Elvis Presley – Ramblings of a Lifelong Fan – Part 25 – Elvis’ Women:

It is a well-known fact that Elvis Presley loved females, and of course, females most definitely loved him. He had many, many women in his life over the years, but only a few long-term relationships. In the years before he went into the army, he had a handful of girlfriends, the most serious of them being Anita Wood. It is rumored that Gladys, Elvis’ mother, wanted him to marry Anita, but their relationship fizzled about the time he met Priscilla.

Elvis and Ann Margaret dated and they had a special bond. She claims he was her soul mate. Some people close to Elvis say that he truly loved her. I’m not sure what happened between them, but she loved him always and attended his funeral. I think they made a beautiful couple.

Priscilla – He met the girl who would be the only woman he ever took as a wife in Germany when she was fourteen. There has been a lot of criticism and slander toward Elvis about his interest in such a young girl, but Priscilla was very mature for her age, and Elvis was lonely in the army. (And it should be noted, he was only ten years older than her, not a huge disparity)  When he met her, he felt an immediate connection. They spent hours and hours talking. They were chaperoned when they were together, and even though she eventually came to live at Graceland, from her own account, Elvis wanted to wait until they were married, and they did not have sex with her until their wedding night. (Lisa Marie was born 9 months to the day after they married) And, although Suzanne Finstad wrote a book titled ‘Child Bride – The Untold Story,’ Priscilla was actually a few weeks shy of twenty-two when they married, which is far from a child. (Ms. Finstad probably needs to brush up on her math skills.) (I haven’t read the book, and I don’t intend to. I have heard that it is filled with vile accusations and her version of the events is in direct opposition of Priscilla’s. I actually don’t read any books about Elvis, they usually just piss me off and I don’t know whether to believe anything in them. But then, that’s a topic for another blog. J) Elvis and Priscilla split in 1972 and divorced in 1973. From her account, they remained close until the day he died. My feelings about Priscilla have waffled from dislike to admiration over the years and have now settled somewhere in between. As a young girl, I was very jealous of her (well, I’m still jealous of her, if I’m being honest). I was also infuriated that she had an affair with Mike Stone, her karate instructor, while married to Elvis. Yes, I have heard that Elvis had affairs, but when you are Elvis Presley and you can have literally any woman in the world, it must be difficult to remain faithful. (I know I’m going to be lambasted for excusing his infidelity, but seriously, can you imagine what it would be like to know you could have sex with anyone in the world you wanted to? That must be a pretty powerful temptation). Anyway, I finally grew to appreciate Priscilla for what she’s done with Graceland and keeping Elvis’ memory alive and treating his legacy with respect. I understand she has said some pretty uncomplimentary things about him in the past, but now she has nothing but good to say about him.

Linda Thompson – I have decided that Linda is my favorite of all of Elvis’ women. I believe that she truly, deeply loved him. They were together for about four years, and I think Elvis loved her very much and that he counted on her for moral support. Linda took good care of Elvis and she herself has said she feels somewhat guilty because if she had stayed, Elvis might still be alive. She said Elvis was the love of her life, but he was unfaithful, and also, she couldn’t live the vampire lifestyle any longer. Her brother was one of Elvis’ bodyguards, and after Elvis and Linda broke up, he asked her if it would bother her if he stayed in Elvis’ employ. She said no, it would make her feel better to know he was there looking out for him. Eight months after Linda left, Elvis passed away. Linda learned of Elvis’ death from Lisa Marie, who was only 9. She called Linda and told her that her daddy was dead. Linda asked if she was sure he wasn’t just sick, that he didn’t just go to the hospital. Lisa said no, he’s dead. Linda was devastated.  Something I only recently learned was that Linda was a song writer. She co-wrote ‘I Have Nothing’ by Whitney Houston, which is probably my favorite Whitney song. I wonder why she never wrote a song for Elvis? She didn’t start writing until much later, but I assume she always had the talent and desire. I also recently learned that she is Brody Jenner’s mother. I had forgotten about her being married to Bruce Jenner.  So strange to think that the Kardashians have a link, even a remote one, to Elvis. 

How many of you remember her on Hee Haw? 🙂 I thought it an odd setting for a former girlfriend of Elvis.

Ginger Alden – I am not sure what to think about Ginger. I have heard some less than favorable things about her. She was the one to find Elvis the morning he died and, from what I heard, instead of calling for an ambulance, she dressed and put on make-up, because she knew she’d be seen by the press. Then she called downstairs. There are different stories of who came upstairs and called for an ambulance, Joe Esposito claims he was the one who did, but regardless, by then it was too late. Ginger only recently came out with her own book. On one hand, I have to respect that she waited all this time to cash in on Elvis’ name, but on the other, from what I understand, some of the things she said were self-serving and untrue. Her family sued the Presley estate after Elvis’ death, because she claimed that Elvis promised to pay off her mother’s house, but he died before he could. She wanted the house paid off and money from the estate. The Aldens lost the case.

Almost unanimously, the women who worked with Elvis, knew him, or dated him say that he was very kind and respectful. I sometimes wonder how Elvis’ choices regarding his relationships would have affected the course of his life. If he’d gotten with Ann Margaret instead of Priscilla, would his acting career have been different? Would he have lived longer? Of course, he wouldn’t have had Lisa, but perhaps other children? What do you think?

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(Coming January 8, 2015, now available for pre-order through Amazon, End of Lonely Street – A Vintage Romance short story from The Wild Rose Press – Pre-Order ebook for Kindle: http://amzn.com/B00QQO3BK0)

Blurb: 

All Toby Lawson wants is to go to college to become a teacher and to be free of her alcoholic mother and some painful memories. But when her mother nearly burns the house down, Toby must put her dreams on hold and return home to care for her. The only time she isn’t lonely and miserable is when she’s listening to her heartthrob, Elvis Presley. His music takes her away and helps her escape from everything wrong in her life. 

Noah Rivers has always loved Toby, but no matter what he says, she can‘t get past the fact that her drunken mother once kissed him. He soon realizes the true problem lies in Toby’s belief she’s not good enough for him and in her fear she will be just like her mother. 

What will it take to prove to her that she deserves to be happy, and that he would give anything to be the man to make her dreams come true?