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Quote: "Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the 20th century." (Leonard Bernstein) Quote: "If you're an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary; If you're not an Elvis fan, no explanation is possible." (George Klein) Quote: "For a dead man, Elvis Presley is awfully noisy." (Professor Gilbert B. Rodman) Quote: "History has him as this good old country boy, Elvis is about as country as Bono!" (Jerry Schilling) |
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Jerry Lee Lewis vs Elvis Presley in 1976
According to Harold Loyd, first cousin to Elvis, and the presiding guard on duty at Presley's Graceland mansion -- in the early hours of November 22, 1976, he was greeted by an unexpected visitor. Jerry Lee Lewis, accompanied by his wife, pulled up to the mansion's front gate in his new Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. He asked Loyd if he could see Elvis, but was told that the King was asleep. Lewis politely thanked Loyd and drove away without incident. Later that morning, at 9:30 a.m., Lewis flipped his Rolls while rounding the corner at Peterson Lake and Powell Road in Collierville. The police report on the incident stated that the Breathalyzer test yielded negligible results, but that Lewis was obviously tanked on something and that he was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, and driving without a license. After the infraction, says his sister Linda Gail, Lewis most likely repaired to his home to rest. Less than 12 hours later, he was holding court at The Vapors, one of his favorite Memphis nightspots. For reasons that are still debated, Lewis decided to leave the Vapors -- alone -- at about 2:30 a.m. At precisely 2:50 a.m., almost 24 hours later to the minute, he again pulled up to Graceland, this time in a new Lincoln Continental. The car wasn't the only thing that had changed from the night before. Lewis' manner on the 23rd was markedly different. He was armed, angry, and obviously inebriated -- a dangerous combination for a man mere mortals call "Killer." "He was outta his mind, man," recalls Loyd. "He was screamin', hollerin', and cussin'. `Get on the goddamn phone. I know you got an intercom system. Call up there and tell Elvis I wanna visit with him. Who the hell does he think he is? Tell him the Killer's here to see him." Loyd panicked. "I just put my hands up in the air and said, `Okay, okay, Jerry, just take it easy.'" Loyd retreated to the guard booth and picked up the house phone. One of "the boys" answered and Loyd apprised him of the situation. Loyd was advised to call the cops, and wasted no time in doing so. Moments later Presley himself rang down to the guard booth. Loyd recalls their conversation precisely. "Elvis was on the line and he said, `Wh-wh-what' -- see, he used to stutter a lot when he got upset -- `Wh-wh-what the hell's goin' on down there, Harold?' "I said, `Well, Jerry Lee Lewis is sittin' in his car down here outside the gate, wavin' a derringer pistol and raisin' hell.' "Elvis said, `Wh-wh-what's that goddamn guy want?' "[I said] `He's demanding to come up and see Elvis’.” "He said, `Oh, I-I-I don't wanna talk to that crazy sonofabitch. Hell no, I don't wanna talk to him. I'll come down there and kill him! You call the cops, Harold.' "I told him I already did and he said, `Good. When they get there tell 'em to lock his butt up and throw the goddamn key away. Okay? Thank you, Harold.'"
Officer Billy J. Kirkpatrick was the first to arrive on the scene. Though Lewis was still seated in his car, Kirkpatrick knew he was armed and approached with caution. Kirkpatrick ordered him out of the car, but Lewis would not comply. "[Kirkpatrick] had to pull him outta the car," remembers Loyd. "He told him to keep his hands on the steering wheel where he could see 'em. Jerry said he just wanted to see Elvis, but Kirkpatrick told him to shut up. Now Jerry, he had tried to hide his pistol by puttin' it in between his knee and the door. But when Kirkpatrick opened the door, the damn gun fell out onto the floorboard [laughs]. Kirkpatrick picked up the gun, and it was cocked and loaded." The police report states that on closer inspection, Kirkpatrick noticed that the front passenger window of Lewis' car was smashed in. This accounts for the deep gash on the bridge of Lewis' nose, obvious from his mugshot. According to Kirkpatrick's report, the injury was sustained "from broken glass resulting from attempting to jettison an empty champagne bottle thru [sic] the closed window of his '76 Lincoln." Kirkpatrick and four other officers took Lewis away immediately. But Loyd would receive another visitor before night's end. He explains, "When the wrecker came down and towed Jerry's car away [at approximately 4 a.m.] they hadn't much more than gotten outta sight when another car comes flyin' up the driveway and two guys got out. I recognized one of 'em as Jerry Lee's dad. "He was laughin', sayin', `Ha, ha, ha, ain't this some crap, man? I just got word that they've taken my son to jail. This guy with me here, he just got me outta the Hernando jail. I just got out, and Jerry done gone ahead.'" Sure enough, Elmo Lewis -- age 78, no less -- was arrested at 7:30 p.m. on the 21st for speeding and driving while intoxicated. He spent two nights in jail, and failed to make his court appearance scheduled for the morning of 23rd. Like father, like son, indeed. However Linda Gail (Jerry Lee's youngest sibling) interpretation of November 23rd reads quite a bit differently.
"Jerry Lee admitted to me that he had been partyin' and drinkin' and that he was a little bit out of it," Gail recalls, "but he swore his intentions were good. He's very misunderstood, you see. It's a shame really." By Linda Gail's account, it was Presley who wanted to see Jerry Lee. He was depressed and called over to the Vapors hoping that Jerry Lee would come to Graceland and keep him company. She insists that Loyd never even informed Presley of Jerry Lee's arrival, and that Jerry Lee grew belligerent only because he feared for what Presley might do if he didn't see him. "I believe, really and truly, that the people who were associated with Elvis at that time were trying to manipulate him. He was supporting all of them financially, and it was in their best interest to keep him isolated." Linda Gail continues, "Jerry really had no motive to lie. Why would he leave a place where he was havin' a perfectly good time to go down to Elvis' house and make a scene? It just doesn't make any sense. He had his whole entourage with him, and a couple of girlfriends, and they were havin' a great time. There was no reason for him to go down there other than that he was concerned for his friend." Linda Gail's voice takes on a halcyon quality when she remembers Elvis and Jerry Lee's friendship. She speaks of their mutual respect for one another, and tells stories of them riding motorcycles together and even going on double dates. "Those two guys really did love each other," she says. "I do believe my brother just wanted to check on Elvis. He went there to cheer him up and kinda bond with him again. I guess everybody over at Graceland didn't want the two of them to get together because Jerry was really havin' one big party at the time. If him and Elvis had started runnin' the roads together, can you imagine what that would have been like? It probably would have been more than Memphis could have stood." (Taken from The Memphis Flyer) Note - Elvis “mug-shot” from 1970 when he was presented with an honorary police badge. Ask EINDo you have a question about Elvis? Each week EIN receives many questions from fans around the world. A selection of questions and our answers will appear regularly in the E-Alert. Sue (Canada): Who was Elvis' first girlfriend? EIN: Hi Sue, It depends what you mean by 'first girlfriend' I guess, since we all have a different definition. A few names spring to mind .. In summer 1948 Elvis was just 13 and still lived in Tupelo. At the time his girlfriend was Caroline Ballard, with whom he went to see movies at the Strand Movie Theatre. In late 1948 the Presley's moved to Memphis. When Elvis was 15 his first girlfriend in the Lauderdale Courts was Betty McMahan, whom he is sitting next to in one of the more famous photos. He often took her to the Suzore cinema in Memphis. Billie Wardlaw, Betty's friend, also hung around with Elvis after Betty started dating someone else. There is a great quote form Billie who said, "Elvis was a great kisser, and since we were always playing spin the bottle in the dark, he didn't let his shyness get in the way"! Another early girlfriend was Dixie Locke who is sometimes labelled in documentaries as "Elvis' first girlfriend". She was with Elvis at the South Side Junior Prom in 1955 (see photo attached) and was around when Elvis and the 'Blue Moon Boys' were just starting to become regional stars. However, perhaps his most famous "first girlfriend" is June Juanico. June was from Biloxi, Mississippi, and also dated Elvis in 1955. She was 17 and it certainly was one of Elvis' most significant early relationships. They dated all summer and June became very close to Elvis' family especially his mother Gladys. She even discussed the possibility of marriage with Elvis. With Elvis on the verge of super stardom she knew that it could never work and so made up her mind to move on and not look back to something that might have been! She has written a very nice book called Elvis in the Twilight of Memory. Look here (If link doesn't work use url: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1559703938/qid=1069667999/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-5238298-1631052?v=glance&n=507846) Elvis Trivia QuestionWho wrote the book Priscilla, Elvis & Me? (Last week's answer:Sonny West is currently touring Australia) Contact EINpiers@elvisinfonet.com ...........or........... nigel@elvisinfonet.com
The EIN E-Alert is a free information service from the Elvis Information Network (EIN) for Elvis fans. If you do not wish to receive future editions of the EIN E-Alert simply reply to this message with REMOVE in the subject line
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