The Offical Elvis Presley thread...

[GunarSailors]

Up until recently, I never really got into Elvis much. I ve been through Memphis a few times riding through on my Harley, but never stopped at Graceland or Sun Studio. Right before I moved to Denmark, I had the opportunity to go to Memphis with the intention of seeing both and I did. Graceland wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but for a 22 year old Elvis it was plenty big. I am glad I went.
The truth is that Elvis is as 'American' as apple pie and hotdogs, and even though it didn't end well for him he was a very talented guy. After seeing some of his clothes and how Gracelad was decorated, I can honestly say that me and him had nothing in common as far as tastes in those two departments.
Since there is such a large retired LE presence here from around the country that could have interacted with Elvis in the late 60's- mid 70's, I am curious if any of you have any stories to share about Elvis. Its a well known fact that Mr. Presley had a collection of badges along with a very cherished badge from Richard Nixon.
I'd like to hear any true Elvis stories, thanks in advance.

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[sheepdawg]

I live in Memphis. In the 70s it wasn't unusual to see Elvis on his Harley or his Stutz Bearcat at 3am. on the interstate. Usually you saw his taillights. He would open it up because he knew there wasn't a cop that would give him a ticket.

My dad did some hand lettering for a Bible his dad Vernon was giving him in the 60s. Met him but never knew if Elvis was in the Lincoln Limo Vernon got out of. That Lincoln was so long you could land planes on it.

Sam Phillips, the guy that owned Sun Records and discovered Elvis was very approachable. He sat down right next to my wife and I at a local Chinese Restaurant a year or so before he died. I didn't want to disturb him but I told my wife who he was. Well she got his autograph and talked with him for five or ten minutes. I asked her if she realized the major part he played in the history of the world. It kind of left her speechless which for my wife is really something.

Everyone my age or older that lived in Memphis before he died has an Elvis story.

[Jinglebob]

I went to an auto show in Mt. Vernon, TX last year and a guy had Elvis’s 1951 Ford on display. He bought the car from the Presley estate shortly after Elvis died. He had a lot of documentation and photos. The car is in original condition, never restored. This is the ’51 Ford that Elvis toured in along with Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis before all three became famous. The car made a few trips to gigs in East Texas during those early years.

[gtk]

sheepdawg, before we moved to north ms, i lived in whitehaven & went to church with vernon.

my dad was a patrolman in whitehaven, & often saw elvis out & about.. said elvis would always roll the windows down & wave at them

[Smith357]

I once ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich, mmmm nom nom nom.

[THE PILGRIM]

Saw him perform twice - once early on in Memphis and once later on in Vegas.
Was Lined up in the peon line in Vegas- I look over at the VIP line.
I say- there's Roger Miller.
My wife looks at the tux, horn rim glasses. No it's not!
It was Roger!
Two IH Dealer buddies of mine down in Hernando, MS sold Elvis 2 tractors.

[swsig]

Back in the mid-1950s, when I was in junior high in San Diego, a student at my school who had recently broken her arm attended an Elvis concert. He noticed her cast, and autographed it. A news photographer shot him signing it, and the photo appeared in newspapers nationwide. She got several letters from hysterical teenage girls asking her to cut off her arm and send it to them.

After this performance, the San Diego police chief banned Elvis because his gyrations were apparently too scandalous for the delicate sensitivities of the citizens of a large Navy town bordering Tijuana.

[GunarSailors]

Here is another good one if you have some time to kill.

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[THE PILGRIM]

Originally Posted by Smith357

I once ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich, mmmm nom nom nom.

Must be a down South thing!
Ate them back then, sometimes eat one now.
They are good! I don't mash that nana, I slice it.
But I don't fry them!
I never actually heard of that until Elvis' cook wrote her book.

[GunarSailors]

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[EMP3]

Originally Posted by swsig

Back in the mid-1950s, when I was in junior high in San Diego, a student at my school who had recently broken her arm attended an Elvis concert. He noticed her cast, and autographed it. A news photographer shot him signing it, and the photo appeared in newspapers nationwide. She got several letters from hysterical teenage girls asking her to cut off her arm and send it to them.

After this performance, the San Diego police chief banned Elvis because his gyrations were apparently too scandalous for the delicate sensitivities of the citizens of a large Navy town bordering Tijuana.

I get the irony ;-)

[Watchdog]

I saw Elvis here just yesterday. He'd lost some weight, but still looked pretty dead to me.

[walkin jack]

No stories but my mom was a HUGE fan. This was her favorite.

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[walkin jack]

...this would be her second favorite.

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[kwselke]

A zombie Elvis thread. What caliber is needed for defense?

[THE PILGRIM]

What caliber did E use to shoot the TV?
He somebody on it he didn’t like - Robert Goulet

[amazingflapjack]

Originally Posted by Smith357

I once ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich, mmmm nom nom nom.

don't forget the bacon!

[LDM]

Originally Posted by Watchdog

I saw Elvis here just yesterday. He'd lost some weight, but still looked pretty dead to me.

According to Agent K in "Men in Black," Elvis is not dead -- he just went home.

[charlie sherrill]

When I was 13 Elvis and his crowd showed up at a BBQ joint I was a curb hop at in Hattiesburg.Ms. It was closing time and the owner told us to stay and wait on them. They came in and we locked the doors. I got tipped $50.00, more money than I'd ever seen, and we stayed to around midnight. I wish I had gotten an autograph. He was a great customer.

[onebadvet]

You can say lot about the KING, but he was true performer and never herd anything say bad things about him.
I saw him stationed in Hawaii with his special Aloha from Hawaii, never was a fan of his, but the next day I bought albums of all his records, and became a fan. I still have those albums today.
There will never be anyone like him, or even close to the music he sang, and the way he sang it.

[loknload]

Never was a big fan of his but there is some of his music I do enjoy
But no matter what you say and I could never say a bad word about him he was very talented and played a very big part in Rock and Roll history! .............

[Farmer17]

To think of the women that guy dated....Ann Margaret, Natalie Wood, Cybil Shephard, Connie Stevens, Yvonne Craig, and that was just a tiny sample.

[Big Cholla]

I was flying myself home to Vegas one night from Flagstaff, AZ. It was about 11 PM. I was flying VFR in my Cessna 180, but just for entertainment I switched one radio over to the Air Traffic Control for IFR flights in that Sector. I heard the Pilot of Presley's Lear jet check in as in bound to LV. The Pilot requested a "Straight In" approach and landing if possible as they were in a big hurry. The ATC Controller told the pilot that they would try to accommodate. On a whim, I called the Presley Lear Jet pilot and ask him to meet me on the "Air to Air" talk around frequency. He did so. I asked him if the "King" was on board. The Pilot replied back that he wasn't as they had only been to Oak City (Oklahoma City) for some White Castle sliders for the "King". At that time that was the closest White Castle store to Las Vegas. I asked him what his air speed was. He replied that it was all this Lear Jet would do. He added that Elvis wanted this batch of White Castle sliders as soon as possible. I had the thought, "Ah, to be rich". ............

I have another Elvis "Las Vegas" story, but I would be banned forever from the Forum if I told it. ..... :-)

[ChuckS1]

Here's how I found out Elvis died. I was a brand new 2LT at the Ordnance Officer Basic Course at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. That night my class was at our Dining In, a formal dress event at the Officers' Club, and the waitress serving my table was crying, mascara running down her cheeks. Someone asked her why she was crying and she said, "The King is dead" and then set her tray down and ran off towards the kitchen. She didn't come back and my table didn't get dessert. Later on we heard Elvis had passed away.

[kennyb]

I saw him live in concert four times ...here in Virginia...he was the best,hands down.Collecting vintage elvis is another hobby of mine

[amazingflapjack]

Gunar-to get you started right, you need to know that Elvis was a BLOND haired boy from MISSISSIPPI!

[rwsmith]

...but we have been to Graceland and my sister got a kiss from him in a concert.

He got permission to shoot his guns through his window at targets in the back.

[Marshwheeling]

In 1991, I made my pilgrimage to Graceland with my 14-year-old son and his buddy. The sound track included Elvis (The King), George Jones (The President, with only a little bit of his First Lady), Jason and the Scorchers, Lone Justice, Paul Simon (natch), Buddy Guy, Lou Reed and John Lee Hooker. It was apretty good trip. We stopped at a Lamberts for fried okra and “th’owed rolls”. As souvenirs, we got cloissonne pins of Elvis’s license plate, ELVIS-1. I also got a pen that had the ghost of Elvis floating back and forth in front of Graceland, and a plate with Elvis’s face against a black background, to go with my Ike ‘n Mamie plate from Gettysburg.

We went to Beale Street, Sun Records, and the Lorrain Motel. Stayed at the Peabody and saw the ducks in the lobby, ate some Memphis BBQ, and went home.

The boys, now in their 40s, still talk about the throwed rolls. The only one they still listen to is Lou Reed.