Presley Elvis - Fit for a king: the Elvis Presley cookbook

FIT
FOR A
KING
THE ELVIS PRESLEY COOKBOOK FIT
FOR A
KING
THE ELVIS PRESLEY COOKBOOK Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gevirtz & Julie Bandy 1992 Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gervitz, and Julie Bandy All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@thomasnelson.com.

Fit for a King is a trademark owned by Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gervitz, and Julie Bandy. All right reserved. Photograph on front cover from the Popular Culture Archive and reprinted by permission. Text photographs are from the Linda Everett Private Collection. All right reserved. Reprinted by permission.

Every effort has been made to locate current copyright holders of material reproduced or quoted in this book. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint excerpts from the following: From Elvis World by Jane and Michael Stern. 1987 by Jane and Michael Stern. Reprinted by permission by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1990 by Caroline Latham and Jeanne Sakol, text and illustrations. 1990 by Caroline Latham and Jeanne Sakol, text and illustrations.

Used by permission of New American Library, a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc. All Shook Up Elvis Day-by-Day 1954-1977 by Lee Cotton. 1985. Published by Pierian Press. Reprinted by permission. Mystery Train: Images of Rock 'n' Roll Music by Greil Marcus. 1975 E. P. P.

Dutton and Company, Inc. Page 226. Typography by D&T/Bailey, Nashville, Tennessee
Design by Harriette Bateman Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data on file with the Library of Congress. McKeon, Elizabeth, 1962
Fit for a King : The Elvis Presley cookbook / Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gervitz & Julie Bandy.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-55853-196-3
1. Cookery, AmericanSouther Style. 2.

Presley, Elvis, 1935-1977. I. Gervitz, Ralph, 1958- .
II. Bandy, Julie, 1956- III. Title.
TX715.2.S68M34 1992
641.5975dc20 92-25266
CIP Printed in the United States of America 07 08 09 10 11 14 13 12 11 * ELVIS taking time out to read a fan magazine ACKNOWLEDGMENTS W hen one thinks about Elvis Presley, one doesn't necessarily think about cooking or, for that matter, a cookbook. We didn't either at first.

The concept for this cookbook came about when we thought about Elvis Presley and where he chose to live. But undertaking this book involved more than we anticipated, and we would like to thank the many people who helped us through the project: Harriet Stockanes, our permissions editor, who got the ball rolling for us; C. Barry Ward, attorney for the Presley Estate, who gave us the final go-ahead; Jaques Dulin, whose patience and confidence in us was never less than 100 percent; Irene Maleti, president of the "King of Our Hearts Elvis Presley Fan Club," and her husband, Sam, for pointing us in the right direction; a very special thank you to Linda Everett, who opened her photo albums of Elvis and shared the many treasures hidden inside; Alvena Roy for sharing her recipes and memories of Elvis; and Carol and Trudy for getting us past the finish line. We would also like to thank our many friends who encouraged us every step of the way, especially Anne, who gave us the idea for the title; and Jon, for his patience during those many late night phone calls about the manuscript and his help with the index; Bernie, Lewis, Charlie, and Debbie, who were there from the beginning; Richard, Margaret, Dorre, and Meiko, who stood by with support during the many months of editing and rewriting. And the greatest thank you to our families, especially Ronnie and Bonnie for their special loving, listening, and support; Treva and Joretta for their unconditional support; Stephen, Kathy, and Mike for being the best a sister could ever have; a big thank you to Madeleine and Molly, who have been extremely good to us the past two years; and to our parents, who taught us to take a chance and gave us the support and love to do so. A special thank you to Ron Pitkin, his wife, Julie, and Larry Stone at Rutledge Hill Press for their patience and helpful guidance in getting this book off the ground and believing in our idea from the start.

And lastly to Elvis, for giving us over thirty years of magic. And to his many fans who continue to keep that magic alive. Thanks to you all! CONTENTS * ADMIRING a guitar shaped birthday cake at Graceland ELVIS PRESLEY I n keeping with the traditions of the American Dream, it is no surprise that Elvis Aron Presley was born into poverty on January 8, 1935, in East Tupelo, Mississippi. Remembering those hard times, Elvis made a promise to his mother that when he grew up they would never be poor again. What followed was a series of events that undoubtedly helped him to keep that promise. The first was his exposure to music at a young age while attending church.

The second was a $ 12.95 guitar he received as a gift. And the third was when he moved with his mother and father to Memphis, Tennessee. While attending L.C. Humes high school, Elvis made plenty of friends. His polite, shy country ways also earned him the respect of his teachers. It was this charm that would continue into his days as one of the world's most influential entertainers.

Elvis helped to support his family by working a variety of odd jobs, including as a truck driver and movie usher. With his busy schedule, he still found the time to sing in the school's annual Christmas concert. In July of 1953, he walked into the Memphis Recording Studio and recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartache Begins." It was to be a birthday gift for his mother, Gladys. The owner of the studio, Sam Phillips, had Elvis come back to record "Casual Love Affair" and "I'll Never Stand in Your Way." It was now apparent that the many hours Elvis had spent in front of the radio, mimicking the songs he heard, was about to pay off. As one critic would later say, "Elvis has set the music world afire." In the summer of 1954 Elvis linked up with Scotty Moore and Bill Black, forming a group called The Blue Moon Boys. They performed at county fairs and local clubs.

For the first time, Elvis was making money from his unique style of music. Eventually Elvis met up with Colonel Tom Parker, who became his lifelong manager. It was the Colonel who exposed Elvis's unique talents to the world. In November 1955, the Colonel negotiated a deal with RCA to buy Elvis's contract from Sun Records. In January of 1956, "Heartbreak Hotel" hit the airwaves followed by "Blue Suede Shoes." The more public Elvis became, the more his fans screamed for him. There were also the loud outcries warning of Elvis's "bad influence" on the nation's youth by civic leaders and various church groups.

But Elvis's fans increased with such rapidly growing numbers that in 1956 Variety magazine crowned him the "King of Rock and Roll." The next step for Elvis was television. From the first time he appeared in living rooms across the nation, his popularity soared. From there, Hollywood beckoned, and Elvis jumped to the big screen. Elvis's first film,