(266) HIGH JINKS = GOOD CLEAN FUN

All the joking and horse-playing Elvis and the guys were up to - the high jinks - was good clean fun. I can't emphasize that enough. No drugs!

So many people think that drugs and the music business always go hand in hand... NOT SO!

When Buddy Knox and I were touring we drove in front of the tour bus! We were young, it's true, but we crisscrossed the United States for two years and it was exhausting. Still, we carried on, performing to our professional best and no hard drinking and no drugs.

And when I hired a musician to work in the studio with me and he or she turned up on something, I could tell, and so could just about anyone else who heard it. You often hear of some "great" drummer or guitarist who performed fantastic - until they ruin their lives or overdose; I couldn't take that chance. Unusable tracks are money thrown away. A waste of everyone else's time. A good way to loose your contract. I'd have to ax the ax man on drugs.