Elvis: The Final Years

Product Information

He also wrote books and articles about exotic food, sex, travel, hula, and Hawaiian musical instruments. Also, your point is well taken, Elvis' final years were in some ways outrageous and full of excess, so it shouldn't be surprising that some of the tales sound a bit sensationalistic.

In My Brother Elvis, David Stanley shares his harrowing experiences while on the road as a 16 year old bodyguard to the King of Rock n' Roll. They may have come from a similar place and may have both been pioneers of rock and roll, but Elvis eclipsed Lewis on many levels. In the book, Hoedel described how Presley would confide in backup singer Kathy Westmoreland and said his "eyes were a constant source of pain along with other ailments.Elvis Presley's untimely death on August 16, 1977 was the end of the era for rock and roll music as the world knew it.

The singer, who made teenage girls hysterical with his movie star looks, catchy songs and gyrating pelvis during the ‘50s, was suffering from declining health in the ‘70s. Additionally, RCA required that some "new" material was performed for subsequent album considerations, so Elvis was certainly managing a multitude of details and issues. As a result, he was intimately acquainted with what happened on tour, how many prescription medications Elvis took (despite Elvis' hatred of street drugs, he took quite a few scrips and believed that if the doctors gave them to you nothing could go wrong). No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins.

Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book.

Elvis hadn’t made a movie since 1969’s Change of Habit and this was a chance for him to star opposite her in the musical remake of the Judy Garland classic, which eventually had Kris Kristofferson cast in the role. Parcourez la librairie en ligne la plus vaste au monde et commencez dès aujourd'hui votre lecture sur le Web, votre tablette, votre téléphone ou un lecteur d'e-books. In sharing this intimate account of his stepbrother, David hopes to reach those who are also suffering from addiction--some 15 million from prescription drugs in the US alone. There are resources listed at the end of the book for anyone who may be struggling with addiction and wants help.Part of the reason David Stanley wrote this book, by his own admission, was to raise awareness that prescription medication addiction is not something that happens just to the underprivileged. As recorded in Rolling Stone, the three bodyguards co-wrote a tell-all biography of Elvis that was released only days before his death. Even after his death, Elvis, the King, lives on in his music and in the memories of millions of fans. As a young man embracing both a punishing work schedule and the stresses of newfound celebrity, Elvis was under a tremendous amount of pressure.

One of the most poignant and painful scenes in the book is when an increasingly paranoid Elvis threatens David with a gun -- because David is gathering up the huge pile of medications from Elvis' bedside table and is going to dispose of them. Hoedel claimed that those who knew Presley were worried about how much physical anguish and stress he was enduring to keep up with a non-stop schedule. And even in photos you can see a shift: already at the end of 1970 (the famous family pictures) he's beginning to look worse. However, the home recording sessions of 1976 were fruitful, and seemed to inspire a burst of creativity in the King. Anytime someone mentions my name and Elvis' name in the same sentence, that's great," he told Rolling Stone.D. Sumner Jerry Schilling jewelry Joe Esposito Joe Guercio karate knew later laughed limousine Linda Thompson Lisa Marie looked loved Lowell Marty Melissa Memphis minutes months movie Nashville never Nichopoulos Nick night Nixon O'Grady Palm Springs Parker Pasetta performance pills plane played Priscilla record Red and Sonny Red West released SAN DIEGO sang says session sing sold songs Sonny West stage Star stay story studio suit T. The King’s relative, who was just a teenager when the star died in 1977, remembered: “Yes and I guess a little of all of them.