene Smith. We were happily married for forty-three years until his death.
When Gene and I began dating back in the ’50s, most of the time Elvis was with us. The first time I went out with Gene, he picked me up and there sitting in the back seat of the car was Elvis. I turned to Gene and asked what Elvis was doing there, and Gene’s reply was, “I never go anywhere without Cuz,” and believe me, he was telling the truth. Whenever you saw one, you would always see the other. The two of them were very close. We never had the money to do very much when the three of us were on a date, so one of the things we did was ride down Main Street, drive slow, and wait for the light to turn red. We would stop. The guys would open the car doors, stand outside watching until the light turned green, and then they would hop back into the car and drive on down the street. We would always look back and people would be standing in the street wondering what they had just seen. Elvis and Gene would fall out laughing.
Sometimes at night we would go to Kay’s Drive-in, park, and sit on the front of the car while Elvis played his guitar. We even had to share one Coke because we didn’t have the money to buy three Cokes. Now when people talk about Elvis Presley, they only think about him being really rich. You see, I was fortunate enough to know the genuine Elvis, the guy who didn’t have much money and lived in a housing project. Today when I think about these experiences with Gene and Elvis, I realize we were the richest people in the world.
When Gene and Elvis were teenagers, before we were married, they found a grocery store (where Gene later worked delivering groceries), and in this grocery store was an ice-cream shop. They loved going there. They would always order their favorite ice cream treat, Purple Cows, which was a vanilla ice cream and grape soda mixture. People would laugh at them for always ordering Purple Cows.
One year at Christmas (late ’50s or early ’60s), believe it or not, Gene and I gave Elvis—by that time a very wealthy guy—something he did not own. It was a box filled only with wooden clothes hangers that were wide on the ends so he could hang coats on them. He was like a little kid, and he said, “Okay, this is something I need, and believe it or not, it is something I don’t have!” He was so excited about this gift that we did it again and gave him another box of wooden hangers the next Christmas. We got the same reaction. We figured out he just loved Christmas and opening presents.
Of course, after his favorite holiday, Christmas, came the time when he had the most fun, New Year’s Eve. He would try to have the biggest fireworks display. His favorite fireworks at the time were the Roman candles, and you would think that there was a war going on in Memphis there were so many colored lights and explosions over his house. I will never forget the fun we had and seeing him so excited at everyone’s reaction to the fireworks.
One Christmas, I had just gotten home from the hospital after having back surgery and I couldn’t get out of the house to go anywhere. My mom and dad had cooked dinner for us and they brought it to our house so that we could all celebrate Christmas together. As we were sitting down to eat, someone knocked on our door. It was a Special Delivery man with a thousand-dollar check from Elvis. The card read, “Get well soon, Louise, and Merry Christmas to you, Gene and the kids. Love, Elvis.” That is the kind of friend Elvis was to our family.
I am sure no one knows that my husband, Gene, and I lived in Elvis’s home, Graceland, in the early years. We didn’t realize what an honor it was and our bedroom was upstairs next to his bedroom. One funny memory of that time that comes to mind is of Elvis’s myna bird. His big cage was in the laundry room at Graceland, right off the kitchen. When the phone would ring, the bird would start yelling, “Hello, hello, Elvis is not here, Elvis is not here.” If no one answered the phone, the bird would yell, “All of you get out and go to the devil,” and he would say this two or three times. He would also say to anyone that came into the room, “I am Elvis’s bird and I am a bad bird.” He would also say this if a girl came into his room, and then he would give her a wolf whistle.
Elvis was always renting out theaters, skating rinks, and the Fairgrounds in Memphis for himself and his friends. We would go to the theater about midnight, and he and his girlfriend and Gene and I would always sit in front of the rest of his friends. He would never let anyone sit in front of us or on the row behind us. There were times when he would take a water gun with him, and every now and then, he would hold it where no one could see it and shoot water back at his friends. They would start moving around and looking up to see if the ceiling was leaking. This would go on until his water gun ran out of ammunition, and then he would look at them and laugh.
When Elvis would rent out the skating rink, the girls didn’t really get to skate very much because all Elvis wanted to do was show off for the girls. He and the guys would form a long line and “pop the whip” and see which guy they could throw off of the line.
Another one of Elvis’s favorite places was the Fairgrounds in Memphis. He loved the bumper cars, and he and the guys would just love to try to run over one another with these little cars. Another ride that he loved was called “the Pippin”; it was a roller coaster, and he and his girlfriend and Gene and I rode it one night thirty-two times without getting off. We just loved spending time with Elvis.
One day Elvis came to our house and the press followed him inside. A man and woman accompanied the man from the newspaper. They presented Elvis with a trophy. Written on it was the fact that during Elvis’s movies in the theater, they had sold more popcorn than during any other movies. They took a picture of me and Elvis and the woman who presented the trophy, and it was in the newspaper in Memphis. When he left, I told him that he had forgotten his trophy, and he told me that he would get it later. He came over many times to our house, and I always tried to give him the trophy and he always said that he would get it later. Guess what! I still have the trophy that was shown in the newspaper article.
Elvis always made sure that we didn’t need for anything. One year he took us to Las Vegas so we could see his performances there. He was already in California filming the end of one of his movies, so he flew Gene and I and his girlfriend to California first. Once we got there, he drove us all around Hollywood showing us a lot of different things, and then that night, we left for Las Vegas. He wanted to get us there before daylight because he wanted to show us all the clubs and all the lights. Of course, we were up all night and we slept all day. Breakfast was always served in our suite, which was a two-bedroom, three-bath unit. We attended his 8 p.m. shows and the other Vegas shows at 12 p.m. He always put us at a front table, and money was no object. We were there for his entire three-and-a-half-week run. We had a ball!
At another time Gene and I were leaving Memphis to drive our children to the Gulf Coast for a week. Something happened to our car before it was time to leave. Gene called Elvis and told him about our car, and Elvis told him not to worry because he was sending a car over so we could go on our trip. He sent us a limo! When we called to thank him, he said, “I want you to take your kids in style.” You had to know Elvis on a personal level to really know what a great guy he was.
In Memphis they used to have gospel singing at the Ellis Auditorium, and you know how much Elvis loved gospel music. Elvis, Gene, and I used to go in the back door of the auditorium and go up the stairs. Because there were no lights on upstairs, no one knew that Elvis was there, and no one could see us. We just loved those nights, and sometimes after the show, we would go by Thornton’s Doughnut Shop and get milk and hot doughnuts—they tasted so good!
I will never forget the day that we found out that Elvis had died. We never thought that anything would ever happen to him because he seemed so strong and he was such a good man. Gene was a pallbearer at his funeral in Memphis.
On March 2, 1999, my husband, Gene, passed away, and I thought that my life was over after being with him for fortythree years. My life was never the same. But now, I live for our daughter, Margaret, and our two sons, Tony and Mike, and our seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
On March 2, 1999, my husband, Gene, passed away, and I thought that my life was over after being with him for fortythree years. My life was never the same. But now, I live for our daughter, Margaret, and our two sons, Tony and Mike, and our seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
I do hope that these stories will put a little joy and pleasure in your heart. By writing this, I have relived some precious memories in my life, just being with Gene and Elvis.
Since the visitor counter display is not visible on any of my browsers except Firefox, I assume that many of my visitors are unable to view it also. Therefore, I will try to remember to show a screen capture of it here on my Current News page from time to time. As always, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who does visit and makes my continued growth in numbers possible.
This display is as it appeared on Friday, April 27, 2018 @ 12:45 PM
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SENT TO JESSE THROUGH THIS POINT ON FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2018
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SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018
I just posted two messages on my Facebook pages which I want to share here also. I do ask that everyone, who views the following two videos along with my posted comments, PLEASE do share this with everyone you know who has been hoodwinked into believing that Pastor Bob Joyce is Elvis.
As you can see in the second video below (which I have shared before), Pastor Bob Joyce has become quite distressed and disturbed by the crazy rumors which have become very widespread.
Back when I wrote to Pastor Joyce asking for him to help me stop this rumor by giving me a statement which I could post on my website and on my Facebook pages, I did send Jesse a copy of my Email to Pastor Joyce and also Pastor Joyce’s Email back to me. Jesse thought that his response to me was very nice.
You will see Pastor Joyce’s Email to me featured in the video below. I am so glad that someone used the Email which I posted on the Internet to help diffuse this insane rumor.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS RUMOR AND MUST BE SQUELCHED!!!!
I grow so weary of seeing that so many people have been taken in by the lies published by EVIDENCE ELVIS PRESLEY IS ALIVE. The lie that Pastor Bob Joyce is Elvis is one of the worst. If they would only stop to think of the danger that they are placing Pastor Joyce in by convincing people that he is Elvis, surely they would stop this crazy rumor. Perhaps they need to be made aware that there were multi-million dollar rewards out for Elvis; there are also dangers of kidnapping and other physical harm. This insane foolishness needs to be stopped.
PASTOR BOB JOYCE PROVES HE IS NOT ELVIS PRESLEY ONCE AND FOR ALL – OCT 2017
Another emphatic statement by Pastor Bob Joyce stating that he is Bob Joyce and ONLY Bob Joyce. Please do spread to as many people as you can, this video and the other which I just posted. It is not only dangerous to Pastor Joyce…but it is so wrong to give so many people false hope that they have found Elvis. There is NO upside to people believing that Pastor Joyce is Elvis.
I ASK THAT EVERYONE PLEASE UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE THAT WHICH PASTOR JOYCE HAS MADE SO CLEAR TO ME IN HIS EMAIL WHICH HE WROTE FOR ME TO SPREAD ON THE INTERNET; AND THAT WHICH HE STATES SO EXPLICITLY IN THE ABOVE VIDEO OF HIM MAKING THIS STATEMENT.
ANY RATIONAL ELVIS FAN CAN LISTEN TO PASTOR JOYCE’S SPEAKING VOICE, IN THE ABOVE VIDEO, AND RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS NOT ELVIS’ VOICE.
LET’S PLEASE START A CAMPAIGN TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS INSANE LIE THAT PASTOR JOYCE IS ELVIS. THIS MUST BE STOPPED BEFORE SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING INSANE BASED UPON THIS CRAZY RUMOR WHICH WAS EVIDENTLY STARTED BY THE FACEBOOK PAGE: EVIDENCE ELVIS PRESLEY IS ALIVE.
I SINCERELY THANK EACH PERSON WHO TAKES THIS PROBLEM TO HEART AND TELLS SOMEONE ELSE THE TRUTH THAT PASTOR BOB JOYCE IS NOT ELVIS PRESLEY.
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SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018
My wonderfully supportive friend, Simon Laxon, has created another beautiful comparison video showing the fact that Jesse’s face and Elvis’ face match perfectly. I love the Elvis photo which he chose to use this time. My heartfelt thanks to Simon as always.