Elvis Presley’s influence on music lives on to this day but his personal life and relationship have been as well-publicised as his impact on rock ’n’ roll. Having begun his music career in 1954, recording at the now legendary Sun Records, he soon earned himself a place in musical history, as well as his nickname: the King. But as much success Presley achieved, he also faced the daunting task of living his life under the microscope as one of the biggest celebrities of all time.
Those close to the Love Me Tender hitmaker have spoken extensively about his struggle with drug abuse, his longstanding relationship and reliance on prescription medication.
Presley sadly died at the age of 42 on August 16, 1977.
He was found unconscious on the floor of his bathroom at Graceland before being rushed to hospital, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
The singer’s cause of death was attributed to a cardiac arrest, but it is now widely believed his history of drug use contributed to the cardiac incident which killed him.
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Todd Slaughter, who has been president of the largest Presley fan club in the world for 50 years and met the King in the last footage taken of him before his death, opened up about the star’s struggle with fame.
Speaking about the first — and only — meeting Presley had with The Beatles, Slaughter suggested the Fab Four might have been somewhat underwhelmed when they met their idol only to discover he was human.
“Maybe be they expected Elvis to be eight foot tall with an aurora around his head,” he said. “Of course, Elvis wasn’t that sort of person.
“Some showbusiness people are always on stage; Elvis wasn’t.”
Slaughter also addressed the people who surrounded Presley during the latter years of his life when his health was said to be in sharp decline.
“Over the years I spoke to many of the musicians,” he said, revealing he had asked several of the musicians who worked with Presley over the years if they hadn’t noticed his health deteriorating and why they hadn’t done something about it.
“The answer was, ‘We were that stoned at the time, we didn’t know where we were.’”
Elsewhere, the documentary Elvis: That’s The Way It Is is set to be re-released 50 years after it originally came out.
The film, which celebrates the star’s summer festival in Las Vegas was scheduled to arrive in cinemas this month but has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“It is a remarkable film,” Slaughter said. “It shows Elvis at the height of his career, looking incredible, performing wonderful material, a good proportion of which was written by British songwriters.
“We’d all been inspired by the ’68 Special and the success that that achieved and we were all then aware of the fact that once Elvis had got a taste of live entertainment he would want more.
“The Colonel [Parker] did this deal with Las Vegas for his new hotel, the International Hotel, which subsequently became the Hilton, for Elvis not to open, because I think they had Barbara Streisand first, but to actually be the headline act in Vegas,” he explained.
“Elvis’ appearance in Vegas sort of set Vegas alight again.”
Elvis: That’s The Way It Is is re-released in cinemas August 13 and celebrates 85 years of the King and 50 years since the films original release.
Due to the current situation with the coronavirus outbreak, it’s not yet known when tickets will go on sale. Updates will be shared at http://elvisthatsthewayitis.com/.
