It was 30 years ago today, that the King died. A whole generation has grown up since then, yet Elvis Presley is still one of the highest annual grossing celebrity personas ever, dead or alive.
I thought a journal entry tribute might be appropriate, because Elvis did mean a lot to the Desert and everyone has stories of his personal generosity.
As for myself, I saw Elvis perform for the first time in August, 1968, in Las Vegas. This was before his December, “Comeback Show” on live television. He hadn’t appeared in Vegas since his 1957, due to the restrictions his movie contract imposed. He had a fairly trim build (the one you saw in the movies), and had a wardrobe for this performance consisting of a plain black shirt and black pants. He seemed very at ease on stage and didn’t take himself too serious. When he inserted a gyration to punctuate the hook line in a song he really clowned it up, and had to stop several times from laughing at the reaction he got.
Over the course of the next few years I ran into Elvis and his party at Las Vegas shows, and by happenstance, the group that I was with were seated across from him first, for Johnny Carson, and then in an adjoining curved booth for the Tom Jones show. Tom Jones was at the height of his career and throughout his act (in good fun) he heckled poor Elvis from the stage.
… Give me a moment; I am debating whether to go into this story further or not… well what the heck nobody reads this blog anyway (do they?). So, you have probably heard that admiring audience members were known to throw room keys and under garments on the stage when Tom Jones appeared, and that night was no exception. At one point Tom leaned over to pick up a particularly lacy item, and of all things put it on his head as if it was a stocking cap. Turning around to Elvis he said in his thick Scottish borage, “Well Elvis, some people have got it, and some ain’t” The showroom went wild in an uproar of hoots and laughter, and Elvis himself laughed so hard I thought I saw tears coming from his eyes. Granted, it was one of those moments you had to be there get the full effect, and I am glad I was.
The next time I saw Elvis perform he was "Elvis the King" in sequined jump suit with cape. I was spared from seeing him as “Fat Elvis”, so unlike others I didn’t have to carry that memory scar around with me all these years.
From one desert to another… back to the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs in particular. At one point Elvis spent a great deal of time in the Desert, and my father-in-law, Harold, became acquainted with Elvis when he began to regularly patronize my father-in-law’s retirement business; which was gun shop and western wear store, with a life size plastic Palomino horse out front.
Elvis would stop into the store to check out the latest model hand guns that had come in. According to Harold, if he found a gun he particularly liked he wouldn’t just buy one, but rather he would buy a dozen more saying, “…send these over to the [PS] Police Department.”
If you are sitting in downtown Palm Spring (at my favorite Starbucks) on the weekend, you just might be lucky enough to see Elvis again, jet black hair, trademark long sideburns, Elvis the King sunglasses, driving a vintage, block long, bright red Cadillac El Dorado convertible. Only this time it is probably the owner of our local vacuum cleaner sales and repair shop, whose weekday TCB is installing a new belt and bag on your Hover. He just likes all the attention he draws, as a 24/7 Elvis look-a-like.