He also ranted about the tabloids, which had been hinting that Elvis was no longer the boy next door. He told the audience he was a federal narcotics agent and an eighth-degree black belt.
"I don't drink booze or take this or that," he announced. "Don't say boo to me when I tell you that because it's the God's honest truth."
The crowd cheered, but school officials made the decision that Elvis would never be invited back to the University of Maryland.
Things continued to get worse as the tour progressed. A few days after the College Park fiasco, Red and a couple of the other guys got wind that Tim Batey, a bass player in Voice, a backing group for Elvis, had a shipment of cocaine he was holding onto for Elvis. They marched to Tim's room. When he answered the door, Red pushed it open hard when entering, breaking one of Tim's toes when he leaned against the door to keep him out. "The next time I find out you've been giving Elvis drugs, I'm going start with your legs and work my way up," Red told him.
Then we put the word out that anybody getting drugs for Elvis was in for a serious ass-kicking. Elvis's stepbrother, Ricky Stanley, told Elvis what we'd said. It wasn't long thereafter that Elvis called Red and me into his room. He laid into us. "You guys need to stay out of my business," he said angrily. "I know what I'm doing. I can quit whenever I want to, but right now I need it."
"What about the good old days when you didn't need that shit?" Red asked.
"Red, there are no more good old days," Elvis said flatly.
I felt like a knife had been plunged into my heart.
"If you don't stop, you are going to be looking for other jobs," Elvis told us. We certainly didn't want that, but we hated even more the idea of him destroying himself.
Image: Elvis Presley cheered by fans arrives at Friedberg, Germany in 1959, to do his military service. Presley was shooting for King Creole when he received his draft notice in December 1957. He was given time to complete the film. He joined 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor. While he was in the army he got into the habit of popping amphetamines. Photograph: STF/AFP/Getty Images
Earlier slide show: Big girls need big diamonds
Advertisement
