Customer Reviews

Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's no wonder Elvis called what the Memphis Mafia did 'the worst betrayal.' Men who supposedly cared for him turned against him and the contents of this book are unbelievable or perhaps in-credible. A reader learns so much about Elvis that he/she is left in a state of shock. and not only that, but the reader is left confused.
Here is the private Elvis none of us knew. Lisa Marie even credits the Memphis Mafia for raking her father's reputation over the coals for the past thirty years and it's true. This book is a compilation of years of interviews by men who were with Elvis at every given hour of the day. The book shows a side of Elvis who tried to be in control but couldn't be his own person, was volatile, expressed his anger, fears, and tears. It showed his likes, dislikes, deepest desires, hopes, dreams, emotions, and even his weaknesses. In other words, we see Elvis as a human. It's obvious in this book as well as others I have read, that Elvis' life was never HIS. Still, though he surrounded himself with these men who were to protect him, he kept a private part of himself from even his closest friends, and his mafia.
Billy Smith, Elvis' first cousin, was far more sympathetic in his revelations than Lamar Fike and Marty Lacker, and it was good that where Fike and Lacker's details were either sketchy or in half truth and sometimes untrue, Billy elaborated on the truth about the real Elvis we all know and love.
To think that Colonel Parker who took 50% of his earnings at one point! To Elvis, I say, Mister Presley, I would have been mad too.' If you are an enemy of Elvis, you will enjoy this book, but if you are a die-hard Elvis fan like myself, you will be offended. The book is in many ways is heartbreaking. Elvis led a sad life and, it left me wondering: Yes, these men perhaps loved Elvis, but sometimes isn't it better to leave the past in the past and let Elvis' life remain the icon that he is (with a bit of mystery that adds to his mystique. Why not let him have his dignity, and let him Rest In Peace?

Alanna Nash let the tape roll on three members of the "Memphis Mafia," the coterie of friends and relations that were closest to the King of Rock n Roll. There are a number of other recollections from family and friends as well, which blows the lid off the real life of Elvis, and what he turned into.

The stories seem a bit disjointed as the boys think back, but Nash has done well to assemble them and take us through a timeline of Elvis' early life, his career false starts, the rocket ride to superstardom and the tragic crash landing.

Elvis was indeed a talent, a great singer and performer and was indeed one of the pioneers of rock. Unfortunately he was also all too human; a small town Mississippi boy who never got rid of some of his prejudices, his love of southern food (and its odd combinations), his spiritual quest, and his descent into drug abuse.

Elvis like many great artists was an addictive personality--when he was into something, he threw himself into it, good and bad. The insiders followed Elvis through his varied vices (many wondering how they lived through it), and all the other things.

There were indeed moments of great generosity and giving, but Elvis could also be notoriously mean, controlling, and violent. His shooting out televisions was nothing, as readers will find.

Priscilla does not come off well; she is depicted as an ambitious, conniving creature who cared little for Elvis, but lusted after his money and anything else she could get out of him. Many relatives sponged off him, too, as did Colonel Tom Parker, the manager who enriched himself with what seems to be little caring for Presley's addictions and downward spiral.

The highs and lows are all here; believe it or not, the stories tend to ring true of many who achieve stardom and are not ready to deal with it.

Why any author would take the time to commit the moronic insights of these men about the most complex of people onto paper, is beyond me. Hey guess what everyone, Elvis abused drugs. I have now encapsulated this novel in one sentence. Why did it take Nash nearly 1000 pages? Every story is as boring as it could be and then it ends in Elvis using drugs. For those of you who have never walked past a checkout stand in the last 25 years I guess this is sensational. It is some kind of endless diary more than a novel. *Elvis went to the movies, ate a whole pizza then went home and did drugs.* Elvis lost his temper because the lowlifes around him were stealing everything they could get their hands on.* Elvis cheated on his wife with every foxy star and starlet that could get their hands on him . . . Other than Bily Smith, who should've never associated himself with this book considering how good Elvis was to him and his whole dirt scratching family, the contributors of this book were the people Elvis abused the most. Marty Lacker was the class bafoon at Humes and Lamar was Elvis' human toilet for 20 years. They never miss an opportunity to pay "The Boss" back with tales from the toilet. Without Elvis these guys are a bunch of dung shovelers and this book is nothing but road kill. Fortunately the real Elvis has finally been chronicled this year in the novel AROUND ELVIS by fan club president Thorne Peters.

This book was disappointing for many reasons.

Firstly, people must understand that the three principals involved in this book have a momentous preconception that because they came from the same place and time as Elvis, that they are the same as Elvis. Yet they are forgetting the simple fact of how different Elvis actually was to everybody else at that time and in that world.

I have personally had communications (on several occasions) with Marty Lacker, and I can confidently surmise that he (and the others) were very misdirected about the meanings of Elvis's thoughts, dreams and needs. After reading this book, I am even more confident that the entire Memphis Mafia hardly knew the real Elvis.

This was supposed to be a book about their life with Elvis. It turned out to be a mish-mash of conflicting statements made by a bunch of men (probably in a bar), that can hardly remember where they lived or even who was there. Events that they conveniently do remember (without doubt) are in direct conflict with previously published information that is supported by a variety of official sources and government records. These three men have used this book as a tool to create conjecture in many areas that can still be open to misinterpretation even by eye witnesses. The truth is only Gladys Presley really knew Elvis. All others are left to guess what it all meant!

The majority of this book is dedicated to failing memories of events that occurred, often without the three principals even being present. Yet these are "facts"?

Inconsistent, incoherent ramblings of mere witnesses to a life which even they had no capacity to understand - just because your in the group doesn't mean you know what is going on in the leader's mind. Elvis was the greatest human nucleus of our (or any) time, and these men were simply insignificant particles of meat orbiting around him.

There were no "revelations" in this book.

Oh That Old saying : "MONEY TALKS" ! No wonder Elvis just wanted to be loved, and felt people loved him for his money and his name, and just for whatever anyone could get from him ! Isn't it funny how when Elvis was alive, not one of his so called "friends", would cut him up, They were afraid the $'s would stop. Sonnie and Red only wrote there book on all Elvis dirt for the $'s, because they were fired, and needed a buck ! And anyone who would have stopped getting everything from Elvis would do the same, for a dollar. Elvis always felt everyone was around him for his name and his money, not for who he really was as a person, and oh how right he was. I think it's so sad.........to love anyone for money, and not for there heart, and the person they are. With "friends" like this, Elvis sure did'nt need enemies. I sure don't know how these people sleep at night------Oh ya.........I know............IT's FOR THE MONEY !!!!!!!! Dina

This book is 792 pages long so it takes awhile to read but it is well worth the long read! any Elvis fan will find this book very interesting. the guys tells us all about Elvis from the day he was born to the very end. the guys tell us how Elvis really felt about the people in his life such as Priscilla'Ginger and most of the other women as well. we also learn many things about the Presley family and how Elvis felt about them. you will read all about the drugs and how out of it he was the last few years. you will read about how Elvis never took a bath the last years of his life but would wash his hair and brush his teeth only. this was all due to the drug use and you will learn just how bad it got before the end. this book is filled with story after story about About Elvis and all the people that were a part of his life for so long. it is a great read for all fans.

The re-issue of Alanna Nash's superb oral biography is long overdue. Justifiably acclaimed as one of the best ever books published about Elvis, the 792 page tome presents the recollections, views and emotions of three prominent members of the Memphis Mafia: Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike.

Regardless of the tension sometimes inherent in the differing views presented in Elvis and the Memphis Mafia, it is always engrossing and continually offers us gold nuggets of information which add immeasurably to our understanding of the man who was Elvis Aaron Presley.

There is also great poignancy and sincerity in Elvis and the Memphis Mafia, and the reader's emotions will often flow from joy to laughter to anger and sadness. Such is the wonderful and illuminating way in which Alanna Nash has captured and presented her potent narrative.

I have interviwed all the writers of this book & this short review cannot do justice. Look at the Elvis Info Net website for all the Interviews relevant to this book, which should help you decide.

It is a moving & emotional read. Essential to help real Elvis fans understand his life - Piers EIN.

I've been an Elvis fan for thirty-five years, and I've read many nooks about the man, but this one, hands down, is the best! Before reading this book I thought I knew Elvis. I place emphasis on the word "thought."

This book contains the recollections of three Memphis Mafia members: Marty Lacker, Lamar Fike, and Billy Smith, who was Elvis' cousin. One chapter also contains rememberances from Billy's wife, Jo Smith.

Without going into too much detail, all I can say is that this book taught me more about Elvis than I could ever hope to know. The book runs the gambit of emotions. It is exciting, often hilarious, sometimes frustrating, and ultimately very sad. I have no doubt that these men loved Elvis, and I didn't walk away from the book with the impression that they were in it just for the money.

These men spent more than twenty years with a living legend, and indeed, they have a story to tell. Some of their recollations are hazy, and some are crystal clear. And on a few occasions the guys even disagree with one another, and end up trading insults and funny one-liners. In other words, this is what it would sound like if these guys were in your living room talking about Elvis.

By the end of the book I felt very sorry for Elvis, but also angry at him for not taking more control of his life. These three men have the utmost contempt for Colonel Parker and Priscilla, and not much love is lost for Vernon and Dr. Nick either. In fact, at one time or another, almost every major player in Elvis' life is critisized for furthering his agenda at Elvis' expense. Sadly, this is porbably all too true.

Presley's life was a struggle from the day he was born until he died forty-two years later. He lived the American dream and watched that dream turn into a nightmare. In reading this book, I felt as though I was there with him every step of the way!

Quote a review of this book from 2003: "Inconsistent, incoherent ramblings of mere witnesses to a life which even they had no capacity to understand - just because your in the group doesn't mean you know what is going on in the leader's mind"

You know, as I read these negative reviews of this and other books on Elvis authored by people related to him and/or employed by him, who actually KNEW him on a personal level, these negative reviews come off the same: "Thats NOT the real Elvis! They know nothing of Elvis!". I cant help but think, "Oh, and YOU do?" I mean, for goodness sake, these people only worked for and WITH Elvis, they slept, drank (well, maybe not drank as Elvis didnt care for alcoholic beverages), ate with him, traveled with him, lived with him (God, how much I would've LOVED to have lived at Graceland all those years when he was still alive! What Elvis fan doesn't?), and played with him, etc, 24/7 till the day he died.

Their memories and recollections may be hazy, and may occasionally contradict each other, but I think that can be blamed on the passage of time. I cant even begin to recall with complete accuracy who I talked to about what last week, much less several decades ago. So we're lucky to be told what they do remember. Sometimes the Memphis Mafia guys were misled. In one hilarious instance in this book, one of the Memphis Mafia members recalls something or other about Elvis, something Elvis told him, only to be contradicted by one of the others, making the guy realize that he was lied to by Elvis and still believed that lie all these years, even after his death. They may made a mistake or two in their recollections, but its not out of animosity. Instead, its just common honest mistakes (that is IF there are any mistakes in the book). But again, they were THERE. They were the proverbial fly on the wall during most of Elvis' waking moments. So obviously they can definitely speak with authority as to what Elvis thought, felt, and wanted. A greater authority than what you and I can claim (in my case, WISH I could claim).

I never met Elvis, I'm sorry to say (never saw him personally in concert too, unless you count the concert movie/video footage of him I've seen). I was all of 8 years old when he died in August 1977 and grew up in the 70s and 1980s watching his movies on tv. So I have to make do learning all about him by reading all these many books by people who did indeed know him on a very personal level. You get a much more well rounded picture of Elvis once you read alot of these books instead of just one or two. Though I do sometimes get tired of the "I was Elvis' most favorite and trusted person in the whole wide world and everybody else was a leech" theme that is contained in some of these books.

As much as I have learned about Elvis from these books, I know it is still not the same as having known him personally. So its for that reason I would hesitate to call myself a better authority on Elvis than those few VERY LUCKY people (relatives, employees, love interests, and close personal friends) who were a part of his inner circle, a part of his life, and proudly so.

Long live the King.

This book was originally released in the mid-90's as "Revelations from the Memphis Mafia". I'm a huge Elvis fan but am not scared to read the darker side events of his life either. Some people want to white wash his image but to me I love the man along with the legend and if you truly love a person you'll accept them for all faults, not just the good times.

Anyway, Alana Nash does a good job of presenting the stories in chronological order. I like how Billy Smith was able to fill in the early years with Lacker and Fike providing a great insight to the later ones. I was sad to read about his state right after the Aloha show and what Joe Esposito did to him by suing him over the loss of money concerning the raquetball courts. I met Esposito at an Elvis event in '96 and he didn't deny the events but also said that whole book "was crap", so go figure. There are two sides in the Elvis world; the Graceland corporate side and the real side. The corporate side is the money side. It's the side that houses the likes of Jerry Schilling, Esposito, Priscilla etc. that looks to protect Elvis' image for marketing purposes. Then there's the real side that isn't afraid to let the facts be known about what was really going on. That crowd has been cast out of the inner circle and no longer allowed within any of the EPE confines. This is where you'll find these guys. Elvis was a real human being with many faults like each and every one of us but he was also an amazing talent that his fans want to know everything about.

There are things that are disturbing to read but at the same time events that are awesome to learn that have been withheld for many years. This is not a "dish the dirt" storybook as many people will say. It recalls the stories as they are told by the people who lived through it. Remember too that Priscilla did plenty of dirt dishing in "Elvis and Me" but all of a sudden that seems forgotten about. Never heard again how he "raped" her in the Vegas hotel room. Time heals wounds sometimes but it doesn't erase pages. READ THIS BOOK !!!