Presley Elvis - Elvis and the Memphis Mafia

In December 1970, on the night of Sonny Wests wedding, Elvis poses with his newly deputised entourage. Back row, from left, Billy Smith, former Shelby County Sheriff Bill Morris, Lamar Fike, Jerry Schilling, Sheriff Roy Nixon, Vernon Presley, Charlie Hodge, Sonny West, George Klein, Marty Lacker. Front row, from left, Dr George Nichopoulos, Elvis, Red West

lr Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike in 1996 (Tim Porco)

To the memory of Alan E. Fortas

(19361992)
My boy, my boy

Had I but servd my God with half the zeal
I servd my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.

Shakespeare, Henry VIII

From Alanna Nash

Although this book is an oral history of three people, many more contributed to it in important and significant ways.

First, I wish to express my profound gratitude to Sam Hughes and Bob Solinger of The Dickens Group literary agency, who performed Herculean feats in both selling the book and helping prepare it for publication. Without them, I wouldnt have made my deadline, and this book might not exist, or certainly not in this form.

Id also like to thank Rick Horgan, our editor at HarperCollins, who instantly recognized the merit of the project.

In its long path from inception to publication, the book took unforeseen twists and turns. In the early stages, Joyce Engelson was the most helpful with advice and support. I thank her for the many hours she generously gave me.

And while the bulk of the photographs came from the personal collection of the Memphis Mafia, we are extremely thankful to Jimmy Velvet, who contributed many more out of friendship, and to Richard Morelli, who came up with some never-before-published photos from Elviss army days. Equal thanks go to Tim Porco, who copied hundreds of these photographs for posterity.

In addition, I am deeply indebted to the following individuals: to Blanchard Tual for sharing his extensive findings on the financial relationship between Presley and Colonel Tom Parker; to Warder Harrison for research and records regarding the divorce of J. D. and Minnie Mae Presley and for compiling geneaological information; to Sheri Lacker for hours of newspaper library research; to Susan Nadler for midwifing fate and assisting in my meeting one of the books principal characters; to Ted Bridis and Ed Staats of the Associated Press for helping in the search for certain of Elviss military records; to Jennifer Page of KYGO Radio, Denver, for an important tip; to Butch Hause of the Denver Post for researching the Elvis churches; to Barbara Rice Thompson of Penthouse for digging out an old interview; to Milton Metz for the gift of an important resource book; to Jo Smith for unlocking a lot of memories in Billys head and, along with Patsy Lacker, reliving what was in many ways a painful experience; to Jim Higgins for comforting legal advice; to Judy F. May for lending her out-of-print Elvis albums and for her keen observations about Presleys acting techniques and film career; to Betty Williams, who kept the faith for nearly forty years; and to Paul Schmitt, who knows how to pull things into shape at the last minute.

Additionally, I am grateful to Brian Arnold for adapting my word processor to handle literally thousands of extra pages of transcript and text; to Diane McCall, who transcribed dozens of cassettes of taped conversation between the author and the Memphis Mafia; to Judy Harvey, who transcribed the first batch of interviews that led to a successful proposal; and to Shirley Jackson for care and feeding of the author.

I also wish to thank my parents, Allan and Emily Kay Nash, for their unyielding love and support through the years, as well as my sister, Gale Nash Snyder, and Hugh C. Wright, Jr., and Vin Morreale, Jr., all of whom helped in immeasurable personal ways.

Finally, I would like to thank the late Alan E. Fortas for suggesting me for this project and Elvis himself for being an endlessly fascinating biographical subject.

During the course of my research, I had three visits with Colonel Tom Parker in Las Vegas, where he currently lives. While Colonel made it clear he would not sit for an interview, I was journalistically concerned that he have a chance to respond to the charges leveled against him of overreaching in his handling of Elviss career.

Our visits, which included his personable wife, Loanne, were extremely cordial and enjoyable. But over eight hours of rambling conversation, Colonel conveyed what appears to be his genuine belief that he served Elvis wellthat he had nothing but affection for his client and never meant to hurt him. What he did in the line of business was just thatbusiness. Today, at eighty-five, Colonel sleeps well, he says. And he repeated what Vernon Presley publicly insisted after Elvis died: the Colonel is an honest man. He refused to comment for the book, he explained, simply because he feels no need.

From Billy Smith, Marty Lacker, and Lamar Fike

Much has been written and said about Elvis, and with the exception of a couple of books, most of it has been untrue, half-true, and confusing. Throughout the years, we have had so many people ask us what the truth was and to give them a sense of what his life was really like.

In this oral history, we hope we offer those two elements in a tasteful, balanced way. We could not have found anyone more perfect to take our words and present them to you in a more real and understanding fashion than Alanna Nash. Not only is she an accomplished author and experienced writer in the music field, she understands the entertainment industry. We thank her for the years she has spent making this book come to life. We would also like to thank Sam Hughes and Bob Solinger of The Dickens Group.

Too, we want to acknowledge the truly wonderful life experience we were fortunate to share with Elvis. The good times far outweigh the bad. This book is for the guys, especially those who were there from the early years.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge our families for their love and understanding and dedicate our portions of the book to them.

BILLY SMITH: My lovely wife, Jo; my sons, Danny and Joey; daughter-in-law, Ginger; my granddaughters, Danielle, Eden, and Stormie; and my grandsons, Rivers and Paris. And, in memory of my parents, Travis and Lorraine, and my brother, Bobby. Also, to Sarah and Woodrow Norris.

MARTY LACKER: Sheri, Angie, Marc, Brenda, Brandon, and Cody. And to Patsy for her contribution to the book and for putting up with me all those years. Also, my sister, Anne Grenadier, and in memory of my brother-in-law, Bernie Grenadier.

LAMAR FIKE: To my darling wife, Mary, and to the memory of my beloved mother, Margaret.

The flickering television images of Elvis Presleythe rough-and-ready Hillbilly Cat swiveling provocatively on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s, the lean-and-leathered god of The Singer Special of the 60s, and the grotesquely puffy, jumpsuited caricature from his last live concerts of the 70sare so ingrained in the American consciousness as almost to be snapshots from the family album.