The Colonel (67 page)

CHAPTER 16: BLACK LEATHER BLUES: THE ’68 SPECIAL

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“I know that both of you”:
Colonel Tom Parker in letter to Hal Wallis and Joe Hazen, May 5, 1959, HWC/MPAS.

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“could very well lose”:
Colonel Tom Parker quoted by Hal Wallis in letter to Joe Hazen, September 27, 1965, HWC/MPAS.

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“Charro!
is the first movie
”: Elvis Presley quoted in Susan Doll,
The Films of Elvis Presley.

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“which have been in”:
Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by Day.

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“Would TV serve to refurbish”: TV Guide,
November 30, 1968.

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“I wanted Elvis to let the world in”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“show to depart completely from the pattern”:
Bob Finkelin in memo, quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by
Day.

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“This is what I want my boy to do”:
Colonel Tom Parker quoted by Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript,
1993.

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the genius of the Colonel:
“To me, the genius of the Colonel is that he had grown men terrorized all around him.” Steve Binder
to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“There was no blood and guts of this man left”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“You certainly knew”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“without any weak points”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“We hit it off pretty well”:
Steve Binder to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking for
Colonel Parker,
1999.

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Steve Allen had made him look silly:
In a 1997 letter to the author, Allen made it clear he did not mean to humiliate Presley, and in fact,
while Allen received much criticism for the stunt through the years, he believed it enhanced Presley’s performance. “I had personally come up with the two ideas that made Elvis look
so good that night,” he wrote, “the singing ‘Hound Dog’ to an actual dog, and the Range Roundup sketch with Andy Griffith and Imogene Coca.”

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“You make a record”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“he was not in the business as far as I was concerned”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“it was my job”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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Howe thought, “Elvis probably felt”:
Bones Howe quoted in Cronin, Isler, and Rowland, “An Oral Biography.”

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“once he had the stranglehold”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“He laughed at that”:
Steve Binder to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking for Colonel
Parker,
1999.

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“He told me he had been burning up”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“I felt very, very strongly”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“He looked amazing”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“I wanted him to be not that agreeable”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“quite well read”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“Elvis was scared to death of the Colonel’s power”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“He felt shamed”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“I think what pissed him off”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“Whenever Parker basically told me”:
Steve Binder to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking
for Colonel Parker,
1999.

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Binder said maybe Interpol:
“Because Interpol was looking for him and he - didn’t want to leave the United States for fear of
being arrested.” Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“You can’t fire me”:
Bill Strange quoted by Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“There was a day of tremendous pressures and tension”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“I’m a Jewish kid from New York”:
Billy Goldenberg quoted by Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“When Elvis heard the first note”:
This paragraph is a combination of quotes from Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM, and
Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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an overgrown sweetheart who reminded Binder:
Steve Binder to author, 1998.

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“Music was [Elvis’s] most interesting side”:
Bones Howe, quoted in Cronin, Isler, and Rowland, “An Oral
Biography.”

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“I wanted to capture”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“I’m not sure it’s . . . a good idea”:
Elvis Presley quoted in Jorgensen,
Elvis
Presley.

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“but who was really above all that”:
Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by Day.

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“That’s a hit song”:
Bones Howe to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“That was all he was interested in”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“In my last meeting with the Colonel”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“They said, ‘The Colonel’s telling us’ ”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“The Colonel just sat there staring at me”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“The string players”:
Bones Howe quoted in booklet accompanying
Elvis: From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential ’60s
Masters
(RCA Records, 1994).

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“On the outside”:
Steve Binder to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking for Colonel
Parker,
1999.

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“The only way he could set it up”:
Lamar Fike to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking for
Colonel Parker,
1999.

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“old hat in this day of the post-Beatle”:
Material on NBC press conference from
TV Guide,
November 30, 1968.

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“I have no proof to back it up”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993, supplemented with quotes from
Binder to author, 2001.

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“Every time I walked by”:
Billy Goldenberg to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“You want the blond bouffant hairdo”:
Colonel Tom Parker quoted by Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript,
1993.

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“Do you think my hair’s too black?”:
Elvis Presley quoted by Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“he sat in that makeup chair”:
Bones Howe to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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forced him to make the effort:
“Forced him to go out there as a favor to me.” Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“nobody had thought that he’d be so soaking wet”:
Bones Howe quoted in Cronin, Isler, and Rowland,
“An Oral Biography.”

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“when I really believed”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“There is something magical”:
Jon Landau,
Eye,
date unknown.

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“Diskin started a whole tirade”:
Bones Howe to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“You guys are going to have a million-dollar experience”:
Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by Day
.

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“He watched it three more times”:
Steve Binder to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking
for Colonel Parker,
1999.

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“I hear you, Elvis”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“sense of loyalty was confused”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“the look on Elvis’s face”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“they were always intercepted”:
Steve Binder to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1993.

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“There’s no limit”:
Steve Binder to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

CHAPTER 17: LAS VEGAS: GLITZ, GREED, AND RUINATION

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“I made up my mind”:
Bill Miller quoted in
Desert Sun,
May 3, 1998.

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“Elvis was a question mark”:
Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

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“Prell got money”:
Anonymous source, 2001.

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“Actually, I think I was about the third one”:
Bruce Banke to Karen Schoemer, raw interview transcript, 1997.

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“There were a lot of bad songs”:
All quotes from Chips Moman come from the author’s interview, 2001.

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“I wasn’t angry about it”:
Freddy Bienstock to author, 1997.

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“In all the years”:
Harry Jenkins quoted by Chips Moman to author, 2001.

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“The campaign that he produced was unbelievable”:
Alex Shoofey in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“I did the commercials”:
Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

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“He insisted only the word
Elvis
”:
Nick Naff in the documentary film
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“schlocky as all hell”:
Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

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“We got calls from all over the world”:
Alex Shoofey in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“The closing night of Barbra”:
Bill Miller quoted in
Desert Sun,
May 3, 1998.

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“just all over the goddammed place”:
Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

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“There were banners and flags”:
Joe Moscheo to Beverly Keel for author, 1998.

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“I don’t have to tell you”:
Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

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“a very likable guy”:
Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

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“I’ve wanted to perform on the stage again”:
Elvis Presley quoted by Ray Connolly in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis
Day by Day
.

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“helluva big stage to fill”:
Elvis Presley quoted by Charlie Hodge in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by Day
.

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“I said, ‘Would you please tell”:
Steve Binder to author, 2001.

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“We went up there”:
Bob Finkel to author, 1999.

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“He says, ‘Now tell me again’ ”:
Alex Shoofey in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“I heard”:
Gordon Stoker in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“Just look at the figures”:
Marty Lacker to author, 1994.

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“Was he trying to protect”:
Joe Delaney to author, 1997.

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“He had an open tab”:
Joe Shane to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking for Colonel
Parker,
1999.

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“He had the boy”:
Joe Shane to author, 1998.

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“[The] Colonel was one of the best customers we had”:
Alex Shoofey in Amended Report of Guardian
ad litem,
July 31,
1981.

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“I never saw anybody”:
Lamar Fike to author, 2001.

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“He’d stack ’em up all over”:
Gabe Tucker to author, 1997.

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“everything went haywire”:
Julian Aberbach to author, 1997.

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“He just wouldn’t see me”:
Joe Moscheo to Beverly Keel for author, 1998.

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“Man, I’ll put on a disguise”:
Elvis Presley quoted by Larry Geller to author, 1999.

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“damn near gorgeous”:
Lamar Fike to author, 1994.

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“Elvis loved downers”:
Lamar Fike to author, 1994.

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“I don’t want any son of a bitch”:
Elvis Presley quoted by Jerry Schilling to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“not only my manager”:
Elvis Presley quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by Day
.

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“One of the things Jerry said”:
John Denver to author, 1991.

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“He wanted us to pay”:
Steve Wolf to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“Jerry was very well connected”:
Joe Delaney to author, 1997.

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“Jerry had to go out and bust his butt”:
Joe Shane to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary
Looking for Colonel Parker,
1999.

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“who made Elvis what he is today”:
Colonel Tom Parker in telegram to Jerry Weintraub, October 12, 1970 quoted in
Guernsey’s
Official Auction Catalogue
.

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“He would have it all mapped out”:
Gaylen Adams to author, 1998.

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“the rest of the auditorium”:
Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Jerry Hopkins, unpublished magazine article, JHC/UM.

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“He made life rough”:
Kathy Westmoreland to author, 1997.

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“Remember,” he concluded:
Colonel Tom Parker in letter to Elvis Presley, quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by
Day
.

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“you especially had to be careful”:
Billy Smith to author, 1993.

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“I would love to meet you”:
Elvis Presley in letter to Richard M. Nixon, reproduced in Worth and Tamerius,
Elvis
.

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“his most prized physical possession”:
Jerry Schilling to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“The Colonel said”:
Henri Lewin to Jerry Hopkins, JHC/UM.

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“it was great”:
Jerry Schilling in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“Elvis was mad”:
Lamar Fike in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“drawn, tired, and noticeably heavier”: The Hollywood Reporter
quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen,
Elvis Day by Day
.

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“He didn’t have breathing room”:
Alex Shoofey in the documentary
Mr. Rock & Roll,
1999.

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“Nobody goes to Vegas”:
Lamar Fike to author, 1993.

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“I was there”:
Henri Lewin quoted in
Las Vegas Style,
1994.

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“[Elvis] wanted to take all of his troupe with him”:
Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Woody Baird, “Couldn’t Have Saved
Elvis, Manager Says,”
Tennessean,
December 7, 1990.

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lately hearing rumors of cocaine use:
Informant report, FBI file, January 31, 1974.

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“Clearances needed on songs”:
Colonel Tom Parker’s private notes, pictured in
Elvis: The Official Auction
Catalogue
on Guernsey’s Web site (www.guernsey’s.com) [no longer available].

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“RCA makes contracts with talent or do we?”:
Colonel Tom Parker in private notes, quoted in Guernsey’s
Official
Auction Catalogue
.

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“He was a big friend of mine”:
Mel Ilberman to author, 1998.

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“a brilliant move”:
Joe Galante to author, 1998.

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“We finally demanded”:
Tony Brown to author, 1998.

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“There were a lot of things”:
Lamar Fike to author, 1993.

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“People talk about the fifty percent”:
Joe Shane to author, 1998.