(50) WELCOME HOME ELVIS! THE PARTY AT GRACELAND

Well, we can't leave you hanging on the cliff too long can we?

The day finally came that we got word that the U.S. Army had all the service it would get from Elvis Presley.

It was time for him to come home.

Today, hundreds of people who were not there claim to have met the train that day that it arrived in Memphis. Some of these people are even celebrities in their own right, eager to claim a close personal friendship with Elvis that never was.

Yes, there was a bit of a crowd - fans! Just as there had been a crowd saying goodbye to Elvis in Germany. He was a star after all. That was to be expected. And it made for good news footage and photographs. It was exciting!

March 24th 1958 Elivis was inducted into the army and March 5, 1960 was the official date of return to the United States. Elvis hated to fly at that time in his life, which is why once he got to the states he elected to take a train to Memphis.

Here came the train down the tracks, the whistle blowing to a stop. There is something to the power of a train, the wheels on the tracks. The train stopped and Elvis came off wearing his full army uniform and looked terrific. You could sense a new maturity about him. You could see the genuine happiness in his face to be home.

I was among a group of Elvis' friends and employees and family members who were there to meet him when the train pulled into the station, those there by invitation. That meant that I was part of a relatively small group of people who got Elvis in a car, and then packed into other cars, and followed him in a caravan to Graceland TM where a "Welcome Home Elvis!" party was waiting.

Graceland TM had not been home long to Elvis and the Presley's when he left the country and it was missing the one thing that makes a home a Home Sweet Home.

If a wash of sadness or a moment of thoughtfulness dressed his face during those first days when Elvis was back in Memphis, it was because there was one person he could never come to again, his mother, Gladys.

Here's a video of Elvis from a You Tube presenter that has some footage of Elvis leaving the army and arriving home at Graceland. (Where do people get the footage?) This one has Elvis singing "It's Now Or Never." Towards the end there, is Colonel Tom Parker, who I first met at this party, and who was in and out of the house. He and Elvis never did take to socializing with each other much.

Now, the party lasted for days. There was Southern food. Food, food, and more food. Cake and more cake. We talked and we ate. We danced to the jukebox and ate some more. Elvis demonstrated karate moves he'd learned while in Germany. I didn't see anyone get drunk. Everyone was too busy catching up with Elvis and each other. It was a true "house party," with people making themselves at home. And it was during a moment in the kitchen at this party that Elvis and I talked the two of us, and I told him that I had left United Artists.

The early entourage wasn't called "The Memphis Mafia" TM then. They were called "his guys" or "his crew," and at first it was men who were friends who were then asked to work, be on payroll, people Elvis wanted around to make his life easier, to take care of things that needed to be done around the house, people he liked personally. Elvis liked talented people, musical people, particularly those who were tied to the music business, around him. People like ex-DJ and hep cat comedian Cliff Gleaves, who would one day be the entertainer at Elvis' parties in Hollywood.

(45) ELVIS IN THE ARMY : THE LOSS OF HIS MOTHER GLADYS

Before Elvis Presley was actually sent to Germany, while he was in basic training at Fort Hood, his mother, Gladys Love Presley died. Her condition seems to have come on suddenly, but maybe she was hiding it from her son. Elvis, who was afraid to fly at this point in his life, actually got leave and flew home to see his mother. She died soon after and his grief was profound.

Elvis has been called a Southern Mamma's Boy, and maybe it's true, but no Southern boy (me included) was ever ashamed of loving his mother! As an only child, the bond between Elvis and his mother was special.

The night I met Elvis, when I met Gladys and his father, Vernon Elvis Presley, and various members of his early entourage, his girlfriend Anita Wood, and George Klein and Cliff Gleaves, Gladys had asked me about my family. She said they also had kin in the Smokey Mountains. Showing interest in someones family and heritage was the Southern way. That night I told Gladys, Vernon, Elvis - everyone sitting at that dinner table - that my own mother had died when I was 16. The Presleys were sympathetic. So Elvis knew that I'd already lost my mother when he lost his. The understanding we had about that kind of loss is one of the things that bonded our friendship.

Maybe it was good that Elvis had so much to do in Germany, to divert his attention from his loss. Because he was already famous before he left the United States, he was given special consideration and allowed to live off base in a house where his father and grandmother joined him. Also along were a few of his employees who came from the states to be with him. Funny man Cliff Gleaves was one of the men who made a trip over at Elvis' request and on his dime to provide him company. While German fans lined up for autographs outside the house, Elvis was not too lonely when it came to women either. He had a few lovers there in Germany, some in relationships, some without. Some of his employees served to screen women or bring home ones they thought would meet with his approval. There was an understanding that Elvis had a type he liked, and any man who managed to introduce Elvis to a woman he would marry would have a feather in his cap.

The thing was, before he left several of us were under the impression that when he returned he would be marrying Anita, and well, things had changed for Elvis while he was in Germany, though they kept up a correspondence and she would be with us waiting for him in Memphis, just as she was there to see him off.

As a famous star who didn't shirk his duty, Elvis became the best advertisement for joining the army there was.

(24) HOW I MET THE FAMOUS YOUNG ELVIS PRESLEY & WINK MARTINDALE

United Artists had me touring around the country, playing live on television, radio, and at record hops on a promotional tour for my launch with "Lonesome Love," and "Tiny Spaceman." On my first tour of the Mid South in 1957, I went to Memphis, Tennessee to perform on a couple shows.

One of them was Wink Martindale's version of a dance party show.

At this point I was beginning to become used to the adoration of my fans. I was a teen idol. My name was mentioned in the columns and pictures of me and magazine articles about me were out there. The girls chased me around and even tried to tear my clothes off. Wink had the kids in the audience ready to give me a hearty welcome, but as I sang, I realized I had never caused so much commotion before... HA!

Elvis Presley and his early entourage had burst into the station to see me!

That's what all the commotion was about! Even Elvis wanted to see what The Next James Dean really looked like. I was so excited that Mr. Elvis Presley was out there in the audience. Elvis Presley had achieved stardom and had become a millionaire. I was a fan of his and he was an inspiration! But I never dreamed Elvis would be coming round to see me!

After my performance, Elvis asked me to come back to Graceland TM with him to meet his parents, Gladys and Vernon Presley. He had just purchased his own stretch limo and, after I piled in with the guys, Elvis drove us home in it himself. His family was much like mine because of our southern upbringing, and his father Vernon and especially his mother Gladys were welcoming. Gladys had the table spread with food and asked about my family. She said they had relatives in the Smokey Mountains.

That night I met Elvis's best friend from Humes High School in Memphis, George Klein, and funny-man ex-DJ, and recording artist Cliff Gleaves too.

That evening was the beginning of a friendship with Elvis Presley that lasted the 20 years until his death.

Link to WINK MARTINDALE'S OFFICIAL SITE above!