INTERVIEW:JERRY SCHILLING (THE DAY ELVIS CRIED)

"My worst memory, and the worst day of my life has to be the day Priscilla took Lisa Marie away from Graceland," says Schilling. "To this day, that image still haunts me..."

On October 9, 1973, after 5 years of marriage Elvis and Priscilla were divorced. It was Elvis who filed for the divorce, as token gesture to save Priscilla the embarrassment as she was the mother of his daughter, Lisa Marie, who only 4 years old at the time.


,"It was I very sad day for all of us," says Schilling. "I remember how Elvis just stood in Lisa's bedroom and watched in silence as Alberta (Graceland's cook) helped Priscilla pack Lisa's clothes and toys into several suitcases... Elvis said nothing, but I could see the pain in his eyes," recalls Schilling.

"Suddenly, he yelled out to me and Joe (Esposito) to help Priscilla put the baggage into the car. Elvis just couldn't bring himself to carry the bags out to the car, himself," whispers Schilling.


Unaware of the happening between her parents in her bedroom, Lisa Marie played happily with her nanny outside the grounds of Graceland.

In an aim to spare Lisa the sorry of their separation, Elvis and Priscilla had told her that she was going away on a vacation with her mother to Los Angeles, where she was going to attend school. "It broke my heart to see Elvis, a man who had everything, suddenly be lose the most important person in his life - his daughter."



"Lisa was more important than life itself to Elvis." Now she was being taken away from him," says Schilling.



Although, the court ruled Priscilla gets custody of Lisa Marie, Elvis believed his daughter would be far better off raised with small town of values in Memphis, just like he was, than in a big city like Los Angeles.



"Elvis just stood watching as we load up Priscilla's blue Mercedes.

Until that finally moment, Elvis was still composed, but when it was time to bid farewell to his daughter, Elvis broke down and cried as he swooped his beloved Lisa into his arms. Elvis held Lisa tight for a very long time. "Be a good girl, Button-head," whispered Elvis. (Button-head was Elvis' pet name for Lisa) "You come and visit often, you hear," said Elvis trying to hold back the tears. Then out of sheer desperation Elvis insisted, "Get mummy to teach you how to use the phone, so you can call me everyday, okay."


As Schilling recalls, "Lisa Marie, was always a very perceptive child. She realised this was not the usual way her daddy said goodbye. Normally, Elvis would says, 'Button-head I'm off to work. What do you want daddy to bring you back, this time?'"


"This day was strange, and Lisa knew it. She looked into her daddy's eyes and asked him, 'Are you crying, daddy?"

At the point, Elvis flashed Priscilla a look that could kill, then delivered Lisa into her mother's awaiting arms, turned on his heels, walked back into the house, without looking back.


"I'd seen that look before in Elvis eyes," says Schilling. "It a look that still sends a chill went down my spine, when I think of it... It's was a look of pain, anger, desperation and hurt."

"For the rest of that day, till about 4 am that night, Elvis closed himself up in his bedroom. He wouldn't eat or take our calls."

"We got very worried. We thought maybe he had knocked myself out with a whole lot of sleeping pills."


"From time to time, Joe and I would sneak up to his bedroom and listen at the door. Once I heard him cursing. Another times I heard him screaming. But mostly we heard Elvis just sobbing."



Finally, Schilling admitted, "I now know, that day was the beginning of the end for the Elvis I had met."

Interview wiht Elvis Presley in July 31, at August 01of 1969 (Las Vegas)

Why have you waited so long to perform live again?
We had to finish up the movie commitments before I could start on this.

How did it feel being back in front of a live audience after so many years?
Fantastic. I really missed it. I love the live contact with an audience. It was getting harder and harder to perform to a movie camera all day long. The inspiration wasn’t there. I’m tired of playing a guy singing to the guy he’s beating up.


Did you enjoy performing live again?
Yes! This has been one of the most exciting nights of my life.

Did you feel nervous during the show?
For the first three songs or so, before I loosened up. Then I thought, “What the heck. Get with it, man, or you might be out of a job tomorrow.”

Were you a little afraid onstage tonight?
Yes, I was at first, until I got going, and then I felt okay. I was nervous and didn’t feel relaxed until Love Me Tender.



How did you choose the songs for your show?
I just sang my favourites, that’s all.


Do you want to do more live shows?
I want to… I would like to play all over the world. I chose Las Vegas to play first because it is a place people come to from all over.


Did you like leather jackets like the one you wore on your TV specials?
No. I hate wearing leather jackets because they are too hot to work in.


Why did you choose a Negro backing group (The Sweet Inspirations)?
Because they help to give me my feel, my soul.


Where did you get the idea for your stage outfit?
I got the idea from a karate gi I once had.


Do you dye your hair?
Sure, because I’ve always done it for the movies.


Why do you dye your hair?
Because it’s gray.

Why do you choose to record message type songs like In The Ghetto? Are you trying to change your image?
No. Ghetto was such a great song. I just couldn’t pass it up after I’d heard it. There are a lot of new records out now that have the same sound I started but they’re better. I mean, you can’t compare a song like Yesterday with Hound Dog, can you?

How do you feel about the Hollywood social scene?
I just don’t go for it. I have nothing against it but I just don’t enjoy it.


Why have you led such a secluded life all these years?
It’s not secluded, honey, I’m just sneaky.



How long did you rehearse for these shows?
I practiced for nearly three months. Today I went through three complete dress rehearsals. This was the fourth time I did that show today. I’m really beat.


Can you remember the first time you were in Las Vegas?
Sure, I was 19 years old. Nobody knew me. “Where you from, boy?” they’d ask.
(Note: Elvis was 21 and not 19 when he first performed in Las Vegas, on 23 April 1956, at the New Frontier Hotel).



Will you be back in Las Vegas soon?
Absolutely. I love Las Vegas because it attracts people from all over the world.


Do you have a share in the International Hotel?
No, I have not.


Are you tired of your present type of movies?
Yes. I want to change the type of scripts I have been doing.


What kind of scripts do you like?
Something with meaning. I’m going after more serious material. I couldn’t dig always playing the guy who’d get into a fight, beat the guy up, and in the next shot sing to him.

Do you feel it was a mistake to do so many soundtrack albums?
I think so. When you do ten songs in a movie, they can’t all be good songs.


Will you be doing any more movies?
I don’t know. I kinda got tired of beating up guys and then having to sing a song to them, or maybe their horses.

Mr. Presley, I’ve been sent here by Lord Stutch Enterprises to offer you one million pounds sterling to make two appearances at the Wembley Empire Stadium in England. This price will include a documentary that will be filmed during and after the shows. It will only take 24 hours.
You’ll have to ask him about that. (Elvis points to Colonel Parker). Colonel Parker: Make an offer! Cash, not pounds! Just put down the deposit.


How much do you get paid for these performances?
Colonel Parker: We are pleased with the deal. I am glad he is here.


Would you like to appear in England?
I definitely would like to appear in England as we have had so many requests. And it will be soon, as we are now doing live concerts again.


Is there any truth to the rumour that you are getting a slice of the hotel as part of the fee?
Colonel Parker: Certainly not. The only thing we got free were crickets in the room.

Have you still got about 10 cars?
I never had that many, only four or five at the most.

After all this time you look so young.
I guess I’m just lucky. I really don’t know. I guess one of these days it will catch up with me and I’ll probably fall apart.



Have you ever seen England’s top pop singer Cliff Richard?
Yes, I met him in Germany a long time ago.
(Note: Cliff Richard indeed traveled all the way to Germany to meet Elvis, but he was out on maneuvers on that day and Vernon welcomed him instead. Perhaps Elvis was confused when he answered this, because he actually met an impersonator while in Germany).

How does it feel to be a father?
Great. I love it!


Do you and Priscilla plan to add to your family?
We’ll have to wait and see.


How does Priscilla feel about you being such a great sex symbol?
I don’t know… you would have to ask her.


Are you planning to have any more kids?
Yes, we are planning to add to our family. Thank you very much.


Is there any other individual you would rather be?
Are you kidding?


What’s it like to be the Grandfather of rock and roll?
(laughs). I didn’t know that I was.


Are you doing shows because of the recent success of Tom Jones in cabaret?
No, that’s not the reason. Although I admire Tom Jones very much, and think he’s a great talent. I guess I felt it was time to do live shows because I missed doing them.


I noticed in your repertoire you did some Beatles songs. What do you think of the Beatles and their material?
I admire the Beatles and think they are very good. The lyrics of pop songs are getting better all the time, they have more meaning.


When you met the Beatles, why was there no press allowed?
I guess it was because we could relax and talk friendly to each other.


Did anyone influence you in your career?
Yes, people like him. (Elvis introduces Fats Domino). This is one of my influences from way back, Fats Domino. Just look at those rings and that diamond watch, aren’t they fabulous?

Interview with Elvis Presley + Review of Elvis in concert July 31, 1969

This is the review of Elvis' first concert at the International Hotel on July 31, 1969.

It was written by Ray Connelly and originally published in the London Evening Standard August 2, 1969. Included with the review is an exciting interview with The King, again by Ray Connelly.

Review of Elvis In Concert - July 31, 1969

For a reputed fee of £225,000 the god of rock and roll returned to the

stage in a blaze of advertising at the brand new International Hotel in this hot and lunatic town of Las Vegas. I've already seen the show three times and I can tell you he is sensational - better than any of us could ever have im

agined.

Elvis Presley July 31, 1969 International Hotel, Las Vegas

Twice nightly for 28 days he will be appearing for the rich and their womenfolk. 'It is, 'he says, 'the most exciting thing

I've done in years'. But it was th

e first appearance on the first night that had all the drama.

He was out of this world, better by far than I - always the greatest Presley fan in world - could possibly have hoped for, and a lesson in himself to the entertainment media of our generation.

For a full hour he wor

ked and sweated, gyr

ated and shuddered, warbled and sang, and grunted and groaned his way through 20 songs. It was a sensational comeback.

Looking as slim as a ramrod, and not a day over 23 (he's actually 34 now), he ambled back on to the stage after a n

ine year absence l

ike a sheepish young lad going to meet his girl friend's parents for the first time. Hardly daring to look or acknowledge the audience,which was composed mainly of over-30's, since young people could never normally afford the price, h

e went straight into Blue Suede Shoes, and had completed I Got A Women and That's All Right Mama before finding it necessary to begin any chatting.

For over an hour he flogged himself to n

ear exhaustion moving wildly and sexily around the stage all the time, and now and again reaching for a handkerchief or a glove from the ecstatic and many-splendoured ladies in the front row. Although his early fans are grown up and mothers themselves now, Elvis has remained the boy from the South - awkward, shy, full of evil promise and a dynamic performer.

As backing, a group of girl

singers, the Sweet Inspirations, joined with the Imperials to add strength to an outstanding six-man group on electric piano, drums, bass and three guitars.

Elvis Presley 1969 International Hotel, Las Vegas

The balancing of combo was perfect, and there was little need for the full 30-piece orchestra which helped out occasionally on some of the ballads like Love Me Tender and Can't Help Falling In Love (With You) and Yesterday.

It is difficult to describe the exact ap

peal of the man. True he is a great and rhythmic singer, but there's something more. His perfect looks and style add a charisma that is magnetic.

Having seen his show it is easier now to understand how became the legend that he is in pop music.

Surprisingly the biggest applause of the n

ight, and it was generous always, came of a brand-new song called Suspicious Minds - his next record and almost certainly 51st million seller.

While his act is co

ncentrated mainly on a selection of his own many hits he also found time to include some great versions of Ray Charles's I Can't Stop Loving You and Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode.

It was indeed a m

emorable night. The night when Elvis Presley, the founder of much of modern day pop music, discovered that he is still one of greatest performers and went back to doing what he always did best.

Interview with Elvis Presley - July 31, 1969

Getting to intervie

w Elvis was a much m

ore complex task than getting to see him - since the International Hotel anxious for lots of publicity during its first few weeks of business was being particularly generous to journalists who had flocked from all parts of world to see if Presley was as exciting as his memory.

Immediately after hi

s first show he gave a Press conference, guarded carefully by the Colonel, and during which he was only once thrown when someone asked him why he always dyed his hair ('I guess it's something I've always done . . . I guess', he said). But after three days and nights of refusing to let me see his star, the Colonel finally changed his mind (as I'd been told he would) and gave

me five minutes to ge

t ready.

We were in between shows and suddenly I was ushered backstage past the guards and into his dressing room. I'd ha

ve to make it quick, said the Colonel. An hour later I was back in my room telephoning this article over for the first edition of my paper the following morning.

Elvis Presley 1969 - Backstage The International Hotel, Las Vegas

'Sometimes when I walk into a room at home and see all those gold records hanging around the walls I think t

hey must belong to another person. Not me. I ju

st can't believe it's me' - Elvis Presley.

This is the legend himself talking. The man who virtually started the rock and roll group as we know it today. The man who changed the course of pop music, and in so doing helped to change the course of social history.

Because that, and exactly that, has been the influence of Elvis Presley - the boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, who has probably had more hit records than anyone else in the world. (At the last count it was well

over 70 - with 50 of those selling more than a million copies.)

Getting through to Presley is practically impossible. security guards with guns and walkie-talkie sets shadow him day and night, and it took an interminable amount dealing with his extremely canny manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to be given the VIP treatment and meet the man they created into a lege

nd.

And when one gets through how does one speak to a legend?

Elvis Presley 1969 - Backstage The International Hotel, Las Vegas

He's sprawling on a red Spanish settee in the sitting room of his back-stage suite, sipping a soft drink from

a bottle. The walls are plastered with telegrams (including one from the Beatles).

He's wearing the black karate-style suit designed for his season at the hotel, and his hair, dyed pitch-black as always, is swept back off his face in the style he created 14 years ago. His sideboards are now very long and spiked again, and are also jet-black.

He is incredibly handsome, with possibly the best film profile since Rudolph Valentino. Fittingly enough, he would pass for a stereotyped Las Vegas gambler in a movie. But, he says, he never gambles himself.

Still the Southern gentleman, he rises to greet me with an almost athletic enthusiasm, then rubs his great wide rings which are virtually clustered with diamonds against a silver wrist bracelet bearing his name. he looks ever so slightly nervous. The room is scattered with aides and friends. There are no women present. Priscilla Presley, the Memphis girl Elvis married two years ago, is up in the 30th floor penthouse suite. Baby Lisa, 18 months old, is at one of their homes in California.

The Colonel watches his creation like a benign mother, only interrupting when money arises. There is a story, it may be a myth, that says he takes 50 per cent of what Elvis earns. If that is true, he must be a multi-multi-millionaire by now and worth every penny of it to Presley.

'We didn't decide to come back here for the money, I'll tell you that', laughed Elvis, at such an absurd prospect, for after all, what's another £225,000 to him? 'I've always wanted to perform on the stage again for the last nine years, and it's been building up inside of me since 1965 until the strain became intolerable. I got all hyped up about it, and I don't think I could have left it much longer'. 'The time is just right. The money - I have no idea at all about that. I just don't want to know. You can stuff it'.

He laughs, and throws his head back, showing all those perfectly-kept teeth, and striking me with the smallness of his eyes and the exaggerated length of his eyelashes.

'Can we just say this', says the Colonel, all homespun, folksy humour. 'The Colonel has nothing to do with Mr. Presley's finances. That's all done for him by his father, Mr. Vernon Presley, and his accountant'.

Mr. Presley, Snr., a fatter and greyer version of his son, if ever saw one, nods at the formal third person way of speaking and takes another beer from the bar. 'He can flush all his money away if he wants to. I won't care', the Colonel adds. the humour easy, and good-natured - country style, if you like.

'We've now completed all the deals I made when I came out of the army in 1960', he says, almost apologetically. 'And from now on, I'm going to play more serious parts and make fewer films.

'I wouldn't be being honest with you if I said I wasn't ashamed of some of the movies, and the songs I've had to sing in them. I would like to say they were good, but I can't. I've been extremely unhappy with that side of my career for some time. But how can you find 12 good songs for every film when you're making three films a year? I knew a lot of them were bad songs and they used to bother the heck out of me.

But I had to do them. They fitted the situation'.

'I get more pleasure out of performing to an audience like tonight, than any of the film songs have given me. How can you enjoy it when you have to sing songs to the guy you've just punched up?'

And there's more laughter - the black calf-high cowboy boots he wears being swiveled up and around on to the table in front of him. 'How do you combine marriage and show business?' I asked. He pauses and smiles: 'Very carefully - just very carefully'. 'Did your wife object to you returning to being a sex symbol?'

'No. We plan a big family. When you're married you become aware of realities.

Becoming a father made me realise a great deal more about life'.

But marriage hadn't reduced the sexiness of his act. His left knee still trembles when he sings, his guitar still becomes a sort of phallic tommy-gun, while with the microphone he appears to simulate an act of rape.

And then there are his off-the-cuff on-stage comments which are full of ambiguities.

'Don't pull my cord, lady', he asks, as a fan reaches for the microphone lead.

On the first night of his performance a woman in the audience began stripping, overcome by the excitement.

Another took off her panties to mop the sweat from his brow.

He gratefully accepted them, his face in the frills and tossed them back. After the show young women climbed up on to stage to neck with their idol as the curtains fell.

It was this threat of sexuality which 14 years ago prompted clergymen to call for his banning and imprisonment, and won him title of Elvis the Pelvis. In those days his hip-jerking was considered total obscenity. His clothes were of gold, like his Cadillacs, and his image was one of unchained anti-respectful youth.

If you want to go any way at all towards understanding the music and corresponding sub-cultures of the under-30s, you have to know about Elvis Presley. He was the beginning of the rock generation. And after the startling impact he made in 1956, nothing could ever be the same again.

In England the fans have been particularly avid. 'I don't know why they've been so loyal', he says. 'They've really been fantastic to me. I still can't believe all the letters that come in after all this time'.

'I know I've been saying for years that I must visit Britain, and I will, I promise. But at the moment there are personal reasons why I can't. I shall be doing more shows in America now, though. I'm very satisfied with the reaction I've had here. It's been tremendously satisfying. That's what the business is all about for me. There will be films, too, but of a more serious nature. And I'll be making another television show for NBC'.

He's thinner now than he's been for years and the workout he does every night on stage is bringing his weight down even more. He looks like a man in his early twenties.

'I don't understand it', he said, in his slow deep drawl. 'People keep telling me I look young. I don't know how I do it, either. I got very heavy at one time when I was in all those movies, but I lose it quickly, you know'.

He is unbelievably friendly and unaffected. Once the barrier is broken down you won't find a legend, just an ordinary, helpful, warm and co-operative young man. He tries hard to answer the questions, but is floored when I asked him to name someone he'd rather be.

'I can't', he says.

He's also a shy man. He has few friends in show business - Tom Jones being the closest to him by a mile.

'I guess I'm just a boy from the South and I've never been connected with show people.

I have my own friends'.

But he remembers well the meeting he had with the Beatles during Beatle mania, and particularly their road manager, Mal Evans. 'I've recorded Hey Jude', he says. 'They're are so interesting and so experimental. But I liked them particularly when they used to sing She Was Just Seventeen. You Know What I Mean' - and he sings, and plays an imaginary guitar, Lennon-style.

'Did you see the telegram they sent me?' You can see Elvis Presley is very proud.

The pop world has changed overnight with the reappearance of the man they know the King. Mark my words - He's going to be immense all over again'.

By Ray Connelly and originally published in the London Evening Standard August the 2. 1969

Elvis: Vegas '69 - 200 page hardback book

Elvis: Vegas '69

Elvis: Vegas '69 a new 200-page hardback book, packed with over 150 stunning full color and B&W images, that commemorates the 40th anniversary of Elvis' historic return to live performance is to released. Written by Ken Sharp, author of the critically acclaimed FTD book, Writing For The King, the book tells the remarkable story of Elvis' return to the concert stage told through first-hand accounts by those lucky enough to be on hand to witness Elvis' miraculous artistic and creative rebirth.

Culling 100 new interviews, the 60,000 word text offers a gripping account of this seminal event told by the people who were there including Priscilla Presley, Elvis' TCB bandmates, the Sweet Inspirations, the Imperials, the Memphis Mafia, celebrities in attendance, International hotel personnel including owner Kirk Kerkorian, hotel President Alex Shoofey, publicity and showroom staff, security, international media and much more.

Learn the backstory behind what led to Elvis' triumphant return to live performance. You'll go behind closed doors with Elvis and the band in pre-show rehearsals and revel in the excitement and anticipation of opening night. We'll also exhaustively chronicle the opening show on July 31, 1969 through the eyes of the people that were there, press conference, after show celebration and more.

Packed with over 150 stunning full color and B&W images, many culled from the Graceland archives, vintage Vegas/Elvis concert memorabilia, a '69 show index and much more, the book will transport the reader back to the Strip for one of the most electrifying moments in Elvis' monumental career.

Join us for a front row seat ...

Elvis : Vegas '69 -- July 31, 1969 marks a historic milestone in Elvis' career. Bolstered by the runaway success of the '68 Comeback show and energized by productive recording sessions at American Sound Studios, which would spawn such timeless hits as 'Suspicious Minds', In The Ghetto' and 'Don't Cry Daddy', Elvis launched his return to live performance at Las Vegas's International Hotel in the summer of 1969.

Due for release in August.