Oh, let our love survive
I'll dry the tears
from your eyes
Let's don't let a good thing die
Snowman's coming
Yes, he's coming
He'll take you by the hand
He'll say one, two, three
And you will be...
In cotton candy land
For those of you
who are wondering,
who this fella here is,
I am the legendary
Colonel Tom Parker.
Colonel Tom
Parker, legendary manager
of Elvis Presley, has been
rushed to Valley Hospital.
I am the man who
gave the world Elvis Presley.
Without me, there would be
no Elvis Presley.
And yet, there are some
who'd make me out
to be the villain
of this here story.
Colonel Tom
Parker was a liar, a cheat, a con man.
A shocking new book
accuses Colonel Tom Parker
of massive fraud
and mis-management.
Parker received as much
as 50% of Elvis' income.
He worked Elvis like a mule,
to support his own
gambling addiction.
The court finds
that the compensation received
by Colonel Parker was excessive,
and shocked the conscience
of the court.
Many believe
that Colonel Tom Parker
was responsible for the death
of Elvis Presley.
Now, you listen to me.
The only thing that matters
is that that man
gets up on that stage tonight.
Glory, glory, hallelujah
His truth is marching on
His truth is marching on
Tom Parker k*lled him!
No! That's not true.
No, no, I didn't k*ll him.
I made Elvis Presley.
Nothing all those muckrakers
said in their books was true.
Me and Elvis, we was partners.
It was Elvis the Showman
and the Colonel the Snowman.
This is the lying Dutchman.
I always knew I was
destined for greatness.
As an orphan,
I ran away to the carnival,
where I learned the art
of the "snow job,"
of emptying a rube's wallet
while leaving them with nothing
but a smile on their face.
But a carnival act
that would get you
the most money, the most snow,
had great costumes
and a unique trick,
that gave the audience feelings
they weren't sure
they should enjoy.
But they do.
And I knew if I could
find such an act,
I could create the greatest...
show...
on...
earth.
After the carnival, I moved
into the music business...
the country music business.
I partnered with one of its
biggest stars, Hank Snow.
Pardon me if I'm sentimental
When we say goodbye
And his hapless son,
Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
Hot-diggity-dog, Billy.
- I got one.
- Oh, yeah.
Can't believe it.
Blow their socks off.
Security. Security, Diskin!
Tell the mayors of these towns
that we need a police escort
for Hank when he arrives.
In Baton Rouge, we are going
to have a carny wedding
at the top of the Ferris Wheel,
so, Zina, pick out
your next husband.
In New Orleans, we're gonna
use the loudspeaker
- to announce you, Hank.
- Oh, sure.
...you are
going to march in the parade.
Am I gonna be riding
on an elephant, too?
A man on an elephant
looks important.
And taller.
We still need to get
a novelty act
- to bring in the young folk.
- Well, yes, yes,
that's why you have a meeting
with the Duke of Paducah tonight.
If we can book "the Funniest
Mouth in the South,"
we'll have the greatest show
of the season.
Hey, Jimmie,
turn that record off.
Y'all have to hear this.
Kids all over town
are playing it everywhere I go.
I hear n*gro rhythms.
But with a country flavor.
Sun Records?
That's Sam Phillips' label.
Oh, yeah, Phillips.
He makes all those race records
with the colored singers.
Well, this fella's
on the Hayride tonight,
after me in the newcomer spot.
In Shreveport?
No, they are not putting
a colored boy on the Hayride.
That's the thing. He's white.
He's...
He's white?
What do you think, Texarkana?
Shall we play it
for the 27th time?
Well, that's all right, mama
That's all right for you
Shall we play it
for the 27th time?
Everybody's talkin' 'bout
this new Presley kid
That's all right...
That's all right
That's all right...
He's white?
But it don't matter
if you do ten stupid things,
as long as you do one smart one.
Welcome y'all
to the Louisiana Hayride,
broadcasting live
to 26 of these United States.
How do you think I feel
I know your love's not real
Well, the apple
doesn't fall far from the tree.
Where is the Colonel?
You have the fella that's
singing the "All Right, Mama,"
that new record that's
on the Sun label, eh?
- The pop jocks keep playing him.
- Yeah.
Country DJs, too.
Even the colored kids,
they're buyin' his record.
The colored ki... Well, where
would I find such an act?
The dressing room.
- Oh. Howdy.
- Hey, Elvis Presley?
- Blue Moon Boys?
- Yeah.
- You're up next.
- Oh, sh...
Excuse me. Bill, go time!
I know, I know.
- Hi!
- How's his stomach?
I thought I'd grab him a Pepsi,
but poor thing's still shaking
like a leaf.
I'll get him on the stage.
Come on. Let's go.
Here.
It'll settle your stomach.
What if I forget
the words on live radio?
All we gotta do out there's
just a bit of clownin' around.
That's how we got this thing
started in the first place.
Scotty and Bill are right,
Elvis.
You're not out there
on your own.
- You boys are a band.
- That's right.
The Lord gave us music
to bring people together.
We're like a family,
and family is the most
important thing of all.
Amen.
Come on now, Booby.
Jesse's shining bright tonight.
Shining down his strength
upon you.
Oh, I'll fly away
Jesse, Elvis's twin
brother, who d*ed at birth.
Tragic.
Vernon, come quick!
It's another child!
My darling, you'll
have the strength of two men.
But when my boy's
daddy passed a bad check
and got carted off to prison...
...the boy and his mama had
to take one of the houses
for white folks
in a colored neighborhood.
New boy! Come over!
But that boy
had a big imagination.
He really believed
he was the hero
in one of them comic books.
He was going to bust
his daddy out of the hoosegow
and fly him
to the Rock of Eternity!
Then he buys
his mama a pink Cadillac.
Pink Cadillac?
What are you talking about?
Hey, fools! Whoo!
Ohh
Black snake crawlin' in my room
Come on, Doc, let's go.
Them comic book heroes
all have them super powers.
His was music.
That's all right, Mama
That's all right with you
That's all right, Mama
Anyway you do
Ohh... Black snake
crawlin' in my room
Move, man. Hey, it's my turn.
That's all right, Mama
That's all right, Mama
Oh, I'll fly away Oh, Glory
I'll fly away
When I die
When I die Hallelujah, by and by
What you doin'?
I'll fly away
-No more preachin', no more
-I'll fly away
-No more pain, no more
-I'll fly away
I'll fly away
No more preachin', I'll fly
No more pain, I'll fly
I'll fly away
Hey, fool, come back.
No. He's with the spirit!
It's all right.
Ohh
Black snake crawlin' in my room
Whoo!
That's all right, Mama
That's all right with you
That's all right, Mama
Anyway you choose
I'll fly away, oh, Glory
I'll fly away
Oh, away
Black snake crawling in my
room -Hallelujah, by and by
-Ohhh
- I'll fly away
Elvis. Come on,
you gotta get on in.
They've already announced you
on the radio.
Folks are real excited.
At Sun Records,
Sam Phillips was on a mission
to save the world
by recording Black music.
But it didn't sell.
So to pay his bills,
he needed to find a new singer
for his country act.
I don't know what it is
you see in this boy.
I just think he's different.
How do you know
"Big Boy" Crudup?
That's all right, Mama
That's all right for you
That's all right, Mama
Anyway you do
That's all right
That's all right
That's all right now, Mama
Anyway you do
He's a young singer
from Memphis, Tennessee.
Got a song out on the Sun
label. It's all over the radio.
Give him a warm Hayride welcome
to a Mr. Elvis Presley.
Elvis, how are you this evening?
Just fine, how you, sir?
Greasy hair, girly makeup.
I cannot overstate
how strange he looked.
Are you all geared up
with your band there to...
- I'm all geared up.
- ...let us hear your songs?
Uh... well, I'd like to say how
happy we are to be down here.
It's a real honor
for us to be...
Get a chance to appear
on the Louisiana Hayride.
We're gonna do a song for you
we got out on Sun Records.
Uh...
You got anything else
to say, sir?
No. I'm ready.
It goes...
It goes something like this.
Oh, baby, baby,
Baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby
Come back, baby
I wanna play house with you
Get a haircut, fairy!
In that moment,
in a flash of lightning,
I watched that skinny boy
in the pink suit
transform into a superhero.
Well, you may go to college
You may go to school
You may have a pink Cadillac
But don't you be nobody's fool
Now, baby Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby
I wanna play house with you
Well, listen and
I'll tell you, baby
What I'm talking about
Come on back to me, little
girl So we can play some house
Baby, come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby
I wanna play house with you
Wanna play house!
- What are they hollerin' at?
- The wiggle!
The what?
Them girls wanna see you wiggle.
Move, man!
- Do more!
- Much more!
Man!
Do it again.
Well, this is one thing, baby
That I want you to know
Come on back
Let's play a little house
And we can do what we did before
Now, baby
Sit down!
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby
What in God's sweet name
am I looking at?
Hit it!
What were you thinking, Jimmie?
I don't know what I'm thinking.
Please, Lord,
don't let 'em hurt my baby.
Hurt him?
Looks like they wanna...
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby
Now, I don't
know nothin' about music...
...but I could see
in that girl's eyes,
that she was having feelings
she wasn't sure
she should enjoy.
Black snake crawlin' in my room
Yes.
He was a taste
of forbidden fruit.
She could've eaten him alive.
Why are you trying
to k*ll my son?
It was the greatest
carnival attraction
I'd ever seen.
He was my destiny.
Right under my nose...
In Memphis.
Top of the morning
to you, friends,
from the home of colorful,
old Beale Street.
The place where the blues began
in Memphis, Tennessee,
Where you see pretty browns
dressed in beautiful gowns,
along with tailor-mades
and hand-me-downs.
Where you see honest men
and pickpockets skilled,
and business never closes
till somebody gets k*lled.
Now, just kidding.
But there's a lot goin' down
on Beale Street tonight,
and nowhere more-so
than at the Club Handy.
Come around if you wanna see
Big Mama Thornton,
layin' down her newest hit.
Get it, get it
Get it! Come on!
Oh, let's do it
Now, listen up,
while Brown America speaks.
You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog
Quit snoopin' 'round my door
Just why a truck
driver from Memphis, Tennessee,
liked to hang out
on Beale Street, I do not know.
You told me you was high class
But I could see through that...
But it did him no favors,
fitting into them
white housing projects.
Hey, squirrel. Nice shoes.
And, Daddy, I know That
you ain't no real cool cat
Hey, Elvis!
Hey, Tommy.
That's that boy whose record
everybody's talkin' about.
You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog
Hey, sideburns.
Where's the n*gro suit today?
He was crazy
for that Beale Street music.
Beale Street style.
He had Beale Street stars
in his eyes.
What do you think, Tony? Huh?
B.B. King.
No, I didn't take my boy away
from nothin'.
He was runnin'
from the day he was born.
I just opened the door
to our destiny.
So without so much as
a word to your daddy and me,
you quit your job
to go traveling
all the way to Florida
with this Colonel fellow
that we have never met.
Mama, it's only four days.
Yeah, four days.
And then what?
I knew a fella once,
got his record on the radio.
It was all over in a flash.
Mama, I'm just trying
to take care of you and Daddy.
That's all I have
ever cared about.
I ain't ever gonna let us
get back to a place again
where Daddy gets in trouble
with the law
- to put food on the table.
- Elvis!
How dare you?
As the good Lord warns us,
do not wear yourself out
to get rich.
Do not trust your own
g*dd*mn cleverness!
Elvis, you've upset your mama.
You know, Mama, I was thinkin',
maybe I'll buy you one of them
pink Cadillacs
like you saw back when you
was working at the hospital.
I don't need no pink Cadillac.
Satnin, I just gotta be making
the most of this thing
while I can.
It's like Daddy says, this
could all be over in a flash.
I'm not fearful
of it being over, Booby.
I don't know how to explain it.
But I saw it
in that girl's eyes.
It's something beyond us,
but I know that whatever it is,
it's something that...
It's something
that can come between us.
Oh, no, Mama, no. Hey.
Ain't nothing ever
gonna do that.
You're my girl. My Satnin.
You'll always be
my bestest girl.
Hey.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
I will call you every night.
Will you promise me, Booby?
I promise.
I promise. I promise,
I promise.
- All right. I love you.
- Bye, baby.
Nothing but nothing...
I love you.
...is gonna come between us.
- Let's go!
- Bye, Booby!
See you soon!
Wanna bet?
Well, it's one for the money
Two for the show
Three to get ready
Now go, cat, go
But don't you
Step on my blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything
But stay off of my
Blue suede shoes
Well, you can knock me down
Step in my face
Your attention, please.
I have some good news.
Our next four nights
are sold out...
...thanks to the dazzling
performances
of our tremendous showman,
Hank Snow.
Pardon me if I'm sentimental
When we say goodbye
And I've noticed a mild interest
in our newest act,
Elvis Presley.
Hi.
Yeah, Dixie, I'll be back
before prom.
Well you can burn my house
Steal my car
Drink my liquor
From an old fruit jar
Do anything that you want to do
Colonel, what is
that boy doing on our tour?
Well, I told you all about him.
And he wants to record
one of your songs.
Oh? Which one?
All of them.
Well, you warn him plenty.
None of those lewd gyrations
or sudden, jerky movements.
Let's go!
Let's rock!
Is that a pair
of young ladies' intimates
I see upon the stage?
Yes, I believe it is, Hank.
Best not happen
when he sings one of my songs.
I'm sure it won't.
Elvis, the papers say
there are girls
around your hotel
all night long.
I don't even go out, Mama.
I stay in.
You know, it gets lonesome.
I tell you, this
new sensation, Elvis Presley,
he's breaking hearts
all over the South.
Quit knocking at my door,
Scotty.
Are you sorry We drifted apart?
Never know How much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
Oh, come on, E.P.
Life on the road ain't
the concern of folks back home.
Fever
Why don't you try one of these?
Put the pep back into your step.
What a lovely way to burn
Well, shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
Well, you won't do right
Whoo!
To save your doggone soul
You're really
something else, man!
I promise,
I'll put my heart in...
I wanna be just like you!
Okay. Yeah, thank you.
I can no longer,
in good conscience,
go on stage with that boy.
Yes, a conundrum. A conundrum.
Please welcome
to the stage, Hank Snow!
After I perform, I shall
spend the night in prayer.
And I will do
what needs to be done.
Come on, Jimmie!
How do you think that I feel
Oh, baby Oh, baby
How do you think that I feel
That night,
I happened to see him.
Alone.
Lost.
A snowman is only as good...
as his attraction.
Elvis!
- Come on, man.
- Elvis, come on! Hurry up!
It was all, or nothing.
Elvis, we're going
to the hall of mirrors!
Wait up!
Screw the hall
of mirrors. That's boring.
Right, hang on.
Here we go.
Hold on.
All right, fellas. Come on.
- Oh.
- Lost, my boy?
Colonel Parker, sir.
You look lost.
- I guess I am.
- Ah, yes.
The roar of the crowd.
The life on the road.
And then calling home
to your loved ones,
pretending nothing has changed,
when everything has.
Yeah. Lost.
I'm sorry, sir. I... I meant
I don't know the way out.
Yeah, that is precisely
what I am saying.
I... I saw you.
Apart from all the others.
Burdened.
Like you don't know
how to get out of this.
But I do.
Snowman's coming
Allow me to show you.
Yes, he's coming
Take his magic hand
Creatures of the carnival.
And I am one myself.
It's where I learned the art
of the snow job.
- Snow job?
- Yes.
It's like the trick
you do with the wiggling,
getting all the girls hyped up,
empty their wallets
and leave them
with nothing but the smiles
on their faces.
I'm no trickster.
Oh, yes, you are.
All showmen are snowmen.
It's a wonderful place.
Nobody on the aerio.
Your future, Mr. Presley,
blazing before you.
Recording contracts,
television, even Hollywood.
You're great, Colonel.
You are the best person
I could ever hope to work with.
You know, this is something
I ain't never
said to nobody before...
But I believe
I can be great, too.
Oh, no doubt.
But we could be
even greater together.
But to achieve this, I need
to represent you exclusively.
Exclusively?
Sir, I... I don't follow.
What about Hank Snow?
Hank. Yes...
He sent me here to fire you.
Hank wants you off the tour.
So I will have to leave Hank.
We will both have to
make sacrifices.
We will need a record label
with national distribution.
RCA?
RCA.
Sam Phillips... discovered me.
I know, but we have a way
to help Sam understand
that it would be foolish of him
to hold you back.
Every man has his price.
RCA does have the distribution.
I just need to know that you'll
still be with me as friends.
Don't doubt that,
we're not going anywhere.
Marion and I just don't want to
stand in your way, that's all.
The world needs
to hear you sing, Elvis.
Elvis Presley's
contract sold to RCA today
for the highest price
in music history.
Quite the payday
for Sun Records.
It's just business.
Show business.
To achieve truly great things,
one must make
truly great sacrifices.
You will have to be free
of any entanglements.
You see, my boy,
show business is snow business.
And the fans need to believe
that you are always available.
The Colonel says
that with all the publicity
that's gonna be coming,
he might have to
put it out there that...
That...
I don't have a girl.
Then we will need
your parents' legal commitment.
They may need a bit
of convincing themselves.
Sam Phillips
is a good man we can trust.
We don't know this Colonel
from a nail in a wall.
Is there a lawyer
representing the family?
Oh, unnecessary.
I am of the firm opinion
that family is the most
important thing in the world.
In mind of that,
I have taken the liberty
of making these contracts out
in the name
of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
A family business.
And I was thinking,
Vernon Presley:
Business Manager.
What do you think, Daddy?
Uh... Well, uh...
- I like it very much, son.
- Ah!
Mrs. Presley,
your son has a unique gift.
It's as though
he has the strength
of two men inside of him.
You know, Colonel,
I would do anything
to make sure my mama and daddy
never have to live
in no poverty ever again.
Mama, it's gonna turn out
so, so good.
Mm.
Colonel, I wasn't fooling
when I told those other kids
I was gonna buy 'em
a Cadillac one day.
My boy, with me, you will
buy them two Cadillacs.
Two?
A hundred?
Two hundred.
- A thousand.
- A million.
An aeroplane.
How about a rocket ship?
Well, maybe not a rocket ship.
My mama don't like me to fly.
But me, I've always
wanted to fly. Fast.
Faster than the speed of light
to the Rock of Eternity.
What? To the Rock of Eternity?
Captain Marvel, Jr.
He's my favorite
comic book hero.
He flies.
Well, what about you,
Mr. Presley?
Are you ready to fly?
Yes, sir. I'm ready.
Ready to fly.
Uh, Mr. Presley,
try not to move around
so much during the takes.
If I can't move, I can't sing.
Well, since my baby left me
Well, I found a new place
To dwell
What is he doing?
We paid for this?
It's down at the end of
Lonely Street at...
It's a su1c1de song.
...Heartbreak Hotel
Them know-it-alls
said I'd backed the wrong horse.
But my boy knew teenagers.
And that first record
changed everything.
Well, it's so very hard to have
To leave the one you love
And you get more lonely
With each passing day
It's so lonely just sitting
And dreaming of...
In a few short months,
Elvis Presley has popped
out of nowhere.
Everywhere he goes,
he causes riots,
mountains of press
and rivers of money.
It's another
gold record for Elvis Presley.
This one giving him his first
worldwide hit.
Mrs. Presley, look!
Come on, Mrs. Presley, let
me show you how to use this.
Come on, hens! Come on, hens!
Come on!
Come on! Outside!
Out of my house!
Come on, this way!
Come on, babies!
Dodger!
- Go, Billy boy!
- Ya-hoo-hoo!
I took my boy's wiggling
and put it in the movies.
I took his name and face,
and put it on all sorts of toys
and knick-knacks,
and called it...
"Merchandise."
Your face on every
conceivable object,
including teddy bear, perfume,
plaster busts...
Of questionable likeness.
"The Elvis Presley Game."
Something so everyone
can show their love.
Grandma Dodger,
what is that behind your ear?
"I hate Elvis."
Huh?
Yes. I hate Elvis.
In my way of thinking,
"I love Elvis,"
that's an easy sell.
Those who hate your son
will do so
whether we profit
from it or not.
After all, what is hate worth
if it's free?
Oh, yeah. I get it.
Snowman strikes again.
Merchandise, promotion.
Diskin, what else do we have?
- Necklaces.
- Necklaces.
- Scarves.
- Oh, scarves. Yes...
Mr. Presley
and Mr. King...
regular peas in a pod,
relieving me
of my finest threads.
Must be some occasion.
Mr. Lansky, it's Milton Berle.
The whole of America'll
be watching.
I don't watch television.
So what's it gonna be?
How you gonna
blow their wigs off?
Well, the network
wants me to do a ballad.
But I'm thinking about
cuttin' it up with "Hound Dog."
Whoo!
Elvis Presley, "Hound Dog,"
and Uncle Miltie.
Strange things
are happening every day.
You ain't nothin'
But a hound dog, hound dog
Cryin' all the time
You ain't nothin'
but a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
Well, you ain't never
Caught a rabbit
And you ain't no friend of mine
When they said
You was high classed
Well, that was just a lie
Yeah, they said
You were high classed
Behold, tomorrow, all of America
will be talking
about Elvis Presley.
My wiggling boy.
Even as a little one,
he made me laugh so.
He's so funny!
You never caught a rabbit
You ain't no friend of mine
You ain't nothin' But a
hound dog, a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
And, Senator, for the next leg
of your racial integrity tour,
we booked the Over ton
Park Shell in Memphis.
What are they laughing about?
You ain't nothin'
But a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
Who the hell is that?
It's that boy from Memphis.
Elvis Presley.
Cryin' all the time
A white boy from Memphis,
moving like a g*dd*mn...
Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back...
The obscenity and vulgarity
of this rock and roll music
is obviously a means by which
the white man and his children
can be driven to the level
of the n*gro.
The colored folks have
been singing and playing it
just like I'm doing it now,
man, more years than I know.
Colonel Parker,
we called you in here
to talk about this act of yours.
A petition has begun circulating
to bar Elvis Presley
from television.
We've set up a committee
to keep an eye on this vulgar,
animalistic rock and roll bum.
Your style
of gyrating while you sing
has been bitterly criticized...
I don't feel I'm doing
anything wrong.
We simply will not
advertise on any station
that puts this delinquent
on television.
Colonel, you put an end
to your boy's animal behavior,
or we will.
Don't worry, Senator,
my boy does what he's told.
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight?
"Elvis the Pelvis."
That's one of the most childish
expressions I've ever heard
coming from an adult.
Is Mr. Allen gonna cancel me
from the show?
Yes.
Yes, he is.
He is replacing you with one of
the country's greatest singers.
Mario Lanza?
Someone greater.
The new Elvis Presley!
Yeah, I snowed 'em!
You just have to put on
one of these tails here,
can sing the "Hound Dog,"
and it's a light-hearted,
sophisticated family show.
I can't move in one of these.
And that is the point.
Mr. Allen agreed only as long
as there is no wiggling
of those hips.
I can't figure it out. My own
mother approves of what I do.
Mmm.
You have read the papers,
my boy?
Yeah, I read the papers.
The papers say that I sh*t
my mother and smoke marijuana.
Your movement's
in the style of a Black man,
and you have broken
the segregation laws.
So let's follow the plan.
It's a good plan.
You do the Allen Show,
family style,
and then tomorrow
we go back to Memphis and
we snow them on the July 4th
Children's Charitable Concert.
And we put this whole
unfortunate misstep behind us.
Now, do you want
to go into politics?
Or shall we stay
in show business?
We want to do
a show the whole family
can watch and enjoy,
and we always do.
And at this time, it gives me
extreme pleasure to introduce
the new Elvis Presley!
He used to be so hip.
He looked so silly.
I mean, he looked like a butler.
I can't believe
he agreed to sing to a dog.
God damn it!
He could've given us
some warning.
I know how to do a skit,
I could've made it funny!
The most stupid, embarrassing,
humiliating thing I ever did.
Well, what the hell
do you want me to do about it?
We're musicians!
It's just embarrassing.
Who does he think he is?
She just went on
and on about the damn dog.
And I said, "Neighbors
shouldn't speak like that."
And then she said...
I like the bit with the dog.
It was the most embarrassing
performance of my life, Daddy.
She wasn't the only one
who said it.
- All the neighbors did.
- Oh, God.
Those New York people
were using you
to poke fun at the whole South.
Getting a laugh out of putting
a hillbilly in a tailcoat
and singing to a dog.
God damn it, Mama, it was
either that or I get canceled.
Then that's it for television.
Colonel says I'm running out
of states that I'm welcome in.
And they don't pay
unless I can perform.
So Colonel says I play the
charity concert tomorrow night,
as the new family style,
then everybody calms down
and we get back on track.
Someone's got to think about
keeping a roof over our heads.
Roof over our head?
We've always managed to keep
a roof over our head, Vernon.
Mama, Daddy is business
manager. It's his job.
That's right.
We was doing just fine
before that man came along.
Colonel has got us all of this.
I don't want all this!
You're unhappy!
I am not!
You're losing yourself, Booby!
Oh, hell, Mama, I...
Satnin knows.
The way you sing and move...
it's God-given.
So there can't be nothing
wrong with it.
Hey, I'm gonna ask cousin
about the movie.
Hey, E.P., E.P.!
Can we close down
the movie house
and watch Godzilla tonight?
Don't tramp mud
in the house, Billy!
But you said
we could watch the movie!
Get out! Get out of my
g*dd*mn house!
- You said you'd take us!
- Tramping mud in my house
and doing my damn head in.
Mama, you ain't never happy.
No matter what I do,
no matter how much I give you,
it ain't never enough.
And, I wish you would not drink
so g*dd*mn much.
It's not good for you.
Baby!
- Put that back in the shed!
- Elvis, wait!
Elvis! Elvis, come on!
Elvis!
Here's Elvis Presley.
This is
Rufus Thomas here from WDIA.
You can catch B.B. King tonight
at Club Handy,
with Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Hello.
E.P.!
- B.B.! Hey!
- Get over here!
Have a good night.
Thank you. Have a good night.
Hello.
Hey!
Get him! Get him in here!
E.P.! E.P.!
All right, all right.
Thank you.
Wop, bop-a-loo-bop
Ba-lop, bom, bom
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Got my mama going on
about the "Hound Dog,"
and the Colonel's
got me wearing tails,
and everybody wants
something different.
Hey, listen, man.
If you're sad
and you want to be sad,
you're at the right place.
If you're happy and you want
to be happy, guess what?
You're at the right place.
So just do me a favor...
Let it all hang out.
Let it all hang out, E.P.!
Let it all hang out, baby.
She rocks to the east
She rocks to the west
But she's the girl that
I love best
Tutti frutti, oh rooty, uh!
Hey, man.
Tutti frutti, oh rooty, whoo!
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Wop, bop-a-loo-bop...
Whoo! Man, he's cuttin' it!
Sister Rosetta found this kid
in the backwaters of Georgia.
They should get the Colonel
to book him on Steve Allen.
They would love his moves.
Got a girl named Daisy
She almost drives me crazy
Got a girl named Daisy
Whoo!
She almost drives me crazy
She knows how to love me
Yes, indeed
Boy, you don't know
What she do to me
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Man, he sings the hell
out of that song!
I would love to record that.
If you do, you'll make
a whole lot more money
than that kid
could ever dream of.
Tutti frutti, oh rooty
Wop, bop-a-loo-bop,
Ba-lop, bom, bom
I'm a-workin' on the building
Workin' on the building
It's the new foundation
The new foundation
I'm goin' to heaven
Yeah!
Goin' to heaven
To get my reward
Get my reward
Whoo!
Ha-ha! That's all right.
That's a nice ride
you rode up in tonight.
It ain't like your ol'
big B.B. King bus.
Big Red.
Yeah, well, I can go where
I want, play what I want,
and if they don't like it,
I can go someplace else.
You've got to be
in control, man.
You should have your own label,
like me.
You don't do the business,
the business will do you.
Man, I just leave all that
to the Colonel.
So it's, um...
It's his idea, this new Elvis?
Listen, I don't get it, man.
Cats buy your records
because they like what you do,
not because you're dressed up
like some... like some butler.
You really think those kids
want to see Elvis the butler
at the Russwood Park
gig tomorrow?
Man, I ain't wearing no tails.
I just... gotta lay
off the moves, is all.
Colonel says if I don't,
they're gonna put me in jail.
Come on, man.
They're not gonna
put you in jail.
They might put me in jail
for walking across the street,
but you're a famous white boy.
Too many people are making
too much money off of you
to put you in jail.
You think so?
I know so.
Colonel's a smart man.
There's gotta be another reason.
Every day, yes
There are strange things
Happening every day
Hey, Elvis, B.B.!
Give us a smile.
Every day
You promised us
a new Elvis, Colonel.
Yet, here he is with this
B.B. King at Club Handy,
jiggling and wiggling
with Billy Ward, and here,
on Colored Night
at the Memphis Fairgrounds.
We've been poking
into your background,
and we've found your records.
"Unfit for m*llitary duty."
"Acute psychopathic state."
Well... I was pretending
to be crazy. I wanted out.
I was just a boy
from Huntington, West Virginia.
Well, before the army, we found
no record of you at all.
Every day, yeah
There are strange things
Happening every day
Every day Are so strange
Every day
People are stealing the planes
Oh! There are strange
Things happening
Every day Oh, ain't
that strange, every day
Every day, yes
There are strange things
Happening every day
While 10,000 screaming
fans were cramming in
to see our show,
Senator East land was holding
a segregationist rally
just three miles away.
The mayor loved you
on the Steve Allen Show.
All the important people did.
What song are you going
to sing tonight?
I've made no decision.
I'll feel it.
Pay no mind to all the cameras.
Those are our friends
in the vice squad.
They don't mean nothing.
Ain't that right, chief?
As long as you don't
so much as wiggle a finger.
Oh, yes, sir, good people!
A big thank you
to Shorty Morgan's Dixie Dolls!
But I know some of
the young people
are very excited
about this next act!
Jesse's with us tonight, baby.
Play it smart out there, yeah?
Well, stop talking about it
We're talking about everything
And do somethin' about it
Elvis Presley!
Strange things happening
Every day
Just sing the nice song.
Smile the nice smile.
No wiggling.
Then we can get back
to our show business.
And have fun, my boy! Fun!
Oh, we want peace!
We want peace!
We ought a stop talkin' about
it And do somethin' about it
Oh, there are strange
Things happening
Every day
There's been a lot of talk
about the new Elvis.
And of course, that other guy.
You ain't
Nothin' but a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
...at his
command, both civil and other,
to maintain public order,
and prevent crime and riots.
He can use those forces...
to prevent the racial
integration of schools,
if this is necessary, under the
police powers of that state...
There's a lot of people
saying a lot of things.
...in fact, it is his duty...
Of course you gotta listen
to the people that you love.
...and prevent
turmoil and strife within the state.
But in the end,
you gotta listen to yourself.
So I want you to know,
those New York people
ain't gonna change me none.
...the subversives who own...
...control and dominate
the entertainment industry...
- "Trouble."
- ...are determined...
...to spread
Africanized culture...
I'm gonna show you what
the real Elvis is like tonight!
...influencing your children...
to accept the Negroes.
If you're looking for trouble
- No.
- What's going on?
You came to the right place
If you're looking for trouble
Just look right in my face
I was born standing up
And talking back
My daddy was a green-eyed
Mountain jack
Because I'm evil
My middle name is misery
Well, I'm evil
So don't you mess around with me
I've never looked for trouble
But I never ran
I don't take no orders
From no kind of man
I'm only made out
Of flesh, blood and bone
But if you're gonna
Start a rumble
Don't you try it on alone
Because I'm evil
My middle name is misery
Elvis!
Well, I'm evil
So don't you mess around with me
I'm evil, evil evil as can be
I'm evil evil, evil as can be
So don't mess around
Don't mess around with me
I'm evil
I'm evil
Evil, evil
Uh, now would be a good time
to get back into the car.
I'm evil
Evil
Evil
Our friends at RCA are not
gonna be happy when they see this.
He didn't listen to me.
Why?
Why didn't he listen to me?
I'm evil
Get my boy off that stage!
...with me
Get your hands
off him. Hey!
Hey, Elvis!
Elvis!
Go look after the merchandise.
Look after the merchandise!
Elvis, come on!
Get off of me!
Mama, you get in the car!
Get in the car!
You're gonna get us in trouble.
He's all right, come on.
- Elvis!
- Scotty, come on.
Let's go.
My dear boy had chosen.
You, his audience, his fans.
He had no idea what
he had done to both of us.
We warned you, Colonel.
You've lost control
of this act of yours.
And he's dividing this nation.
There are a lot of people
who want to see him in jail.
I had to find a way out.
A way to save him.
Crawfish
Crawfish
No. There's no way my baby's
going to Germany for two years.
It is either the army or jail.
There is something else.
Vernon, they are poking
into your background.
We don't have nothin'
to be ashamed of!
Now, my daddy is a good man.
Yes, yes.
But your papa did go to jail.
You know them,
and their flashy headlines.
"Elvis, The Draft Dodger."
"A Family of Delinquents."
There was no moon
We may never book another
date, or sell another record again.
And my way of thinking,
the army could be a
brand new start for all of us.
Let them cut your hair.
Prove to the world that you are
a clean-cut, all-American boy.
You do your two years, and when
you come back, I promise you
I will have done
everything I can
to make you the biggest
actor in Hollywood.
You will choose
your own pictures.
It's gonna be okay, Mama.
And I pulled Mr. Crawfish
out of his hole
Young Mr. Presley,
a rock and roller no more.
He'll do six months'
basic training at Fort Chaffee
before shipping off to Germany.
Since the day he was born,
she had feared
losing her second son.
While he was
in basic training...
she worried and drank...
Worried...
and drank.
Hey...
Alberta!
Oh, no...
No!
There are some fine folks
from the press waiting outside.
A few questions, pictures,
and they will leave us alone.
I can't get him to do anything.
He trusted her like nobody else,
and now she's gone
and who does he have now?
Well...
He trusts you.
Can you talk to him?
Oh, no.
It's not my place...
Can you do it, Colonel?
We need your help now.
Your daddy is doing
the best he knows how,
but he is overwhelmed.
He needs your help out there.
I can't go out there.
I just wanna stay here forever.
Oh, my boy.
No one could never replace her.
But you listen to me.
From this moment on,
anything she would have done...
I will carry out, in her name.
When you are overseas,
I will stay here at home.
And I will work,
and I will worry.
Trust me.
Now, you go and you stand
by your papa.
You comfort him.
You comfort him.
Comfort your friends
and your family,
and even your fans. Hmm?
Because if you don't do that...
all that your mama
has sacrificed for you
will be for nothing.
No matter what happens,
you stay with me
through thick and thin, okay?
You're like a...
like a father to me.
I needed to protect him.
Even from himself.
My plan, Elvis Presley
would return
a clean-cut, all-American boy.
But...
...I did not consider
the most dangerous thing of all.
Love.
Priscilla,
the pretty teenage daughter
of a United States
Air Force officer.
And then he said to me...
"You know what, Priscilla?
You gotta listen to me, sweetie,
because this guy, he's got
girls all over the world, okay?
He's got girls waiting
outside of his house
and girls writing him
endless fan mail."
And then
Mommy decides to pitch in and go,
"Ooh, what could he possibly
see in you, okay?
What do you two do
up there all night?"
And...
And I just said, "Mom, Dad...
we talk and we listen
to music, okay? That's all."
And then they were going on
and on about that photo of you
and Natalie Wood riding around
on that bike in Memphis,
and...
and then what I said...
And I said this really calmly,
I said, "Listen, okay?
He's just really lonely.
And quite frankly, so am I."
And then they didn't really
know what to say after that,
so I went upstairs
and I went to bed.
Never met anyone like you.
Well, I hope not.
So... what
is Natalie Wood like?
She's nice, you know.
She's been writing me
about acting.
I've been asking her
stories about...
working with James Dean and...
God, I just hope to one day
be as good as him, you know?
Mmm.
Colonel's promised me
that when I get back
he's gonna set me up in
Hollywood to be a serious actor.
That's really what I dream of.
Hey, E.P., E.P.,
now, you promised the captain
that you'd get her home
by 7:00.
Hey, Charlie.
What's that behind you?
What? No...
He don't boss me around.
You know, I think
if you dream it, you'll do it.
You do?
Yeah.
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help
Falling in love with you?
You no longer
want to sing in your films,
is that right? You want
to be a dramatic actor.
Well, sir, that's
my big ambition now.
It takes a lot of time,
a lot of experience.
He was as good as Brando.
But you didn't want to see him
in movies where he didn't sing.
A little less conversation
A little more action
All this aggravation
Ain't satisfactioning me
Thanks to me, his life
became one big Hollywood movie!
Starring Priscilla...
Bright light city
gonna set my soul
Gonna set my soul on fire
And a cast
of his "buddies" and "cousins."
His Memphis Mafia.
So get those stakes up higher
There's a thousand pretty
women Waitin' out there
And they're all livin'
The devil may care
And I'm just the devil
With love to spare, so
Viva, Las Vegas
There was that
fairytale wedding.
And the honeymoon
on Frank Sinatra's jet.
And introducing Baby Lisa Marie.
I made him the highest paid
actor in Hollywood history.
We had a lot of fun!
But Elvis was a young man,
and of course,
he got distracted.
So we made them faster
and cheaper.
Beatlemania sweeps America,
as teens turn their attention
to the teenage rockers.
Is it my fault
the world changed?
Good evening.
Dr. Martin Luther King,
the apostle of non-v*olence
in the Civil Rights movement,
has been sh*t to death
in Memphis, Tennessee.
New Elvis stinker
bombs, another flop.
There's no more appetite
for Presley pictures.
It don't matter
how hard I worked,
how many snow jobs
I came up with,
how much snow I made them.
My boy loved to spend.
And with them hillbillies
around him,
the money would just melt away.
With the sale of the ranch
and the horses,
that's gonna cover the payroll,
but as for the security
at Graceland...
Officers also reportedly chased
and fired on
a radio-equipped car
containing two white men.
Dr. King was standing
on the balcony
of his second floor
hotel room tonight,
when, according to a companion,
a sh*t was fired
from across the street.
Dr. King.
Uncle Vernon, come quick!
He always spoke the truth.
What happened?
They rushed the 39-year-old
n*gro leader to a hospital,
where he d*ed of a b*llet wound
in the neck.
Jingle, jingles...
Here comes Santa Claus
Here comes Santa Claus
Right down Santa Claus Lane
Vixen and Blitzen
And all the reindeer
Pulling on the rein
Elvis Presley's
Wonderful World of Christmas.
Brought to you by
the Singer Sewing Machine
Company,
to every television set
in America.
It only takes three days
to tape,
and there's no audience.
v*olence breeds v*olence,
- repression breeds retaliation.
- ...Christmas sweater.
Made on the new Singer,
home knitting apparatus.
- Memphis is burning.
- ...and to fear his brother.
When you teach
that he is a lesser man
because of his color
or his beliefs...
...dreaming
of a white Christmas,
because, oh,
it's definitely going to snow.
Christmas special.
Is this the best we can do,
Admiral?
Well, we took
the Hollywood phonies
for every nickel they had
and now it is time
for us to pack up our tents
and move on
to even greener pastures.
We've seen "Elvis the Rebel,"
we've seen
"Elvis the Movie Star."
Now we will see
"Elvis the Family Entertainer."
And appliance salesman?
What did you say?
Listen, Jerry,
I don't need you to question me
about how I support my family
and every g*dd*mn person here.
You understand me?
If you don't like it,
you can go back to Memphis.
Laugh it up, assholes.
What a beautiful rendition
of "Here Comes Santa Claus"
that was,
with all the sparkle and magic
that the season brings.
And you'll be even warmer
this season
in a 12 gauge
cable-knit woolen sweater...
- Satnin?
- Hi.
...made right at home on the
Singer Sewer SK155 home knitter.
And now, here's Elvis!
Can I watch the memorial
with you?
Yeah, baby.
I'm so tired of playing
Elvis Presley.
Too many people rely on me.
I love you.
And your daughter loves you.
We don't care about the money
or anything else.
We just want you to be happy.
Lord, hold my hand
And don't let me fall
You're only really happy when
you sing the music you love.
Oh
Take my hand
Mahalia Jackson.
I used to hear her sing
at East Street Church.
Got a feelin' in my body
That's the music
that makes me happy.
This will be our lucky day
So when things are too
dangerous to say... sing!
When Moses walked the children
out of Egypt land
He said "Now don't you worry
we're in the lord's hands"
I got a feelin' in my body
This will be our lucky day
We'll be released
from all our sorrow
Leave it layin' along the way
You gotta meet these
Binder and Bones guys, E.P.
They're the ones
that put James Brown,
the Rolling Stones onstage.
They're doing some
cutting edge stuff.
Mr. Binder, Mr. Howe...
thanks for coming.
When I first came
to Hollywood, I'd come up here
and sit for hours.
Right over there,
the observatory...
that's where they sh*t
Rebel Without a Cause.
Man, I used to dream of being
a great actor like Jimmy Dean.
This sign was beautiful then.
And now...
Feels as though lots of things
are like that these days.
Broke down, b*at up.
Rotten.
I really like what you guys did,
putting James Brown
and the Stones together.
We're, uh...
big fans of yours, too.
It's just that, Mr. Presley,
we don't usually...
Oh, Elvis.
Elvis, uh...
Christmas specials
aren't really our thing.
I know.
Tell me, honestly...
where do you boys
think my career's at right now?
Well, it's...
It's in the toilet, Elvis.
You hear that, Jerry?
Oh, Lord. I knew you were
the right guys for this job.
You know,
back when I was starting out,
some people wanted
to put me in jail,
even k*ll me,
'cause of the way I was moving.
So they cut my hair,
they put me in uniform
and they sent me away.
That k*lled my mother.
And ever since then...
I've been lost.
And when you're lost,
people take advantage.
I need you fellas to help me
get back to who I really am.
And who are you, Elvis?
I sure as hell ain't somebody
who sings Christmas songs
by a fireplace for an hour.
And what does the Colonel think?
I don't give a damn
what the Colonel thinks.
For this television special,
we've got this Bindle fella,
number one hotshot director.
Elvis will be humoring him by
doing a few of his fresh ideas.
Ah, the sweater!
To Mr. Presley's
dressing room, please.
We are going to sing three
spectacular Christmas songs
in that very sweater.
Now, when that sign lights up,
what do you do?
Applause.
"Silent is the Night"
and "Deck the Halls,"
and, uh...
"Whose Child Is This?"
You think we can do some gospel?
Well, if you want
to find yourself,
first thing you do is go home.
Metaphorically, you know.
Get back to who you really are.
And what is the boy that...
- Oh, "The Little Drummer Boy"?
- Yes, "The Little Drumming Boy."
Oh, the... with the...
We get your old band
back together.
But we are going to start with
"Here Comes Santa Claus,"
isn't that right, Mr. Bindle?
Uh, the Christmas specials
come later in the show.
Can you bring up two?
A leather jacket.
Raw, dirty.
Remember, ladies and gentlemen,
this is television, not radio,
so when that goes up
and you clap,
let's see it
on your faces as well.
But you need an audience.
Audience?
- Bring it over to one.
- At any second now,
Elvis is gonna walk onto this
stage and perform just for you.
I ain't sang in front
of an audience in a long time.
That's my point.
Ladies and gentlemen,
here's Elvis Presley!
Well, since my baby left me
Well, I found a new place
To dwell
Well, it's down at the end
Of Lonely Street
At Heartbreak Hotel
Where I'll be
I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely
I'll be so lonely I could die
Well, the bellhop's tears
Keep flowin'
And the desk clerk's
Dressed in black
Well, they've been so long
On Lonely Street
Well, they'll never
They'll never look back
They'll be so lonely, baby
They'll be so lonely
They'll be so lonely
They could die
Well, that was... energetic.
You ain't nothin'
But a hound dog
Snoopin' at my door
You ain't nothin'
But a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
Well, you ain't never
Caught a rabbit
You ain't no friend of mine
Come on!
Colonel...
Is "Here Comes
Santa Claus" next?
Absolutely.
I see no reason why not.
He's not in the swe... he's not
even wearing the sweater.
Well, it's one for the money
Two for the show
Three to get ready
Now go, cat, go
But don't you
Step on my blue suede shoes
I do not know what is going on.
Singing "Hound Dog"?
What does that have to do
with Christmas?
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes
Yeah
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes
Baby
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes
Yeah
Blue, blue blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything
But lay off of my
Blue suede shoes
Young man, you tell them
it's time for "Here Comes
Santa Claus." I said so. Now!
All right. First positions!
Warden threw a party
In the county jail
The prison band was there
And they began to wail
The band was jumping
And the joint began to swing
You should a heard Those
knocked out jailbirds sing
Let's rock All right,
everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole
Cell block
Was dancing to the
Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
They were dancin'
Well, they were dancin'
To the Jailhouse Rock
Hah!
All right.
It's been a long time, baby.
A long time.
Well, I like a lot
of the new groups,
you know, the Beatles
and the Byrds, but,
a lot of it is basically...
Rock and roll music
is basically, uh...
gospel or rhythm and blues.
Well, that's one thing about
this TV special that I'm doing,
they're gonna let me do
what I want to do.
Sing the music that I want.
Music that I love.
Music that makes me happy.
Those know-it-all
hippies had brainwashed Elvis,
acting like he was
one of them radicals,
throwing his career away
to sing spirituals
with a bunch of longhairs.
Bindle...
- Cue the gospel number now. Go.
- "Here Comes Santa Claus."
Up above my head
There is music in the air
No.
Up above my head
All right, none of this
will be in the special.
Can you make a note that
that should be in the special?
Okay, now let's segue straight
into the whorehouse dancers. Go!
Whorehouse? No.
Now bring in
the kung fu spectacular.
What? Kung fu?
If you ever take
a trip Down to the ocean
Find yourself down around Mobile
This has nothing
to do with Christmas!
You'll be hearing
from our lawyers.
But, we still have
"Here Comes Santa Claus"!
Santa Claus is bringing you
a lawsuit!
Digging the finest
Little five-piece group
Up and down the Gulf of Mexico
Guess who's leading
That five-piece band
Well, wouldn't you know
It's that swinging little
Guitar man
I got a feelin' in my body
This will be our lucky day
Just put your arms around me
Real tight
We'll be released
From all our sorrow
Leave it layin' along the way
Well, I'm the king of the jungle
They call me the Tiger Man
I got a...
I got a feelin' in my body
This will be our lucky day
Bobby Kennedy been sh*t!
Bobby Kennedy's
been sh*t, everybody!
Senator Kennedy has been sh*t.
Oh, my God.
Senator Kennedy has been sh*t.
Get the g*n. Get the g*n.
Take a hold of his thumb
and break it if you have to!
Get his g*n!
We're ready on set.
Oh, my God.
...Senator Kennedy
was involved in a sh**ting,
that a newsman was involved,
and that one other man
was involved.
There are now three doctors
back there caring for them.
Steve,
we gotta get back to work.
Work?
...amount of blood
on the floor of this anteroom.
Ice is now being, uh, brought...
Listen, I, uh...
I just want to say that...
...that this nation is hurting.
It's lost. You know? It...
It needs a voice right now
to help it heal.
We have to say something.
You...
have to make
a statement, E.P.
Mr. Presley does not
make statements.
He sings
"Here Comes Santa Claus"
and wishes everyone,
"Merry Christmas
and good night."
...Senator Kennedy's
press secretary
was made roughly an hour
and a half ago.
Some five to ten minutes later,
the operation began.
The six-man team
of neurosurgeons
probing for the b*llet
that had lodged
in Senator Kennedy's brain.
No report yet
as to how that operation...
Poor Mrs. Kennedy.
This tragedy...
A tragedy.
But it has nothing
to do with us.
The White House
has reacted to the sh**ting...
It has everything to do with us.
No, I just do not think
we should be making speeches
about politics and religion.
Dr. King was sh*t
eight miles from Graceland
while I was out here
singing to turtles.
And now this, and all you can
think about is how many
g*dd*mn sweaters I can sell?
I am a promoter.
That is what I do.
And I'm Elvis Presley.
That's what I do.
Well, Mr. Bindle has really
gotten inside your head
with all of his hippie friends.
You actually think that
you singing your old songs
dressed in black leather,
sweating, mumbling incoherently
to the audience
was a good show?
Colonel, I know when
I've excited an audience.
That was not a real audience,
my boy.
There was a sign
flashing "applaud,"
telling them
when to clap for you.
This entire jamboree
is an embarrassment.
You have embarrassed
the sponsors,
you have embarrassed yourself,
you have embarrassed me.
Now, you can sing whatever songs
you and Mr. Bindle choose
for 55 minutes,
but at the end of the show,
there will be a Christmas song.
Or else we will be sued.
No, you will be sued
for breach of contract,
because I will no longer be
the promoter of your career.
I will have to leave you.
Hmm.
Mmm-hmm.
Now, I have convinced
our friends
at Singer Sewing Machines
to come back tomorrow
for "Here Comes Santa Claus."
I will see you in the morning,
Mr. Presley.
Oh, and as I recall,
Dr. King said
rock and roll music
contributed
to juvenile delinquency.
It would be wrong,
it would be self-deceptive
to ignore the connection
between that lawlessness
and hatred
and this act of v*olence.
It would be just as wrong
and just as self-deceptive
to conclude from this act
that our country itself is sick,
that it's lost its balance,
that it's lost its sense
of direction,
even its common decency.
200 million Americans
did not strike down
Robert Kennedy last night,
any more than they struck down
President John F. Kennedy
in 1963,
or Dr. Martin Luther King
in April of this year.
My fellow citizens, we cannot,
we just must not tolerate
the sway
of violent men among us.
We must not permit men
that are filled with hate...
Here comes Santa Claus
Here comes Santa Claus
Right down Santa Claus...
We're pretty set for the number
tomorrow, right, E.P.?
It's pretty familiar territory,
right?
A reverend once told me...
"When things are too dangerous
to say...
sing."
There must be lights
Burning brighter somewhere
Got to be birds flying higher
In a sky more blue
Standing by.
We're seconds away, folks.
We're just waiting on upstairs.
We're gonna get a rehearsal
going very shortly.
Let's go, let's go, people!
First positions!
Here we go, from the top.
Mrs. Presley is quite
the homemaker, Priscilla is,
and I'm sure
she would love to have
one of the SK551 machines
so she can knit Elvis's...
- They were in there all night.
- Doing what?
He's working on a new song.
He says he's singing it.
New song? Whoa, hey!
It's beginning to look
a lot like Christmas. Yes!
Gentlemen, take your seats.
Now, that's a winter wonderland.
Mr. Bindle.
You and I are
on the same page at last.
Bring up the lights on the sign.
Okay, yeah. Let's go.
Dancers, stop.
Dancers, stop. Stop!
Turn about. Turn about.
You've got to get some roll.
I got action on the right side.
Turn around. Come on,
through, through, through!
We're lost in a cloud
With too much rain
We're trapped in a world
That's troubled with pain
But as long as a man
Has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly
Deep in my heart
There's a trembling question
Still, I am sure
That the answer's
Answer's gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark
There's a beckoning candle, yeah
And while I can think
While I can talk
While I can stand
While I can walk
While I can dream
Oh, please let my dream
Come true, oh
Right now
Let it come true right now
Thank you. Good night.
I was always said,
when it came to music,
my boy knows best.
But the special was my idea.
It was a tremendous hit.
We was back on top.
But some people were
putting ideas into his head
that he didn't need me no more.
Whoo-hoo!
It's working.
London, Germany, Japan...
Hulett here has got it
all lined up.
Air Presley's new wings.
You know, when you
play stadiums, it's like...
you do a week of shows
in just one night.
And when it's done,
you get on the plane...
You go where you want,
you play where you want,
and if they don't like it,
you go someplace else.
You know who told me that?
B.B. King.
Well, B.B. knows, man.
And the someplace else you
should be going is overseas.
I like that.
You know, I heard last year
alone, you had two offers.
Germany and Japan,
for a million bucks
for one night.
I mean, why the Colonel
would turn that down,
I have no idea, man.
Well, if you figure it out,
can you let us know?
Yeah.
Well, screw him.
You've got the plane now.
You should use it.
Yeah, come to Daddy.
Maybe we should call it
the "Lisa Marie."
That's a beautiful name.
Right?
Hit me. Hit me.
Mr. Parker, Mr. Kohn
would like to see you.
Colonel Parker. Hit me.
I can't, sorry.
You've run up
quite a tab, Colonel.
And we hear your boy's working
with new people.
You've lost your meal ticket.
It's time to settle up,
before we have to make things...
Uncomfortable.
Well, before the army, we found
no record of you at all.
No passport, no residency.
You were never a colonel.
Never a Tom.
You weren't even a Parker.
Why did you flee Holland,
Andreas van Kuijk?
I don't know why
you can't just let
the lawyers take care of it.
I have to see him in Vegas.
He's in the hospital.
It's the right thing to do.
- Yeah, well...
- He's frail right now.
You know what he's like, baby.
Hey! Watch it.
You know what he's like. The
second that you're near him,
you'll be under ten feet of snow
before you know what's happened.
My mind's made up.
Business is business.
He and I are done.
But I owe it to him
to tell him to his face.
Well, just make sure he
doesn't clip your wings, honey.
He won't!
I am gonna go see him in Vegas.
I'm gonna look him in the eyes,
and I'm gonna tell him...
- Watch my hair.
- I'm gonna tell him...
- Mmm-hmm.
- Mmm-hmm.
...it's over.
You break it, you burn it
Drag it all around
You twist it and turn it
You cannot tear it down
'Cause every minute,
every hour you'll be shaken
By the strength
and mighty power of my love
Colonel doesn't want you
making a fuss.
- Colonel?
- Mmm?
Elvis is here.
Oh...
Oh. My boy.
Admiral. How are you?
Oh, my boy, I should have
come down to see you.
But I'm a little
laid up, you know.
You've just had a heart att*ck.
You're not meant
to get out of bed.
Heart att*ck?
Colonel, you said your back...
My heart just stopped is all,
and I fell. It's...
I put my back out.
There you go.
It was all the excitement about
the Christmas special, you see.
I should never have worried,
because you came through
like you always do.
Nobody can sell "show"
to an audience like you.
I admit it. I was wrong.
Colonel, I...
I wanted to tell you in person.
Um...
As far as business
is concerned...
I think we need to go
our separate ways.
Well, you may be right.
Maybe it is time for me
to retire.
Oh, come on, Colonel,
quit snowin' me.
You ain't retiring.
I will miss the circus. I will.
But I cannot keep up
with these young fellas,
like your Mr. Hulett,
who wants to put together
a new show
for an international tour,
for you to play stadiums.
These international tours
are very, very expensive.
And the costs
cut into the artist's profits.
I worry that the financial risk
would put a strain
on your daddy.
But I cannot help but think,
as your former technical advisor
and as an old friend, what if...
the next Elvis Presley show
did not cost you a red cent?
I wonder if your daddy would
not like the sound of that.
The brand-new
International Hotel.
It's a mighty big stage.
The biggest in Las Vegas.
You could get lost
in a place like this.
My boy, you performed
that comeback special
on a tiny square,
inside a studio,
and the fans loved it.
In a room this size,
you could give them
the greatest show on earth.
Nothing less than Elvis Presley.
I've been experimenting
with a new, big sound.
Good. Good, my boy.
Because you can fill up
this entire stage
with every musical idea
that is inside that head.
No, it would cost.
Yes, that's the beauty of it.
You see, this here
International Hotel...
This International Hotel...
Mmm-hmm.
...needs a major drawing card
to pull in all the rubes
and put it on the map.
So they will cover
all of the costs
of putting together your show.
And you just play here
for six weeks,
and then off you go,
to tour around the world
with no financial risk
to Elvis Presley Enterprises.
None.
Well, g*dd*mn.
- Snowman strikes again.
- Oh, yeah.
We're going to make it snow.
It will snow.
First of all, we're gonna
need the Sweet Inspirations.
Yeah, yeah
And the Imperials.
We're caught
in a trap I can't walk out
And a 30-piece orchestra.
You know, the first
thing that I ever recorded,
the very first thing,
was an old, uh, rhythm
and blues-type song
called "That's All Right,
Little Mama."
And back then we only had
two or three instruments
at the time.
But this ain't
no nostalgia show.
We're gonna do something
different.
I, uh...
I wanna try something new.
All right, Glen, you're gonna
start us off, okay?
Take the intro here.
All right, bring that
bass up, Jerry.
Keep playing.
Whoo!
Oh! Oh! Oh!
-That's all right
-That's all right
-That's all right
-That's all right
Boys...
That's all right
With me.
Any way you do
All right.
James, you ready?
Oh!
Flames, man!
Flames are coming
out of that guitar.
I got that. Ronnie.
I'll get back to that.
Horns, you ready?
Ba-da-bom! Ba-da-bom!
Let's up the octave!
Yeah! g*dd*mn!
All right, 'bones.
On a one, three, four...
Ronnie,
you know what to do, man.
Do it to me, come on.
Take us home.
Huh, huh, huh, huh
Hah! Hah! Hah!
Come on.
Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!
Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!
- Colonel, nice to see you.
- Oh, here you are.
Yeah. Here you go.
- How 'bout a hound dog?
- Cool.
I'll fix you with
some food and drink.
Thank you.
All right, let's go.
Well, that's all right, Mama
That's all right with you
That's all right, Mama
Just any way you do
-That's all right
- That's all right
-That's all right
- That's all right
That's all right now, Mama
Any way you do, yeah
Well, my mama, she done
told me Papa told me too
"The life you're livin, son Now,
women be the death of you"
Now, that's all right
That's all right
That's all right now, Mama
Any way you do
That's all right
That's all right
That's all right
Any way you do
Da, da-da, dee, dee, dee
Dee, dee, dee-dee
Dee, dee, dee-dee
Dee-dee, dee-dee, dee-dee, do
-That's all right
- That's all right
-That's all right
- That's all right
That's all right now, Mama
Any way you do
Well, that's all right now,
Mama Any way you do
Ain't nobody gonna do
a better show than that.
I tell ya, if I was you,
I would book him
for a hundred years.
Well, no better time
than the present.
But we hear Hulett has him
doing a world tour.
Well, well, well, uh,
I think Mr. Presley
could be persuaded to make
the International his home,
provided he was paid
pretty well.
What did you have in mind?
I'd like to introduce to you
a couple of people tonight,
one of which being
my beautiful wife, Priscilla.
Would you stand up, honey?
For an attraction as tremendous
as Mr. Presley...
We love you, Priscilla!
Also, this man over here,
I wouldn't be here without,
my manager of many years,
Colonel Sanders.
Parker. Parker.
Well, we're gonna do a new song
for you tonight.
It's called "Suspicious Minds."
"Suspicious Minds."
We're caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you
Too much, baby
Why can't you see
Oh, what you're doin' to me
Oh, when you don't believe
A word I'm sayin'?
We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds
So, if an old friend I know
Shove it up your nose
Stops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicion
in your eyes?
That is what my boy
would expect.
Now...
What are you going to pay me?
Oh, let our love survive
Colonel, your sideshow
is the jackpot.
If you bring him back
every year,
I'll make it worth your while.
Oh, I've never...
Lied to you
Caught in a trap
I can't walk out
...good thing die
Yeah, yeah Now, don't you know
Caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you too much
Caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you too much
Caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you too much
Caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you
Too much, baby
Oh, don't you know
Caught in a trap
Of course, I will reserve
the right to sell calendars,
pictures and such?
You do whatever
you want, Colonel,
as long as that boy
stays on that stage.
My boy's light b*rned brighter
than even 15 years before.
Hi, darlin'.
I saw in her face that night
what I had always known.
She could never compete
with the love he felt from you.
I'm sorry I couldn't
make it up there, man.
Take my... take my hand
Take my whole...
whole life too
For I... for I...
I can't help
Hey, guys. Time to go back.
Falling in love with you
Oh, oh, for I...
For I can't help
Falling in love
With you
Thank you very much.
Thank you! Thank you.
Such a fine show.
Yeah, baby! Yeah.
- Wow, great show.
- Thank you. Thank you, all.
g*dd*mn, Elvis.
That was great.
That was fantastic.
There she is.
Oh, God. I don't know
who that was out there.
You were... You...
You were incredible.
You were...
You were everything.
Thank you, baby. Thank you.
Mr. Elvis Presley,
I guess that's your
new manager over there, hmm?
- Mmm.
- Mmm-hmm.
Yeah. I'm gonna go talk to him,
all right?
- Okay.
- You okay to get upstairs?
Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
Tremendous...
tremendous triumph.
The greatest show on earth.
My dear boy, this brainchild
came from you and me,
but you alone rose above it
all, and it worked with your talent,
and your dedication.
We did it. We did it!
- We did it.
- We did.
Come on.
I can't wait to show the world
what you and I can do.
The world will see this show.
Whatever it takes,
I guarantee it.
Whatever I have to do.
Ladies and gentlemen
of the press,
the King of Rock and Roll,
Elvis Presley!
No, I'm not the king.
Hey, Fats. Mr. Fats Domino,
ladies and gentlemen.
This is the real king
of rock and roll.
Yeah, I'm somethin' else.
Any plans
to take this show on tour?
There's so many places
I haven't been yet, you know.
I'd like to go to Europe.
I'd like to go to Japan.
I've never been
out of the country,
except in the service.
What are you lookin' at
back there?
Oh, Mr. Diskin.
Have we discussed
with Mr. Hulett,
pertaining to the death threats?
The death threats?
Precisely. Death threats!
Down in Louisiana
Where the alligators
Grow so mean
Lived a girl that I swear
To the world
Made the alligators look tame
Polk salad Annie
Colonel,
once we finish the season,
Elvis wants
to take the tour overseas.
Overseas? Have you thought
about security, Jerry?
Of course I have.
This is Elvis Presley,
the most famous man
on the planet.
Straight-razor totin' woman
Lord, have mercy
The crazies
in those countries...
They're a hundred times
more dangerous.
Am I the only one
who thinks about security?
Sock a little polk salad
You know I need it
There is nothing more important
than security!
Am I the only one who ever
thinks about Elvis' security!
Get him out of here!
Those guys turned out to be
some over-excited fans
from Peru.
But the death threats were real.
I'm going back on.
I'll rip his g*dd*mn tongue out
by the roots.
It started to take its toll.
Here at Baptist Memorial
Hospital in Midtown Memphis,
Elvis Presley has apparently
checked in to a private suite,
suffering from exhaustion.
A sign that Elvis
is in fact here
is the aluminum foil that covers
his windows to deflect the sun.
Shock around the nation today
as a free rock concert
at the Altamont Speedway
by English band
The Rolling Stones,
ended with four deaths.
One resulting from a stabbing,
allegedly committed...
Elvis,
Dr. Nick is here.
Such a lovely girl,
Ms. Tate.
What has happened to law
and order in this country?
Hippies and radicals,
threatening and k*lling
popular entertainers.
The IRA blowing up England?
Planes exploding in mid-air?
Has the world gone mad?
Hulett's security
is not what it needs to be.
And he knows it.
An international tour now
is out of the question.
What are you talking about,
Colonel?
I ain't gonna let these sons of
b*tches push me off the stage.
Precisely.
You are not one of Hulett's
long-hair Zeppelins,
you are Elvis Presley.
You are beloved.
And I told him I have to
look Priscilla in the eye,
and I have to promise her
that little Lisa Marie's daddy
will be safe while
he's away from home.
We're taking the show
to the world, Colonel.
I ain't gonna disappoint
those fans.
Well...
If you want to book more dates,
we could do an American tour,
15 cities in 15 days,
while Mr. Hulett straightens out
his security problems overseas.
I'd like that very much, son.
How is that gonna be any safer?
Because staying in this country,
I can handle every aspect
of security.
And then we go international?
Yeah, sure, around the world.
Wherever you want.
But in the meantime,
here in America,
we put on a great show.
And what will we do, Charlie?
And have a lot of fun.
Taking care of business.
Taking care of business.
I'll get guarantees
from every mayor.
We'll double
the police presence.
You'll have more security
than the President.
Lord Almighty
I feel my temperature rising
Higher, higher It's
burning through to my soul
Girl, girl, girl
You're gonna set me on fire
My brain is flaming
I don't know which way to go
And when the show is done,
the boys will hustle you
to the motorcade.
Elvis has left the building.
Once you're in the air,
Dr. Nick will ensure your rest.
Burnin' love
Land in the next city,
then we do it all again.
Fifteen times!
I'm just a hunk
A hunk of burning love
I'm just a hunk
A hunk of burning love
It was life on the
road, just like the old days.
We were making so much snow,
we did it again.
And again.
And again.
All in the safety
of the US of A.
Eventually, he lost interest
in going overseas.
Why would you?
But I still kept my promise.
I brought the world to him.
I invented the world's
first ever satellite concert.
1.5 billion people in
one night, for a single artist.
Nothing like it before,
nothing like it since.
But it wasn't enough.
He was addicted to the love
he felt from you onstage.
Ordinary love
just didn't compare.
So, in the lonely moments
between shows,
he turned to them pills.
Priscilla, I want you to
do something for me, will you?
You give my baby girl
a big hug for me, okay?
The roar of the crowd.
The life on the road.
Calling home to your loved ones,
pretending nothing has changed,
when everything has.
Lost.
What was that?
Ain't no one gonna walk around
sayin' they k*lled
Elvis Presley.
- What did you say?
- Nothing, baby.
Dr. Martin
Luther King has been sh*t
in downtown Memphis,
Tennessee...
Sharon Tate was the last to die.
Is that you, doll?
I'm leaving you,
and I'm taking Lisa with me.
Uh, 'Cilla, is this about
what happens on the road?
About the what?
Is this about what happens
on the road?
The girls? You think
I give a sh*t about the girls
that you sneak in
through the side door?
No. I couldn't care less
about whoever it is
you sneak through the side door.
It's about this, Elvis.
- And this.
- Hey. Whoa.
And these g*dd*mn pills
those leeches
and has-beens feed
down your throat!
God damn it.
- Like you're strung out.
- Strung out?
g*dd*mn, I'm in the best
shape of my life.
Best shape of your life.
The only time you're happy
is when you're on that stage.
And in between that,
you're a ghost.
'Cilla, I give you everything
you could want.
What I want is a husband.
I am your wife.
I am your wife!
And Lisa is your daughter.
She needs a father.
I am her father!
Do you remember the last time
that we laughed together?
Do you remember the last time
that the three of us
sat down and had
dinner together?
You won't even make love
to me anymore.
I gift you my life, and I have
nothing left in me to give you.
Do you still love me?
When you're 40 and I'm 50,
we'll be back together.
You'll see.
I have to go.
Will you please stay?
I have to go. Okay?
If I stay, I'll never leave.
- Please...
- You have to let me go.
- Please, Priscilla.
- You have to let me go.
Fifty thousand people gathered
in New Orleans earlier today
to mourn the passing
of gospel legend,
Mahalia Jackson.
Will you come to Mississippi
and sing with us, Mr. Presley?
Why, B.B. King will be there.
Perhaps even the Rolling Stones.
I'm sorry, Ms. Jackson.
The Colonel, he...
he won't allow it.
You are a man,
Mr. Presley.
And a man don't
make up his own mind
about matters of conscience.
Come on, Diskin.
Elvis needs a challenge
to get back on track.
Why won't the Colonel
let him go overseas?
- Security, Jerry. You know that.
- Bullshit!
The Colonel's k*lling his
greatest asset without a reason.
So what is the reason?
Colonel always has his reasons.
I'm not at liberty to divulge
personal information
about Mr. Parker.
He lied.
There wasn't gonna be
an international tour
'cause he can't leave
the country.
He's got no citizenship,
no official identity.
He doesn't exist.
There never was
a Colonel Tom Parker.
What are you
talking about, Jerry?
Hey, whoa, whoa!
Get him an ice bucket!
Colonel's a smart man.
There's got to be
another reason.
Come on, man!
I will stay here at home,
and I will work
and I will worry.
I mean, why the
Colonel kept turning them down,
I have no idea, man.
Get out of the way!
Now, you listen to me.
The only thing that matters...
is that that man
gets up on that stage tonight.
If he was my son,
I'd put him in a hospital.
Well, of course, this is
a Presley Enterprises decision.
Vernon?
Well... um...
Well, what can you...
What can you do for him,
Dr. Nick?
His truth is marching on
His truth is marching on
Thank you. Thank you.
Now he's gonna ask the house
lights to be brought up,
'cause we've been
looking at him.
He wants to look at us now.
He loves this.
I'd like to turn
the house lights up,
- ladies and gentlemen.
- Eh?
'Cause now that you've seen me,
I'd like to take a look at you.
Oh, you're beautiful.
Thank you.
He'll mention the VIPs
that are here.
We've got some high-rollers
in here tonight.
Get ready for the spotlight.
Mr. International Hotel
himself.
- Thank you.
- Ah, there you go.
And right next to him,
is my so-called manager,
Colonel Tom Parker.
- There he is.
- Come on.
But I hear rumors
that Colonel is an alien.
Got here on my rocket ship.
Oh.
Somebody call the FBI
and tell 'em that
he has abducted me,
that he has locked me
in this golden cage,
to keep me here forever
with you, ladies and gentlemen.
So I'm caught in a trap
I can't get out
'Cause Colonel's got some
big debts, baby.
Excuse me.
Well, this is the last show
I'm ever playing here.
I'm gonna get on my jet plane,
the Lisa Marie...
It's named after my, uh...
my beautiful daughter.
And I'm gonna fly away.
No, no, no...
You know, I'm gonna fly away.
Stop the show.
Stop this show!
Come on, get this curtain down.
f*ck the International.
Mr. Schilling, what the devil
is happening here?
And Las Vegas.
That's what he wants to know.
Ain't no one gonna stop me, man.
Oh! Security.
Security!
Security, security! Security!
800 shows!
You don't have a g*dd*mn
passport, you son of a bitch!
You are fired!
You are fired!
You're fired!
You're fired.
E., I...
Colonel, I gotta...
I'll talk him down.
This is Colonel Tom Parker.
I wish it to be known
that Dr. Nick's services
are no longer required.
Thank you.
Hmm.
Well, Diskin...
if the boy wants to set out
on his own,
it's all right by me,
but Presley Enterprises
is going to cough up
what it owes.
- Are you ready?
- Ready.
Gasoline for the first trip
to the Hayride...
one dollar and 25 cents.
Un-recouped promotional costs
pertaining to souvenir
calendars, $100.
Collectible trading cards, $100.
Posters, flyers and programs,
$100.
Balloons, $50...
What's the hold-up?
Sorry, E.P. Your daddy
won't come down.
Daddy.
What is this?
Well, that is what we owe
the Colonel.
We're broke.
Daddy, I've been playing this
mausoleum for a hundred years.
How could we be broke?
You spend so much money.
You know, you got the cars
and the girls and the clothes,
and all the...
you know, new airplane.
Daddy, you are
my business manager.
You're supposed
to be taking care of business.
I don't know what to tell you,
son, we're broke!
We're plain broke.
Gotta take the Colonel back.
I am not taking him back.
We're gonna lose Graceland.
I am not taking him back!
He takes everything from me.
He takes 50%
of everything that I make!
And now he wants
to take the home
that we bought for Mama!
Listen to me, Daddy.
That old bastard
can sue if he wants,
but I am flying away.
With or without you.
Oh, you bloodsucking,
old vampire.
You bled me dry
and you still want more?
I'm not an uncaring man,
Mr. Presley.
Don't you "Mr. Presley" me,
you toad.
If you are so determined
to get out of our contract...
You're g*dd*mn right I want out.
Well, I will personally
loan you the money
that you owe
to Jamboree Attractions.
Yeah, you'll still have
your claws in me.
You'll still have me
working here
like a g*dd*mn sl*ve
in a salt mine,
you phony, no-good
piece of trash!
I ought a sh**t you in your fat,
g*dd*mn face!
Who are you?
I am you. And you are me.
Cut the horseshit!
Everything I've ever known
about you has been a lie.
E.P., you all good?
My past is the least
of your problems, my boy.
Everyone else you associate
with lives from you, Mr. Presley.
Even Vernon.
That's right,
even your own daddy
has looked after himself
before he's looked after you.
Yes, I have lived from
you, too, but the difference is
you have also lived from me.
We have supported each other.
Because we shared a dream.
We are the same, you and I.
We are two odd, lonely
children, reaching for eternity.
Maybe you should fly away,
my boy.
Away from all of this.
But if you do choose to leave...
then I, for one,
will be very lonely.
So would your father.
But I think you may
be lonely, too.
Oh, you see, my boy, the...
truth about
the Rock of Eternity...
It is forever
just beyond our reach.
Do the chairs in your parlor
Seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep
Picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain?
Shall I come back again?
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight?
Is your heart filled with pain?
Shall I come back again?
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight?
Son, I know...
I know, I...
I wanna try and...
I wanna try and fix this.
You know...
Daddy...
Tell that son of a bitch...
I want things to go back
to the way they were.
And, Daddy...
Tell the Colonel
to send up Dr. Nick.
It's a beautiful day
in Las Vegas,
with lots going on this weekend.
Those teen sensations,
The Jacksons,
are causing a lot of excitement
with their residency
at the MGM Grand.
And for the older crowd,
Elvis is back for a fifth year.
And don't we love him.
In Entertainment News today,
Elvis Presley is in talks to
play opposite Barbra Streisand
in a remake of A Star is Born.
These days,
when he's not slurring
on stage in Vegas or playing
the same old
domestic concert circuit,
the singer spends weeks
at a time in his bedroom,
tormented by his
growing waistline.
Sounds like it won't be
much of a stretch for him
to play the role
of a washed-up singer.
Oh, look, here they come.
- Are you all right?
- Yep.
All right, Daddy loves you.
- Bye, baby.
- Come on, baby.
- Bye, Papa.
- Good girl.
- Bye, baby.
- Give me your hand.
Hi!
- Here she is.
- Hi, baby. How you doing?
Want to say goodbye to Daddy?
- Bye, Daddy.
- You're so good.
Hi. How are you?
How you doing?
We're okay.
Hey.
Hi.
Hmm.
How are you doing?
Honey, there's this place
in San Diego
that you can go to rest.
To heal.
After the show, you can fly
directly and be in a clinic
before anyone knows.
It's all been arranged.
I'm gonna be 40 soon, 'Cilla.
Forty.
And nobody's gonna remember me.
I never did anything lasting.
I never made that classic film
that I could be proud of.
But what about A Star is Born?
Uh...
Barbra... the Colonel...
Please go.
For Lisa?
If you dream it,
you can do it, baby.
I'm all out of dreams.
Promise me.
I... will always... love you.
Hi, baby.
Did you know
there's a kind of bird
that doesn't have any legs?
So it can't land on nothing.
It lives its whole life
on the wing.
When it gets tired,
it just spreads its wings
and sleeps on the wind.
If it ever does land,
even but one time...
so it dies.
Good evening.
Elvis Presley d*ed today.
He was 42.
Apparently,
it was a heart att*ck.
He was found in his home
in Memphis...
President Carter
has just made a statement...
Elvis Presley's death
deprives our country
of a part of itself.
He was unique and irreplaceable.
Thousands
of mourners have gathered
outside the gates
of Graceland...
Using the styles
of white country
and Black rhythm and blues,
permanently changed the face
of American popular culture.
The outpouring of
grief can be seen everywhere.
He was a symbol
to people the world over,
of the vitality,
rebelliousness...
What k*lled my boy?
Them doctors say
it was his heart.
Others, the pills.
Some say it was me.
No. I'll tell you
what k*lled him.
It was love.
His love for you.
You know, a few weeks
before he d*ed,
I saw him sing
for the very last time.
He could barely stand up.
"Unchained Melody."
From an album called
Unchained Melody.
Makes a lot of sense. Okay.
But that night,
he sang as he always did.
With all his heart and soul.
How you like it so far?
That old voice rang out,
and he sang with all his life.
Oh, my love
My darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time
Time goes by
So slowly
And time can do so much
Are you
Still mine?
I need your love, ooh
I need your love
God speed your love
To me
Lonely rivers flow to the sea
To the sea
To the open arms of the sea
Lonely rivers cry Wait
for me Wait for me
I'll be coming home
Wait for me
My love, my darling
I've hungered for your kiss
A long, lonely time
When I was a
child, ladies and gentlemen,
I was a dreamer.
I read comic books
and I was the hero
of the comic book.
I saw movies and I was
the hero in the movie.
So every dream
that I ever dreamed
has come true a hundred times.
Are you still mine?
I need your love, ooh
I learned very early
in life that...
"Without a song,
the day would never end,
without a song,
a man ain't got a friend,
without a song,
the road would never bend,
without a song."
So I keep singing a song.
To...
Ooh-hoo
Ooh
Me
Elvis has left the building.
As the snow flies
On a cold and gray
Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing
that she don't need
Is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he'll grow to be
an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
Well, the world turns...
"You never
stood in that man's shoes
Or saw things through his eyes
Or stood and watched
with helpless hands
While the heart inside you dies
So help your brother
along the way
No matter where he starts
For the same God that made you
Made him, too
These men with broken hearts"
And his mama cries
And a hungry, little boy
with a runny nose
Plays in the street
as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam
the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a g*n, steals a car
Tries to run,
but he don't get far
And his mama cries
On a cold and gray
Chicago mornin'
Another little baby child
is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
Summer kisses, winter tears
Summer kisses, winter tears
That was what she gave to me
Never thought
I'd travel all alone
The trail of memories
Don't tiptoe, stomp my ground
Gotta let 'em know we're comin'
Just stay there, woman
Engine still runnin'
Get dressed
Like the whole world watchin'
God bless
Gotta leave 'em shooken
Girls goin' wild, too cray
Look at what you made
Always come correct
There's no turnin' back
Takin' bigger steps
That's all I can do
That's all for the moment
If that's all right with you
That's all right, Mama
That's all right with you
That's all right, Mama
Anyway you do, that's all right
That's all right
That's all right now, Mama
Anyway you do
We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds
There must be peace
and understanding sometime
Strong winds of promise
That will blow away
the doubt and fear
If I can dream of a warmer sun
Where hope keeps shining
on everyone
Tell me why, oh, why,
Oh, why won't that sun appear
We're lost in a cloud
With too much rain
We're trapped in a world
That's troubled with pain
But as long as a man
Has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly
Oh...
Deep in my heart,
there's a trembling question
Still I am sure that the answers
The answers gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark,
there's a beckoning candle
And while I can think,
while I can talk
While I can stand,
while I can walk
While I can dream
Please let my dream
Come true
Right now
Let it come true right now
Oh, yeah
Thank you.
You're fantastic.
Thank you very much.
Elvis (2022)
Moderator: Maskath3