"""too polite to say."" However, Alden finally revealed in her 2014 memoir that they did ""make love,"" indicating sexual intimacy. Apart from his relationships with women, Presley had many male friends. He reportedly spent day and night with friends and employees whom the news media affectionately dubbed the Memphis Mafia. Among them were Sonny West, Red West, Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike. Gerald Marzorati says that Elvis ""couldn't go anywhere else without a phalanx of boyhood friends."" Even the girls he dated deplored, ""Whenever you were with Elvis for the most part you were with his entourage. Those"
"employed with the group through the years but some of the more prominent members were Joe Esposito, Lamar Fike, Alan Fortas, Marty Lacker, Billy Smith, Richard Davis, Red West, Sonny West, Dave Hebler, Al Strada, Dr. Nick, Larry Geller, Charlie Hodge, Jerry Schilling, Sam Thompson and Gene Smith. Each man had specific duties. Joe Esposito served as Elvis' chief road manager and personal aide for 17 years. Marty Lacker, another aide, also served as Elvis' chief personal aide for several years. Esposito and Lacker were Presley's best men at his wedding. Sonny West was responsible for security at Presley concerts."
"Memphis Mafia The ""Memphis Mafia"" was the nickname given by rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley to a group of friends, associates, employees and cousins whose main functions were to accompany, protect, and serve Elvis from the beginning of his career in 1954 until his death in 1977. Several members filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour logistics and scheduling. In these cases Elvis paid salaries, but most lived off fringe benefits such as gifts, cars, houses and bonuses. Over the years, the number of members"
"Special"" TV show. At Presley's final performance on 26 June 1977, he said ""I would like to thank my sound engineer: Bruce Jackson from Australia."" Touring with Presley was like no other assignment. Presley and his entourage travelled in four or five jets to the next tour stop: one for Elvis and his closest colleagues, one for the band, one for Colonel Tom Parker (Presley's manager), one for concessions and crew, and a Learjet used by RCA Records management to fly ahead of everyone else. For two weeks during June and July 1973, Elvis flew on an all-black DC-9 airliner"
"Joe Esposito (author) Joseph Carmine Esposito (January 22, 1938 – November 23, 2016) was Elvis Presley's road manager and friend. After Elvis' death, Joe became an author and publisher of several Elvis books. Esposito is best known for his association with Elvis Presley (see Memphis Mafia). He first met Presley while serving in the military in 1958 at an Army base in Friedberg, West Germany. They both went through basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, but did not meet face to face until a year later when they were both stationed in West Germany, where they quickly became lifelong friends."
"TCB Band The TCB Band was a group of professional musicians who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley’s band from August 1969 until his death in 1977. The initialism TCB stands for Taking Care of Business, a personal motto Presley adopted in the early 1970s. Although personnel changed over the years, the original members were James Burton (lead guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Larry Muhoberac (keyboards) and Ron Tutt (drums). They first appeared live at Presley’s first Las Vegas performance at what was then known as the International Hotel (later the Las Vegas Hilton, now"
"International Hotel in Las Vegas, boasting the largest showroom in the city, announced that it had booked Presley. He was scheduled to perform 57 shows over four weeks beginning July 31. Moore, Fontana, and the Jordanaires declined to participate, afraid of losing the lucrative session work they had in Nashville. Presley assembled new, top-notch accompaniment, led by guitarist James Burton and including two gospel groups, The Imperials and Sweet Inspirations. Costume designer Bill Belew, responsible for the intense leather styling of the Comeback Special, created a new stage look for Presley, inspired by Presley's passion for karate. Nonetheless, he was"
"Charlie Hodge (guitarist) Charles Franklin Hodge (December 14, 1934–March 3, 2006), better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and best friend of Elvis Presley, and lived at Graceland. Born in Decatur, Alabama, Hodge began his musical career at age 17 in a gospel quartet, The Path Finders, with Bill Gaither. At 5'3"", the tenor singer used an empty Coke crate to stand on as a comedy routine while singing with the quartet. Hodge then joined The Foggy River Boys, and first met Presley in 1955 when Presley came backstage after"
"Sonny West (actor) Delbert Bryant West Jr. (July 5, 1938 – May 24, 2017), known as 'Sonny' West, was a friend and bodyguard of the late singer Elvis Presley along with his cousin Red West for sixteen years, as part of the Elvis entourage at the Elvis Memphis home Graceland, which became known as 'The Memphis Mafia'. His parents came from the Pontotoc area of Mississippi, not far from Tupelo, from where Elvis Presley came. West was one of two sons and five daughters. Both West and Elvis grew up in different lower income projects in Memphis, and though near,"
"popular. The group moved to Paris in 1959 and has continued touring, primarily in Europe, since then. During his stint in the US Army, in Germany, Elvis Presley, who was a huge admirer of their work since his early childhood, visited them backstage at ""Le Casino"" in Paris, and stayed to watch their entire show, staying also with them at the hotel ""Prince de Galles"". Presley recorded a version of their popular ""Swing Down Chariot"" that appeared on his ""His Hand in Mine"" gospel album. During this time there were further personnel changes: Orville Brooks left and was replaced by"
"grew and changed, but for the most part there was a core group who spent a lot of time with the singer. Elvis preferred men around him who were loyal, trustworthy and deferential. Thus family members and friends of his youth were very important to him. ""For the first time in his life, he had a group of male friends to pal around with, and he relished being the leader of the pack."" The group began with Elvis' first cousins Junior and Gene Smith (Gladys Presley's sister Levalle's children) who accompanied Elvis everywhere, along with Elvis' high school friend Red"
"on Elvis together. Dundy also wrote, ""Of all Elvis' new friends, Nick Adams, by background and temperament the most insecure, was also his closest."" Adams was Dennis Hopper's roommate during this period, and the three reportedly socialized together, with Presley ""hanging out more and more with Nick and his friends"" and glad his manager ""liked Nick."" Decades later, Kathleen Tracy recalled Adams often met Presley backstage or at Graceland, where Elvis often asked Adams ""to stay over on nights"": ""He and Elvis would go motorcycle riding late at night and stay up until all hours talking about the pain of"
"of the Las Vegas International Hotel for Presley to play the newly built, 2,000-seat showroom for four weeks (two shows per night, with Mondays off) for $400,000. For his appearance, he assembled a band later known as the TCB Band: James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass-guitar), Ronnie Tutt (drums), Larry Muhoberac (piano) and Charlie Hodge (rhythm guitar, background vocals). The band was complimented by the backing vocals of The Sweet inspirations and The Imperials. His initial Las Vegas show attracted an audience of 101,500, setting a new Vegas performance record. By 1970, Presley began to tour"
"in groups with Elvis Presley ""Viva, Elvis!"" show as the backdrop. 28 of the 70 contestants were eliminated. Next came a solo round accompanied by an instrument at the stage for Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas. After the 42 remaining contestants sang their last solo at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, they were called one by one to hear the final judgement. Twelve guys and twelve girls were initially announced as the semi-finalists; however, the judges announced plans to add a thirteenth male semi-finalist between Jermaine Jones, Richie Law, Johnny Keyser and David Leathers Jr. The following week,"
"well. In 2007, Sonny West released ""Elvis: Still Takin' Care of Business"", which was a softer look at his relationship with the King. Memphis Mafia The ""Memphis Mafia"" was the nickname given by rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley to a group of friends, associates, employees and cousins whose main functions were to accompany, protect, and serve Elvis from the beginning of his career in 1954 until his death in 1977. Several members filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour logistics and scheduling. In these cases"
"and now live in Sedona, Arizona. He has twin sisters. Elvis studied with him for years. In November 2010, Geller appeared on the ""Elvis Cruise 2010"", which sailed from Jacksonville to Nassau, Bahamas, on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship called the ""Carnival Fascination"". Larry Geller Larry Geller (born August 8, 1939) is an American writer and speaker. He was a spiritual advisor and personal hairstylist to Elvis Presley. He ""played a major role in shaping the King's iconic hair looks"". Elvis hired him on April 30, 1964 during the filming of ""Roustabout"". He became ""the man in whom [Elvis] confided"
"spanning his childhood and his whole musical career. Those in attendance amongst family was former bodyguard to Elvis, Sonny West, Friend and ETA Johnny Harra, and the widow of Memphis Mafia member, Richard Davis. Bill Gaither, Priscilla, Lisa Marie, and Memphis Mafia member Joe Esposito were not there but sent several large arrangements of flowers along with their fondest memories with Hodge. On Elvis satellite radio, with Elvis friend and DJ George Klein, the entire broadcast was dedicated to the memory of Hodge which aired past interviews from him along with shared memories from Elvis's entourage, band, and fans worldwide."
"Elvis Presley's band: James Burton (who had also played on Haggard's records) on guitar, Glen D. Hardin on piano and organ, and Ronnie Tutt on drums. Parson's biggest coup, however, was discovering Emmylou Harris, an unknown singer from Washington, D.C., who was recommended to Parsons by Chris Hillman. In the BBC documentary ""Beyond Nashville"" Harris recalls, ""I would say until I had met Gram and started working with him I didn't really understand or have a real love or feel for country music. Like most of my generation, you know, country music was politically incorrect for us at that point."
"evening in general. I talked to Elvis only a little while. He seemed nervous and not too aware of his surroundings but nothing out of the ordinary happened. He introduced me to Priscilla, who didn't seem to know who I was. 'He's a country singer,' Elvis told her in a voice I thought sounded a little irritated... I guess that's why it bothers me so much to have fans put me up like some kind of idol. That's wrong. We're all human. None of us can walk on water, even Elvis."""" The album features Presley's old backing vocal group The"
"his cousin Red West died at Baptist Hospital in Memphis, aged 81, after suffering an aortic aneurysm. Sonny West (actor) Delbert Bryant West Jr. (July 5, 1938 – May 24, 2017), known as 'Sonny' West, was a friend and bodyguard of the late singer Elvis Presley along with his cousin Red West for sixteen years, as part of the Elvis entourage at the Elvis Memphis home Graceland, which became known as 'The Memphis Mafia'. His parents came from the Pontotoc area of Mississippi, not far from Tupelo, from where Elvis Presley came. West was one of two sons and five"
"Ira Jones Ira Jones (July 10, 1923 – July 11, 2004) was an author, best known as the first sergeant in charge of Elvis Presley for a portion of the time Elvis served in the army. Elvis drove Jones' jeep for nine months while the two were stationed together in Germany. Jones was also a veteran of World War II and a recipient of both the Bronze and Silver Stars. The two first met in the port city of Bremerhaven, Germany, in the autumn of 1958 when Elvis was among the replacement troops arriving aboard the USS ""General Randall"". Elvis"
"Elvis' grandmother Minnie Mae Presley, and his nine-year-old daughter Lisa Marie Presley. After Vernon's death in 1979, Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley, as Lisa Marie's legal guardian, began co-managing the trust along with the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, which was the bank Elvis and Vernon had done business with, and Joseph Hanks, who had been Elvis and Vernon's accountant for a number of years, and formed EPE in 1979. With Minnie Mae's passing in 1980, Lisa Marie became the only surviving beneficiary named in Elvis's will. Following Elvis' death, his manager ""Colonel Tom"" Parker had set up a licensing"
"Sole Mio"" since the tune was already in the public domain. On March 20, Parker sent a chartered Greyhound bus to transport Presley and his entourage from Memphis, Tennessee to Nashville. The session personnel consisted of guitarist Scotty Moore, drummer D.J. Fontana, pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist Hank Garland, bassist Bobby Moore, percussionist Buddy Harman and the backing group The Jordanaires. Presley's original bassist Bill Black declined to join the sessions as he was enjoying success with the Bill Black Combo. To prevent possible disruption by fans, the musicians were initially told they were going to play on a Jim Reeves"
"A Date with Elvis A Date with Elvis is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Victor Records (LPM 2011) in July 1959. The album compiled a selection of previously released material from multiple sessions at Sun, an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox Stage One and two from Radio Recorders in Hollywood. The album reached #32 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. After Presley's induction into the army on March 24, 1958, RCA Victor and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, were faced with the prospect of keeping his name before"
"to the involvement of Larry Geller, a hair stylist who later became one of ""The Guys"" (also called the ""Memphis Mafia""), as Presley called his entourage, in his life, Presley was growing increasingly interested in religious studies and spirituality, and was reading a great deal on the subjects. Colonel Tom Parker felt that these pursuits were distracting Elvis from his performance, and he ordered the singer not to read any books while the film was being shot; there is no evidence to indicate that Presley complied with the directive. Production was halted for nearly two weeks in the middle of"
"Larry Geller Larry Geller (born August 8, 1939) is an American writer and speaker. He was a spiritual advisor and personal hairstylist to Elvis Presley. He ""played a major role in shaping the King's iconic hair looks"". Elvis hired him on April 30, 1964 during the filming of ""Roustabout"". He became ""the man in whom [Elvis] confided in matters of the spirit."" Geller's career began when he joined forces with famed hairdresser Jay Sebring, opening the first men's hair styling salon in America in 1959. This salon provided services like women's hair styling salons, as opposed to the traditional barber"
"over Parker's growing involvement with the singer Hank Snow. However, Parker remained involved in many of Arnold's live tours and demanded a buyout of $50,000 (US$ in dollars) to settle their contract. Parker and Snow eventually formed Hank Snow Enterprises and Jamboree Attractions, a successful promotional outfit for up-and-coming country singers. In early 1955, Parker became aware of a young singer named Elvis Presley. Presley had a singing style different from the current trend, and Parker was immediately interested in the future of this musical style. Presley’s first manager was Scotty Moore, the guitarist in his band, who was encouraged"
"The Nashville A-Team The Nashville A-Team was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Nashville, Tennessee, who earned wide acclaim in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. They backed dozens of popular singers, including Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Bob Dylan, Moon Mullican, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee, and others. The Nashville A-Team's members typically had backgrounds in country music but were highly versatile. Examples of their jazz inclinations can be found in the Nashville All-Stars album with Chet Atkins titled ""After the Riot at Newport""; the Hank Garland LP entitled ""Velvet Guitar""; Tupper"
"The Entourage Music and Theater Ensemble The Entourage Music and Theater Ensemble was an ambient music group. The group was active from 1970 to 1983 and performed in theaters in combination with dance ensembles. The primary members were founder and director Joe Clark on saxophones and keyboards; Rusti Clark (no relation) on viola and guitar; Michael S. Smith on drums and percussion; and Wall Matthews on guitars, keyboards, and percussion. Entourage formed in Baltimore, Maryland in the early-1970s, relocated to Millbrook, New York, then moved to New London, Connecticut in the mid-1970s and finally re-settled in the Baltimore, Maryland area."
"According to Phillips, ""Ninety-five percent of the people I had been working with were black, most of them of course no name people. Elvis fit right in. He was born and raised in poverty. He was around people that had very little in the way of worldly goods."" Presley made enough of an impression that Phillips deputized guitarist Scotty Moore, who then enlisted bassist Bill Black, both from the Starlight Wranglers, a local western swing band, to work with the green young Elvis. The trio rehearsed dozens of songs, from traditional country, to ""Harbor Lights"", a hit for crooner Bing"
"frequently performed throughout the New York metropolitan area. The original group (known as the Drinkard Jubilairs) consisted of Cissy, Anne, Larry, and Nicky, and later included Warwick's grandparents, Nicholas and Delia Drinkard, and their children: William, Lee (Warwick's mother) and Hansom. Marie instructed the group, and they were managed by Lee. As they became more successful, Lee and Marie began performing with the group, and they were augmented by pop/R&B singer Judy Clay, whom Lee had unofficially adopted. Elvis Presley eventually expressed an interest in having them join his touring entourage. Dionne began singing gospel as a child at the"
"the group performed in Memphis, Tennessee while visiting to promote ABC-TV's ""Ozark Jubilee"". Before Elvis became a national success he commented to Hodge that he listened to him and his group on the radio. At that time The Foggy River Boys were the number one gospel quartet in the country. As a part of ""Ozark Jubilee"", Hodge was also on network television before Presley. During Hodge and Presley's Army service they met again in 1958 at Fort Hood, Texas. The two became friends, and the tenor singer subsequently became part of Presley's entourage, referred to as the ""Memphis Mafia."" Hodge"
"2016 film ""Elvis & Nixon"". Jerry Schilling Jerry Schilling (born February 6, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee) is a veteran music industry professional, best known for his association with Elvis Presley since 1954 (see Memphis Mafia). He managed the Beach Boys for over 10 years, Jerry Lee Lewis and Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie. Presley and Schilling met on Sunday, July 11, 1954. Schilling was only 12 years old and was invited by Red West to join him, Presley, and others in a football game. Presley was the quarterback and threw a pass at Schilling. Since it was such a good catch,"