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Elvis and "The Book"
"He [Elvis] was devastated. He was convinced this book would destroy his whole life. And in a way, I really believe it did.
Weeks prior to Elvis's death in August of 1977, a paperback book titled Elvis: What Happened? was released by Random House publishers. It was authored by a tabloid journalist named Steve Dunleavy based on interviews with former fellow "Memphis Mafia" members Red West, his younger cousin Sonny West and one of Elvis's karate instructors, Dave Hebler. The three bodyguards were unceremoniously fired in mid-1976, but instead of lying low until the situation resolved itself, they made a terrible, drastic decision that shattered Elvis's world and created the greatest devastating upheaval in his personal life since the passing of his beloved mother. The book would become a blockbuster, one of the best-selling paperbacks of all time. It's timing couldn't have been better, or worse, depending on which end of the gun barrel you were on. Red West and Elvis were very, very close. They were from the same part of Memphis and went to the same school together. The incident that cemented them forever happened during their days at Humes High School, when Red thwarted a group of bullies from beating up on Elvis. From then on, they were thick as thieves. Red eventually took on the role of protecting Elvis with his life until the day they parted company, over twenty years later. Red was there from the beginning, his sincerity proven by the fact that he befriended Elvis long before he was a star. Red was one of the few of us who knew his mother, Gladys. Elvis and Red were very tight. There's no question about it. In a way, they were brothers. They loved like each other like brothers, and on more than one occasion, they clashed like brothers. Personally, I had no problem with Red. In those days we all basically put aside whatever personality differences we may have had with one another for the sake of getting along and enjoying the exclusive bond we shared as members of Elvis's entourage. Actually, Red had some showbiz talents of his own. At the time he was gaining exposure as a stuntman, actor, and later, acting coach (He eventually opened his own school.), a field he has excelled in over the years. Red was also an unlikely but very apt songwriter. He wrote some very fine tunes that Elvis recorded including "If You Think I Don't Need You", "Separate Ways", "If Every Day Was Like Christmas" and "Seeing Is Believing". Red was somewhat of a paradox; tough as nails but with the heart of a poet. To the outside world, he was tough. But he had to be in order to shoulder the responsibilities he had to shoulder for Elvis. And let's face it, if he hadn't kicked the hell out of those bullies that day at Humes, he might never have bonded with Elvis the way he had in the first place! Overall, I would say Red was a good guy during the years I worked with him, despite his short fuse. The first time I became aware of this "short fuse" of his was the day I met him in Bad Nauheim, Germany, near where Elvis and I were stationed in the Army. Elvis flew him over from Memphis to be around and have fun with during his time off duty. I was sitting at a table in the local pub talking with some of my fellow servicemen when all of a sudden this fight breaks out behind me. Before I knew what was happening, Red West is beatin' the hell out of some guy at the bar. To this day, I don't know what that poor guy said or did, but Red knocked the hell out of him Perhaps it was an omen. Elvis eventually had to ask Red to return home to Memphis because the Army was giving him hell about these skirmishes his buddy, Mr. West, was having with the locals. Ironically, history would repeat itself about sixteen years later when Elvis's father, Vernon, actually fired Red and his cousin, Sonny, claiming it was because of some costly lawsuits leveled against Elvis that involved fights they had instigated. Now, every one of us who had ever worked for Elvis had been fired at least once. It was something that was inevitable if you were around him for any period of time. But we also knew, one way or the other, sooner or later you would be asked to come back. So for the life of me I could never understand, until this day, why Red and Sonny turned against Elvis the way they did. Scorned, they retaliated by aligning themselves with a sensationalist writer and began work on an explosive "tell all" expose of Elvis's personal life, his faults, bad habits and temper tantrums. To be fair, they also covered a lot of the good times as well: Elvis's generosity, his immense talent, his love affair with his fans, etc. The main purpose of the book however, was to return fire and blow the lid off the Presley myth. But why was this even happening? Didn't they realize their being fired was likely only temporary? They were let go in July of 1976, and within six months we were reading sample chapters of this book eventually known as Elvis, What Happened? Well, I'll tell you "what happened"..... As Elvis poured over the pages, reading the most salacious things he could ever imagine anyone saying about him, he became ashen. He was devastated. He was convinced this book would destroy his whole life. And in a way, I really believe it did. After the contents of that book were revealed to Elvis, I believe a large part of his spirit just gave up. He lost his will to fight. On stage, he was always singing the lyric, "Lord, this time you gave me a mountain...I may never climb. Although I never voiced my fears to a soul at the time, inside I had a terrible feeling this might be that mountain We would like to thank you for taking the time to read this excerpt of our new book ELVIS STRAIGHT UP! ELVIS STRAIGHT UP! Is available for purchase online today at www.elvisstraightup.com or you may call 702-430-9867 to order by phone. (Not Sold In Stores) Originating Source: Houston Chronicle / ELVIS EXPRESS RADIO |
02.06.2007, 18:22
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Das muss Joe sein.
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Das ist aus Elvis straight up by Joe Esposito.Sein neues Buch.
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Wäre interessant zu erfahren, wie die Wests heute darüber denken. Sonny scheint es zumindest keine Ruhe gelassen zu haben, so daß er nach so langer Zeit nochmal ein Buch herausgebracht hat!
Man sollte es vielleicht auch lesen. |
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Das Buch habe ich aber noch keine zeit gehabt zum lesen.Red hat noch nicht lange her gesagt (in ein radio-interview bei Georg Klein) das er es besser nicht geschrieben hätte.Aber nur weil er nach 30 Jahre noch immer deswegen von fans beschimpftwird.
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Mein bißchen Englisch aus der Volkshochschule reicht zwar noch nicht allzuweit, aber ich werde mich bemühen - das Thema, auch die Forumsdiskussion ist eben interessant, Rev.Gerhard.
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Zitat:
Es entspricht ja irgendwo Reds Charakter, der auch oben beschrieben wird: Wenn man ihn ärgert, dann schlägt er ohne zu überlegen zu! Aus solch einem Affekt ist auch das Buch erschienen, er war verletzt, zutiefst enttäuscht, dafür wollte er sich rächen. Ich finde es schon sehr aussagekräftig, wenn Joe meint, dass Elvis wirklich befürchtete, dass dieses Buch seine Karriere entgültig zerstören würde. Dieses Buch hat Elvis sehr unter Druck gesetzt. Natürlich hat es ihn nicht in denTod getrieben,das ist eine Verkürzung, die albern wäre.
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