 With Marty Lacker,
Esposito served as best men at Elvis and Priscilla's wedding on
May 1 1968
. As a member of the Memphis
Mafia he drove Priscilla to the hospital the day, Lisa Marie was born.
And it was Joe who told Priscilla the tragic news that Elvis had died.
Since Elvis' death Esposito worked as road manager for the Bee Gees, and
today he owns a
Los Angeles
limousine business.
Hi Lea,
Looks like your website is doing great. Keep up the good work. Please
correct this story:
I was not the one to drive Priscilla and EP to the hospital to
have Lisa Marie. It was Jerry Schilling and Charlie Hodge. I flew in
from
California
a couple of
hours later.
Over the years, Joe has often been asked to verify many controversies
surrounding the sightings and still alive rumours.
WHAT
WOULD ELVIS BE DOING IF WERE STILL ALIVE?
He would have liked to
go back in to movie business. He wanted to do better films, some action
movies, and maybe even direct. As far as his recording career, I think
he would have gone back to his roots and recorded more country and
gospel songs. But he always loved rock and roll music the most.
WHAT SORT OF THINGS SCARED ELVIS? Elvis wasn't scared of much. At one stage he was afraid of flying. Elvis
was very impatient so he eventually had to commute by plane. He never
feared dying. He believed he'd go went God willed it.
WHAT WERE SOME OTHER
MOVIE ROLES ELVIS TURNED DOWN? We all know he turned down the lead in A Star in Born, because the
Colonel didn't think it a role right for Elvis' image. The other movie
was Being There. The producer wanted Elvis. It eventually starred Peter
Sellers. Ironically it was his last role.
ELVIS STRAIGHT UP!
by Joe Esposito - I first met Elvis Presley in the Army in 1958 and began working for him soon after we were both released from the service in 1960. Literally, until the day he died seventeen years later, my life and the exciting world he lived within became my existence. It was a wild, crazy ride. And despite some very tense periods, I loved every minute of it!
Over the past thirty years, I have been asked by fans around the world countless questions about him. There doesn't seem to be one detail about the man that people aren't interested in. Over the years, I have been as forthright with my answers as I can. During the years immediately after his death, I grappled over how to answer some of the more difficult questions being asked about Elvis's life, and I came to the decision that telling the truth works best.
I was with Elvis for seventeen years. That's a long time, and being with Elvis was no 9 to 5 job. Elvis's demanding lifestyle meant you had to be available 24/7. He was a handful. You never knew from one day to the next what adventure he would call upon us to explore with him, or what insane lengths we might have to go to fulfill one of his outlandish desires or elaborate requests. So much was happening so fast during those years. Elvis was always on the go that it's sometimes hard to pair events with the eras they took place. I have tried in the past to assemble my memories into a book, but it really is an unrealistic expectation. How could I possibly squeeze seventeen years of experiences with Elvis Presley into two or three hundred pages? Well, you can't. However, the dilemma inspired the "Elvis-Straight Up" series. A series affords a lot more freedom to elaborate on a wider variety of stories, and in far greater detail than ever before.
I am thrilled to be working with noted writer and Elvis historian, Joe Russo. Russo has an uncanny ability to recapture the thrill and intensity of living with Elvis most vividly. Being involved in entertainment he has some insight into the business and the personalities involved. He has been helping me explore the details of my years with Elvis from my memory for fans to enjoy.
Joe Russo's project has no agenda other than telling the plain truth. No axe to grind. No ulterior motive. No score to settle. I held nothing back this time. What this collaboration has created is a balanced, thoughtful and heartfelt account of life with Elvis Presley. Elvis possessed a very special magic and power, not only as a performer, but also as a human being as well. As a performer, there simply has never been an equal. Nobody has what he had. It's that simple. He was the only entertainer in the world who could move and inspire people. Once he "touched" you, that was it. You were hooked for life.
And as a human being? As long as I live, I know I will never see anyone have such a profound effect on people. He could make anyone, and I mean anyone, feel like he was the most important person in the world just by talking with him. He had charisma and charm that is just indescribable.. and he didn't even have to sing! When Elvis entered a room, you could feel the energy of his presence tingle at your nerves because the power of his magnetism was that intense.. and Elvis was just as perplexed by this phenomenon as you or I. He was a humble man but keenly aware of his unique gifts and spent most of his life searching the spirituality clues why he was chosen to be "Elvis Presley". Over and over throughout his life he asked himself, Why me? Since his death have asked myself the same question, "why me?" and why, of all the people Elvis met in the service, did he pay special attention to me? In fact, why was I even in the Army? Did destiny lead me into the Army for the sole purpose of meeting Elvis Presley? Why was I selected to become "right hand man to one of the most celebrated entertainer in history, and to be chosen by Elvis Presley as a best man at his wedding?
If only a portion of how larger than life Elvis was, or how incredible a time I had being with him is conveyed to fans by my recollection , it may also bring me closer to answering that question for myself... "Why me?
ELVIS & "THE BOOK": 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 Memphis Mafia" members Red West, his cousin Sonny West and Elvis's karate instructors, Dave Hebler. The three bodyguards were unceremoniously fired in mid-1976, made a
terrible decision that would 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 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.
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 very apt songwriter. The songs that 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 for Elvis. And if he hadn't kicked the hell out of those bullies that day at Humes, he might never have bonded with Elvis 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 his "short fuse" of his was the day I met him in Bad Nauheim, Germany, where Elvis and I were stationed in the Army. Elvis flew him from Memphis to be around and have fun with during his time off duty. I was at 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
beating the hell out of some guy at the bar. To this day, I don't know what that poor guy said or did... 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 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 involving 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, that 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 did covered 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. 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?
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. He lost his will to fight. Onstage, he was always singing the lyric, "Lord, this time you gave me a
mountain...
This
Book is Highly Recommended by elvispresleynews.com
Elvis
Straight Up
Thank you for posting this excerpt of
ELVIS STRAIGHT UP!
Sincerely, Joe Esposito
Esposito & AnnMargret
| Joe's
Gift to Elvis
| Joe Esposito's Site
|
