My friend Elvis Presley was like a walking encyclopedia of music. He made it a point to know about everyone in the business. He studied some of his favorites, like the American tenor Mario Lanza, whose voice inspired him. He often told me about other singers' voices - what problems they had with meter, breathing, phrasing. Elvis thought his talent was a God-given gift and he was determined not to loose his voice through misuse.
His juke box at the house was frequently renewed with the latest Top 40 as well as some of his favorites all time hits. And at parties he invented dances to a variety of songs. When party guests saw him moving, those legs and arms going, the house went crazy.
Because Colonel Parker kept Elvis from talk shows and interviews, he honed a mystique about his star. But Elvis was also thought to be less intelligent than he was, even inarticulate. Part of the problem Elvis had was a problem I had too - the stereotype that Southerners just weren't as smart as Northerners. We were considered hillbillies- hicks; I once decked a song writer in the Brill building for calling me names.
Maybe Colonel Parker knew that too - the prejudice - and decided that on that basis not to expose Elvis to ridicule.
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