0:00:02 > 0:00:04# Bright light city, gonna set my soul
0:00:04 > 0:00:07# Gonna set my soul on fire... #
0:00:07 > 0:00:10In the years before he opened in Las Vegas,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13both Elvis and the city had sunk to a low ebb.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16He, stuck in a mire of banal movies.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Vegas, recovering from decades of mob rule.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24But all that would change when Elvis arrived in 1969
0:00:24 > 0:00:26at the International Hotel.
0:00:26 > 0:00:32There was a coolness factor, a hip factor that I think Las Vegas obtained
0:00:32 > 0:00:37because of Elvis being here and changing the image of the city.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40It was a marriage made in heaven.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Marrying Elvis with Vegas was the master plan of Colonel Tom Parker,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47his manager.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Yet their moment of triumph had the seeds of destruction.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Elvis realised he needed the Colonel.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58And the Colonel was a very forthright person.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02You had two very powerful personalities.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04# Viva Las Vegas With your neon flashing
0:01:04 > 0:01:06# And your one armed bandits... #
0:01:06 > 0:01:09He loved being Elvis Presley, there's no doubt about that.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13But he loved it when he was great, he loved himself, loved his music.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Loved everything that he was doing. Who could blame him?
0:01:16 > 0:01:18But I think he started to dislike himself,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23and lost his desire to be Elvis Presley.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26# So if your baby leaves
0:01:26 > 0:01:30# And you got a tale to tell
0:01:30 > 0:01:33# Just take a walk down Lonely Street to
0:01:33 > 0:01:36# Heartbreak Hotel... #
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Elvis reinvented would become the most adored
0:01:39 > 0:01:41and caricatured performer in the world.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44And the story began in Vegas.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49# So lonely you could die... #
0:02:00 > 0:02:04# I've been travellin' over miles... #
0:02:05 > 0:02:10The rocky love affair between Elvis and Vegas began 13 years earlier
0:02:10 > 0:02:13when he first arrived in the city, aged 21.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19It was 1956 and the Nevada sands around Las Vegas
0:02:19 > 0:02:22were an open-air testing ground.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24BLAST RUMBLES
0:02:24 > 0:02:30It was a city of only 50,000 people yet it was a daunting prospect
0:02:30 > 0:02:32for Elvis and his band.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36We were a little afraid of going in there in the first place.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37We were new,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40a bunch of hillbillies from Tennessee.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42What do we know about Vegas?
0:02:45 > 0:02:51# The autumn leaves...
0:02:51 > 0:02:53# Drift by my window... #
0:02:53 > 0:02:56They were 50 and 60 year old people.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00They were eating their 100 steaks in the main room.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Drinking their 50 drinks and all that stuff.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06They don't want to hear that racket we were making.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09So I guess it turned them off.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13# Blue suede shoes...
0:03:15 > 0:03:17# You can do anything but get off of my blue suede shoes. #
0:03:22 > 0:03:23Elvis bombed.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25It was his first big setback.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29It didn't happen for him in the '50s in Vegas.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32They were not ready for rock'n'roll.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Liberace was playing there and Elvis has pictures with Liberace,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39cos he was the big one then in Vegas.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Elvis's manager learned plenty from this first false step.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Just one year earlier, he'd helped create the world's first rock'n'roll star
0:03:49 > 0:03:52with a mixture of inspiration and guile.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55He knew the importance of packaging.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59The Colonel was good at reinventing Elvis.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04I don't care what people say about him, a lot of people didn't like the old man,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08but he was good at what he was doing and he took care of business.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10He didn't take any prisoners.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14"I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that. Take it or leave it"
0:04:14 > 0:04:17And they had to take it cos he had the power and Elvis.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21The Colonel, he was shrewd.
0:04:21 > 0:04:28# Meet me tonight in dreamland... #
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Parker had learned his trade in the East coast fairgrounds,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34among the salesmen, card sharps and tricksters.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37The Colonel learned to read people on the carnival.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39You have a split second. That's all.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40You don't have time
0:04:40 > 0:04:43to learn to know a person
0:04:43 > 0:04:45when you're a carnie.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50He was able to gauge people within a few minutes of being around them.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52# You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
0:04:52 > 0:04:55# Cryin' all the time... #
0:04:56 > 0:04:59The Colonel beamed his formidable marketing skills
0:04:59 > 0:05:03at the teenage audience, who would later follow the mature Elvis
0:05:03 > 0:05:04to Vegas.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10But first, to take his 23 year old rock'n'roll star
0:05:10 > 0:05:12into every suburb and city across America.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Colonel turned to the power of Hollywood.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The Colonel played different studios against one another,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25with the result that the 31 films Elvis made over the next decade
0:05:25 > 0:05:27would be worth many millions.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29To both of them.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32# He lays down beats like a ton of coal
0:05:32 > 0:05:35# He goes by the name of King Creole
0:05:35 > 0:05:36# He's gone, gone, gone... #
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Elvis's early Hollywood movies broke box office records.
0:05:40 > 0:05:46Colonel was wisely approving scripts the cashed in on Elvis's rebellious rock'n'roll image.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49# When the king starts to do it it's as good as done
0:05:49 > 0:05:52# He holds his guitar like a Tommy gun
0:05:52 > 0:05:55# He starts to growl down in his throat
0:05:55 > 0:05:57# He bends that string and that's all she wrote
0:05:57 > 0:05:59# He's gone, gone, gone... #
0:05:59 > 0:06:02At first, the movies were great, they were fun.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Elvis looked forward to them.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07# Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone... #
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Jailhouse Rock was a really good rock'n'roll movie.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Elvis had an edge to himself, tough guy type situation and picture.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16# ..the purple gang Let's rock
0:06:17 > 0:06:19# Everybody, let's rock
0:06:21 > 0:06:23# Everybody in the whole cell block
0:06:23 > 0:06:27# Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock... #
0:06:27 > 0:06:31At first I didn't realise how good he was.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35As we came to spend more time
0:06:35 > 0:06:41working with him, we realised that he had tremendous range.
0:06:41 > 0:06:48Not just in terms of the octaves but in terms of the emotional quality.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50He was a beautiful singer.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53# Everybody in the whole cell block
0:06:53 > 0:06:56# Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock... #
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Elvis's budding film career was put on hold by his call-up
0:07:00 > 0:07:03for military service in Germany.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07He left Colonel to develop his latest master plan,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10to create Elvis the Hollywood pin-up.
0:07:12 > 0:07:13Away in Germany,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Elvis absorbed a range of music,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18from opera to blues.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22And met teenage Priscilla, his bride-to-be.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27# Ho-o-old me close, hold me tight
0:07:27 > 0:07:30# Make me thrill with delight... #
0:07:30 > 0:07:33After he returned from Germany in 1960,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37they settled into Graceland and a home in Palm Springs.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40# I want you, I need you
0:07:40 > 0:07:43# I love you... #
0:07:43 > 0:07:46They eventually married in Las Vegas
0:07:46 > 0:07:48in a secretly-arranged ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53# Every time that you're near
0:07:53 > 0:07:56# All my cares disappear... #
0:07:56 > 0:08:01Of course, the Colonel invited the world's press to record this intimate event.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05# I need you, I want you... #
0:08:05 > 0:08:09To remould him as a romantic lead, not just for the tabloids,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12but up on the movie screen, Colonel had already signed Elvis
0:08:12 > 0:08:15for a string of money-spinning Hollywood roles
0:08:15 > 0:08:17that lasted throughout the '60s.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Elvis wanted to make better movies.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23But the Colonel kept telling him,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25"Elvis, we're getting 1 million up front,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28"50% of the picture and star billing.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30"We've got an album from the picture.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32"We're doing pretty dog-gone good. "
0:08:32 > 0:08:34# Moo-moo here, moo-moo there
0:08:34 > 0:08:36# Oink-oink here, oink-oink there... #
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Elvis wanted to be an actor, do serious movies,
0:08:39 > 0:08:40some comedies.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42He didn't want to do musicals every time.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46But that's what they did. Elvis riding a horse,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49or singing to a cow, something like that.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51That eventually got to Elvis.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53DUCK QUACKS
0:08:56 > 0:08:57You take the rebel
0:08:57 > 0:09:00and you make him the boy next door.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Elvis was not the boy next door.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06I think Elvis found he had a choice
0:09:06 > 0:09:10to creatively walk around with a chip on his shoulder
0:09:10 > 0:09:17and be angry all the time or just try to go along with the program as best he could.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20# In my beach shack
0:09:20 > 0:09:23# Baby, we'll be alone
0:09:23 > 0:09:26# I'll make you feel at home In my little beach shack... #
0:09:26 > 0:09:30I said, "Colonel, the songs are not that great."
0:09:30 > 0:09:32I said, "The songs are weak songs."
0:09:32 > 0:09:37He said, "Well, what do we care, George? You get me 1 million,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40"you can pick the songs. We don't care."
0:09:40 > 0:09:44"But Colonel, what about the big picture down the road?"
0:09:44 > 0:09:46"We'll worry about that later."
0:09:46 > 0:09:53And when songwriters Lieber and Stoller tried to intercede with better material for Elvis,
0:09:53 > 0:09:54they got short shrift.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59The Colonel said if you ever dared try to interfere
0:09:59 > 0:10:05in the career of Elvis Presley, you'll never work again in Hollywood,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07New York or anywhere else in the world.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09That was the response.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13And it was, I guess,
0:10:13 > 0:10:19among other things, shortly after that we just stopped writing for Elvis.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24But Hollywood offered some compensation for Elvis and his entourage.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Being with Elvis anywhere where he's making a picture
0:10:28 > 0:10:32is really great cos everybody comes around, it's very exciting
0:10:32 > 0:10:37and the scenery wasn't too bad either, by that I mean the young ladies out to watch Elvis.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42It was my job to go and invite them back to the hotel for a party after shooting that day
0:10:42 > 0:10:44if Elvis wanted to have a party.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48It was probably the best you could ever get being with Elvis Presley
0:10:48 > 0:10:51shooting a movie, you couldn't beat it.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54I don't think I before or ever since
0:10:54 > 0:10:59ever seen that much...
0:10:59 > 0:11:01things around!
0:11:01 > 0:11:05When I say things, it's not all women, but cars, money...
0:11:05 > 0:11:09It's almost like he could walk on water, it was amazing.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11You couldn't do anything wrong.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15Elvis was a woman's man.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17He always had women around.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19But Elvis had that duality
0:11:19 > 0:11:22in that perspective too.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24He wanted someone at home, like Priscilla,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28then he wanted to be on the road and have the flexibility
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and the access to women.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32That was just who he was.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35But Elvis needed more than a little help from friends
0:11:35 > 0:11:39to see him through a gruelling routine of all-night parties
0:11:39 > 0:11:43and the tedium of fulfilling the Colonel's demands for 29 movies
0:11:43 > 0:11:45in just 7 years.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Elvis was an insomniac.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54When he was in the army, he had to be up every day.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56He had to be physically ready to go.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01And this created a problem, I think that's where it started.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06It was easier if he had something to go to sleep at night.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10But then he had to have something to wake up.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13# Here comes Santa Claus Here comes Santa Claus
0:12:13 > 0:12:15# Right down Santa Claus Lane... #
0:12:15 > 0:12:20His hectic life in Hollywood made it hard for Elvis to settle into family holidays,
0:12:20 > 0:12:21however idyllic they appeared,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24with adoring wife and newborn child.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27To counter Elvis's restlessness,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29and need for a new challenge,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Colonel came up with an old-fashioned scheme
0:12:32 > 0:12:34for the Christmas of '68.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39Colonel Parker said to Elvis one day, "You wanna do a Christmas special.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43"The good thing is, we do one, they'll play it every year at Christmas time."
0:12:43 > 0:12:46See, Colonel was the business guy.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50The 33 year old Elvis had never yet contradicted his manager.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55But all that changed when he heard the Colonel planned to televise him
0:12:55 > 0:12:57crooning family Christmas songs.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02He got support from the show's director to reveal more of himself.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I think at the time I met with Elvis,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08regarding his career, he was really frightened
0:13:08 > 0:13:10and scared stiff of failing.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12I think this whole idea
0:13:12 > 0:13:15pushing him into television was real scary to him
0:13:15 > 0:13:22because he thought... as he said to me, "I've been away from an audience for years,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25"I've just been making all these movies."
0:13:25 > 0:13:28# You lookin' for trouble?
0:13:29 > 0:13:31# You came to the right place
0:13:32 > 0:13:34# You lookin' for trouble?
0:13:35 > 0:13:37# Just look right at my face
0:13:38 > 0:13:40# I was born standin' up
0:13:41 > 0:13:43# And talkin' back... #
0:13:44 > 0:13:46This sultry, leather-clad image
0:13:46 > 0:13:48was not at all what the Colonel had in mind.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Colonel said, "Binder, it's been called to my attention
0:13:51 > 0:13:54"we don't have any Christmas songs in this show."
0:13:54 > 0:13:57And I said, "Yeah."
0:13:57 > 0:14:00He said, "Well, Elvis wants Christmas songs in the show.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02"Isn't that right, Elvis?"
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And Elvis was standing next to me and he wouldn't move a muscle.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09He was standing, to me, like a child would stand,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12being reprimanded by the teacher or his parents.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15He sort of mumbled, "That's right, Colonel."
0:14:15 > 0:14:19As we're walking down the hall, Elvis jammed me in the ribs and said,
0:14:19 > 0:14:24"Screw 'em." We'd go right on with what we had planned, ignoring him, basically.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27But he never confronted the Colonel and said what he felt.
0:14:27 > 0:14:34The beauty of it was, it was the first time anybody had ever seen the real Elvis Presley.
0:14:34 > 0:14:40I kept all that stuff in the programme, all the making fun of himself,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44the movies he had made, where he kept quivering his lip.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50I've got news for you, baby, I did 29 pictures like that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55But up to the moment the show aired on network TV,
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Elvis was uncertain whether Binder or the Colonel was right.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02We watched it air that night.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Nothing was said.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06He watched it so intensely,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08as if he'd never seen it before.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13Leg was shaking, bottled water drinking constantly.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18And a smile would go on his face a little bit. The phone would ring.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22He felt like, my God, I did it.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25This is gonna be a whole new Elvis again.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31The show became NBC's highest-rated programme of the year.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I think the '68 special was important to Elvis
0:15:37 > 0:15:42because, first of all, it proved to him that again, it wasn't
0:15:42 > 0:15:46publicity that made him the superstar that he became.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50But it was really because of his talent.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52So he believed in himself again.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55# Well since my baby left me
0:15:55 > 0:15:57# I've found a new place to dwell
0:15:57 > 0:16:01# It's down at the end of Lonely Street at
0:16:01 > 0:16:02# Heartbreak Hotel
0:16:02 > 0:16:06# I've never been so lonely, baby
0:16:06 > 0:16:09# I've been so lonely
0:16:09 > 0:16:12# I've been so lonely I could die... #
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Elvis had triumphed on television
0:16:14 > 0:16:18but during the years he had been cocooned by the Colonel in Hollywood,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22the music world around him had been turned on its head.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Following the British invasion,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31the group sound was in and solo artists were mostly out.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34# Roll up for the mystery tour
0:16:34 > 0:16:36# Roll up... #
0:16:36 > 0:16:42Elvis thought maybe the days of the solo performer were over.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46And he said that I was the only one, at that time,
0:16:46 > 0:16:53that was doing it, so it was giving him confidence to sing live again.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55He came to Vegas in '68 to watch me work.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59# Show me a woman that's got a good man... #
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Seeing me and hearing me sing live and moving,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10with the body movements, which were similar to what Elvis had done
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and was still doing.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16So he wanted to see it and hear it firsthand, in Vegas.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19# Oh, though it's always crowded
0:17:19 > 0:17:21# You still can find some room... #
0:17:21 > 0:17:26Elvis was ready for the next step - playing to a live audience.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Something he hadn't done for almost eight years.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Arriving in Las Vegas, he was still unsure,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36recalling his first big failure there in '56.
0:17:36 > 0:17:42He was really concerned if they were still gonna accept him here.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Colonel said, "Elvis, don't worry about it. You'll be accepted.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51"I'll put it this way - everyone in this town will know you're playing here."
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Colonel announced to America that Elvis would be opening
0:17:55 > 0:18:00at the 2,000 seat theatre in the nearly completed International Hotel.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05It was the first of a new generation of high-rise hotels
0:18:05 > 0:18:09that would transform the landscape and economy of that city.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15But as he didn't have a band, Elvis had to build a new style of show band
0:18:15 > 0:18:19that would win over a possibly sceptical Vegas audience.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25I meet Elvis for the first time, really, up close and personal
0:18:25 > 0:18:29and we just immediately had a great rapport.
0:18:29 > 0:18:36Just... I got to see the charisma that everybody talked about was all about.
0:18:36 > 0:18:43We started playing and I just zeroed on him, just watched every little thing he did.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46I tried to play with every little move.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49It was like playing for a stripper.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53In burlesque...
0:18:53 > 0:18:59obviously the drummer's role is to...accent the movements of the dancer.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10In a way, what Elvis did was a dance too.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14All of his movements were very much emphasised.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18That was very much the way he expressed himself musically.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23He stood right in front of me most of the time so he could not only hear
0:19:23 > 0:19:27what the drums were doing but he could also feel it.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32So it was like a two-way communication in that sense.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38# All alone...
0:19:38 > 0:19:42# And I'm missing you... #
0:19:46 > 0:19:49We never lost eye contact with him
0:19:49 > 0:19:53because he was so aware of
0:19:53 > 0:19:56what's going on in his audience and had total control of the stage.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01There was always this eye contact and we watched every move he made.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07# Sail on by
0:20:08 > 0:20:12# Your time has come
0:20:12 > 0:20:15# To shine... #
0:20:15 > 0:20:20Elvis watched everybody on stage. He knew what each one of us was doing.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24He would call out your name, you'd be making a little whisper
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and he'd go, "Myrna, don't do that."
0:20:27 > 0:20:29And you'd go, "How did he see me?!"
0:20:29 > 0:20:33It's like he had eyes in the back of his head!
0:20:33 > 0:20:35He could be facing in a different direction
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and he could pick up on whatever you were doing.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42# I will ease your mind
0:20:42 > 0:20:49# Like a bridge over troubled waters... #
0:20:49 > 0:20:52He was the most focused guy I've ever worked with.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57He knew every entrance of every singer, every group,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02every oboe entrance, every violin entrance and if anybody slipped up,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04he knew it.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06The horns are answering it...
0:21:06 > 0:21:09# If you need a friend... #
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Right on top of friend.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Right on top of friend.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15# Need... If you need... #
0:21:15 > 0:21:20We learned probably 50 songs before we even opened.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Many of them were sung one time,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27after many hours of rehearsal on that one song.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31He would just decide, hey, I don't like this song.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33And we never did the song again!
0:21:33 > 0:21:36While the music was being shaped,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40so were the designs for the jumpsuits that would become the most visible symbol
0:21:40 > 0:21:44of the reinvention of Elvis Presley, Vegas style.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49Elvis had his own perfect body concerning a stage suit.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53The way he was built made a perfect V.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58He went from wide shoulders down to perfect hips.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Which you can't ask for more than that when you're trying to do a sexy outfit for stage presentation
0:22:03 > 0:22:05for a gentleman.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09The way he used it, the way it became part of his presentation,
0:22:09 > 0:22:14lighting, staging, back-up singers, it became as integral a part.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18The International Hotel was gearing up for the big event.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Kill that blower!
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Or blow that killer, whatever.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25During 24 days of rehearsals,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Elvis surrounded himself with the Memphis Mafia,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33a protective ring of hometown jokers, courtiers to keep the king amused.
0:22:35 > 0:22:36James, one minute, man.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37Wait a minute.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39They don't tell you when to start.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43They were like the disciples. I'm not comparing Elvis to Jesus,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46but it was the same sort of overall premise.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48We were the group around him.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52We lived in our own little world that was pretty special.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Pretty cool.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Vegas liked us and we liked Vegas.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00# In the morning
0:23:00 > 0:23:04# When through a sleepy haze... #
0:23:04 > 0:23:08The Colonel kept well away from their high-spirited jinks.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12He devoted himself to a blitz of publicity the likes of which Vegas had never seen.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Audiences who had flocked to Elvis in the 1950s
0:23:16 > 0:23:19would be here to see a teen idol reinvented.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24Colonel Tom Parker awakened the whole town to the fact that
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Elvis Presley is going to be here.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Colonel's an old carnie.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33He used a lot of the carnie tricks.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Colonel even put billboards out in the neighbourhoods.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39He said he wanted the employees who work at the hotels
0:23:39 > 0:23:41to know that Elvis is here.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45He said, "I even want the gophers out in the desert to know Elvis is here."
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Though Presley was impatient to open the new theatre,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52the Colonel knew better.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56He encouraged Barbra Streisand to open it
0:23:56 > 0:23:58and iron out the technical glitches,
0:23:58 > 0:24:04so that everything was right for Elvis's wildly-anticipated star-studded opening night.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09I know he's not been on stage for 10 years, everyone's waiting,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11I know he's going to be a winner.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16True to his name, the Colonel had planned it with military precision,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19employing a stand-up comedian to encourage the 2,000 strong audience
0:24:19 > 0:24:24to spend a small fortune on Blue Nun with baked lobster tails
0:24:24 > 0:24:26while waiting for Elvis.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29In Vegas, you had the dinner show.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Then the comic would come out and then the star.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33The comic got the people that were eating.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35By the time Elvis or the star came out,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39they were finished eating and they were ready.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42We had to go through the plates, the noise and the people.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47That's what was tough about being an opening act, especially for Elvis Presley.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51I walked off and Elvis was standing in the wings, white as a ghost.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56I looked at him and shook his hand and said, "Elvis, they're great, they're waiting for you out there."
0:24:56 > 0:25:00And his hand was wet and clammy. He was nervous, too.
0:25:00 > 0:25:062,000 seats scared him tremendously.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09It was huge. I mean, would he be able to fill it?
0:25:09 > 0:25:11What happens then?
0:25:11 > 0:25:13There were a lot of questions that he had,
0:25:13 > 0:25:19a lot of questions that he wasn't sure whether or not he was gonna...
0:25:19 > 0:25:21be able to pull this off.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24# You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
0:25:24 > 0:25:25# Cryin' all the time
0:25:25 > 0:25:28# You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
0:25:28 > 0:25:29# Cryin' all the time
0:25:29 > 0:25:32# Well you ain't nothin' but a...friend of mine
0:25:32 > 0:25:35# You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
0:25:35 > 0:25:37# Cryin' all the time
0:25:37 > 0:25:38# You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
0:25:38 > 0:25:39# Cryin' all the time
0:25:39 > 0:25:42# Well, you ain't never...
0:25:42 > 0:25:44# You ain't no friend of mine... #
0:25:44 > 0:25:48His old hit from the '50s, Hound Dog, was given a whole new suit of clothes.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Elvis was an absolute master on stage.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55He was a perfectionist.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Ultimately, what he wanted was the best possible product.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02He wanted the fans to hear what he knew that he was capable of delivering.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06# Why can't you see Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
0:26:06 > 0:26:09# What you're doing to me? Oh-oh-oh
0:26:09 > 0:26:14# When you don't believe a word I'm sayin'
0:26:16 > 0:26:19# We can't go on together
0:26:19 > 0:26:21# With suspicious minds
0:26:21 > 0:26:23# Suspicious minds... #
0:26:23 > 0:26:29For many, Suspicious Minds defined the mature Vegas Presley.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32# So if an old friend I know... #
0:26:32 > 0:26:36And his acclaimed live shows were accompanied by another triumph.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39His first number one hit for seven years.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43In its slower version, recorded at the American Sound Studio,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45in his hometown, Memphis.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I had heard that he had booked the studio for two weeks,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51came up with about 40 songs.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So I was just trying to capture that one song.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Every time I'd go in the studio,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00my publisher would say, "You know Elvis is coming?"
0:27:00 > 0:27:01I said, "Yeah, I know."
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Throughout the '60s, Colonel had insisted that all new songs
0:27:07 > 0:27:11belong to the publishing company part-owned by Colonel and Elvis.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16They didn't want anybody having anything to do with
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Presley making choices about songs.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22They wanted that to be a fait accompli.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26That Presley only does songs published by Hill And Range.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31The Colonel was looking after the golden goose and didn't want
0:27:31 > 0:27:34anybody to get close enough,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36especially close enough
0:27:36 > 0:27:41to give Elvis a new song
0:27:41 > 0:27:47that they didn't have the publishing rights locked up on.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49But unlike the movie years,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52when Elvis had to accept mediocre songs,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55he now had the self-confidence to insist that he got only the best
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and to ignore the Colonel's henchmen.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Great hits like Kentucky Rain and In The Ghetto
0:28:02 > 0:28:05established Elvis as an adult artist,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09in that rundown studio on the wrong side of the tracks.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12# On a cold and grey Chicago morning
0:28:12 > 0:28:14# A poor little baby child is born
0:28:14 > 0:28:16# In the ghetto... #
0:28:16 > 0:28:21These offered a new realism, far removed from the blander repertoire
0:28:21 > 0:28:25of Hill And Range, as did Suspicious Minds.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28HE PLAYS SUSPICIOUS MINDS INTRO
0:28:28 > 0:28:35The song I was trying to capture I knew at the time had to be a mature rock song
0:28:35 > 0:28:38to put him back and regain his title in rock'n'roll.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40# We're caught in a trap
0:28:42 > 0:28:46# I can't walk out
0:28:46 > 0:28:49# Because I love you too much, baby
0:28:53 > 0:28:56# Why can't you see Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh
0:28:56 > 0:28:59# What you're doing to me Wo-oh-oh
0:28:59 > 0:29:03# When you don't believe a word I'm sayin'? #
0:29:05 > 0:29:07On stage in Vegas,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Elvis had reached his pinnacle as a live performer.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12# I can't walk out
0:29:13 > 0:29:15# Because I love you too much... #
0:29:19 > 0:29:21Elvis did like to work in Vegas.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26He liked that the lights were great, the sound was great, the room was great,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29everything was under control. He didn't have to travel,
0:29:29 > 0:29:30he came down, right to the show.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Colonel moved fast to cash in on Elvis's feelgood factor.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42An agreement was scribbled on a tablecloth in a hotel coffee shop.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45It would tie Elvis to two shows a night,
0:29:45 > 0:29:46four weeks at a time,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48at 100,000 a week.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52It would run for a full five years.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Colonel was repeating the tactic that had gone so wrong in Hollywood.
0:29:56 > 0:30:02He was tying Elvis to a long-term contract that would ultimately threaten his career.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05But Colonel knew exactly how to get what he wanted.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Colonel played a part.
0:30:09 > 0:30:15He played the part of an uneducated Southern person,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18who really didn't know the score.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20And he loved doing that.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Because that caught everyone offguard.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25He never made notes.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28He said, "Don't write it down, remember it."
0:30:28 > 0:30:31He had an unbelievable mind.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34# Well since my baby left me
0:30:34 > 0:30:36# Well, I've found a new place to dwell... #
0:30:36 > 0:30:40And the five year agreement suited the Colonel in more ways than one.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46He had become an increasingly big spender in the hotel's casino
0:30:46 > 0:30:50and now negotiated some secret and preferential terms for himself.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56The Colonel was sharp. He was getting a lot of perks for himself
0:30:56 > 0:30:57by Elvis playing Vegas.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01All of his suites were taken care of,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04he had almost a full floor for his assistants to work out of,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06he could do all of his business there.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11He got extra benefits as far as all the food and we all thought,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14it was never proven, but everybody knew what time it was,
0:31:14 > 0:31:20had a feeling that the Colonel was, he would lose all that money at the casino, he had a deal.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23I think it was probably about 50 cents on the dollar.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26If he lost 1 million, he only had to come up with 500,000.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30My manager, Colonel Tom Parker, where is he?
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Is the Colonel around anywhere?
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Oh, he's out playing roulette, no kidding me, I know what he's doing.
0:31:36 > 0:31:42Actually, it wasn't too bad, cos the Colonel was kind of a draw in the casino, he put on a show
0:31:42 > 0:31:44while he was playing roulette.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48He'd make everyone crowd around, he'd holler and have fun and all that jazz.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52But I think there were some extra concessions that Elvis didn't know about
0:31:52 > 0:31:54that Colonel was getting out of playing Vegas.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Whatever the intricacies of Colonel's deal,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01its effect was to revitalise the whole city.
0:32:01 > 0:32:08Elvis attracted a massive new influx to this oasis of gambling and entertainment in the Nevada desert.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12And he brought them in from all over the world.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16What has this trip meant to you?
0:32:16 > 0:32:19- ENGLISH ACCENT - A chance to see America and Elvis.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21- Which is more important?- Elvis.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22He's the king.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30I think that as in as much as there was some sort of symbiosis in the relationship,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32vis a vis Elvis in Las Vegas,
0:32:32 > 0:32:33there was also a symbiosis
0:32:33 > 0:32:35between the Colonel
0:32:35 > 0:32:38and Elvis. It may be true that the Colonel benefitted economically
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and monetarily from a number of the deals that were cut,
0:32:41 > 0:32:43but so did Elvis.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45# Well that's all right, mama
0:32:45 > 0:32:47# That's all right with you
0:32:47 > 0:32:48# That's all right, mama
0:32:48 > 0:32:50# Do it any way you do... #
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Elvis was of prime importance to the hotel.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58He was the first entertainer to make a profit in the show room.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02Before that time, the hotels always assumed they would lose money
0:33:02 > 0:33:06on the shows but make it up in the casino.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09But Elvis drew big players.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13And the hotel was thrilled because these people had money.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19The women were thrilled. They went to two shows a night.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24And the men were in the casino undisturbed. Everyone was happy.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27When Elvis was in town, everything lit up.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30There were girls all over the hotel.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33They would come up and ask, "Can you get me up to Elvis's room?"
0:33:33 > 0:33:37There was hundreds of girls all over the hotel.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Elvis did a lot for the hotel and a lot for this town.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47At the time, he was the most popular entertainer.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56I gave him the nickname White Boy With A Brother On The Inside!
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Because he was very generous.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04He would generate such a tremendous business for the whole town,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07it was incredible. Incredible.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12The clothes he had, the capes,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15with the rhinestones on, they was real heavy.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17You couldn't pick 'em up by yourself,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19it took two or three people to pick 'em up.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22If you let it lay in a box,
0:34:22 > 0:34:26it weighs 25 - 28 pounds, 30 pounds.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30So whenever I did Elvis's outfits,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34I always tried to distribute everything to his chest area,
0:34:34 > 0:34:36his shoulder area.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46The jumpsuits, like his act, were getting heavier and more flamboyant.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52One of the things I had noticed from watching him was
0:34:52 > 0:34:57that he was enjoying his outfits, the audience started enjoying them
0:34:57 > 0:35:00and he started playing with how to present them.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02It became part of the whole act.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Mirroring the showbiz extravagance of Las Vegas,
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Elvis's karate moves became a trademark of his act in the early '70s.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23- What do you do for relaxation? - Karate.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26If you can relax doing this, I don't know.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Karate became a way of communication with people for Elvis,
0:35:31 > 0:35:35that on some levels, he could not communicate directly with people
0:35:35 > 0:35:38in other areas, they could share this love of karate,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42the physicality and the control of emotions and intellectual power
0:35:42 > 0:35:44that was associated with that.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48He did transform that into a stage performance.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51He largely did that because of Las Vegas.
0:35:51 > 0:35:57I think that's really where he began to hone his ability
0:35:57 > 0:36:01to take an audience in the palm of his hand and he did that in Las Vegas, night after night.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09He learned that showmanship and first started wearing the jewels
0:36:09 > 0:36:12and jumpsuits and putting on the big, powerful show
0:36:12 > 0:36:14with a 30-piece orchestra.
0:36:21 > 0:36:22Thank you.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Here in Las Vegas, we stayed at the International Hotel.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30We had a beautiful suite on the top floor, the 30th floor, the only suite up there.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33It overlooked the city, it was completely closed off,
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Over 10,000 square feet.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37We had four bedrooms up there, a kitchen, dining room,
0:36:37 > 0:36:44a beautiful area with TV and it was gorgeous. It was red, beautiful colours.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47We had a great time, all our parties were up there,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49we even had a slot machine up there.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52The press guys sent it up there cos Elvis couldn't be in the casino.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55We invited a lot of beautiful ladies up there,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58a lot of other celebrities that came to see the show,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01we invited them after for a party. A lot of singing up there.
0:37:01 > 0:37:06# Lord, just open my eyes
0:37:06 > 0:37:10# That I may see... #
0:37:10 > 0:37:12We'd be up all night
0:37:12 > 0:37:15and he'd bring the vocal group up with the electric piano.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18We'd be singing all night, gospel music.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21So he did live by night, but then again, so did I.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Still do, actually.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25But Elvis liked his own world.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29It was great, we'd be there till 6, 7am.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Sun was coming up... OK, guys, time to go to bed!
0:37:32 > 0:37:33We were like vampires.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36It was a lot of fun. Every night was a party.
0:37:36 > 0:37:37Every night.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Between these months of nocturnal hibernation,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49the King was trapped on a treadmill of 150 shows a year,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52escaping the increasing hysteria of the crowds,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and shielded from reality by his Memphis Mafia.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04We were out playing medium-sized markets all over the US.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07Over and over and over again.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10I just don't think that was wise planning
0:38:10 > 0:38:12from an artistic standpoint.
0:38:12 > 0:38:13With all the Colonel's strength,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17I don't think he really understood the artistic temperament
0:38:17 > 0:38:22that Elvis did have underneath all the other facets of his personality.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27Some of the guys were concerned about Elvis's health and wellbeing.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31When I would ask the Colonel, "We need to take Elvis to Europe,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34"they're crying for him in England." He would sell out, crazy like.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38He said, "George, the venues are not big enough over there."
0:38:38 > 0:38:42So that was the cockamamie reason he gave everybody.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44The other reason came out
0:38:44 > 0:38:48and it came out in later years was that Colonel Parker was not an American citizen.
0:38:50 > 0:38:51Unknown to Elvis,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54his manager's real name wasn't Parker.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Nor was he a colonel.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00He was Dries Van Kuijk, an illegal immigrant from Holland,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03who therefore couldn't leave America.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05There's so many places that I haven't been yet.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08I'd like to go to Europe, I'd like to go to Japan.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11I've never been out this country except in the Service.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13Yeah, I'd love to go there.
0:39:13 > 0:39:18I think Elvis was becoming a little bit bored.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23Doing the shows in Vegas, going on the road,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26same cities, criss-crossing America,
0:39:26 > 0:39:31because the Colonel didn't want Elvis getting out of his control.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33# Are you lonesome... #
0:39:33 > 0:39:38Elvis and his entourage staved off boredom with a flotilla
0:39:38 > 0:39:39of one-night-stands.
0:39:39 > 0:39:45We were a bunch of bad boys, for all those years, while we were all married.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47Our wives were married and we were single.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50The Vegas bachelors were living high.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53But their marriages were heading for the rocks.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58Temptation sometimes overrides loyalty to a spouse.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03Elvis probably should never have married.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06He belonged to women.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Not woman.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13But there's no doubt in my mind that he loved Priscilla very, very much
0:40:13 > 0:40:15and she adored him.
0:40:15 > 0:40:21He travelled a lot. I had other needs. I was with my daughter,
0:40:21 > 0:40:26every day and... I did, I grew apart.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30I couldn't live like that anymore.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33There were things I wasn't going to put up with,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35with one-night-stands...
0:40:35 > 0:40:40Even though I knew, I didn't say a lot.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47When Priscilla finally realised that she had to have her own life
0:40:47 > 0:40:50and she told Elvis about it in Vegas,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54he was devastated.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57He was furious.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01One of the times where we all went through hell.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03It definitely hurt him very much.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06He couldn't believe his wife was divorcing him.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09She was going to be on her own with his daughter.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13That bothered him tremendously. It was tough
0:41:13 > 0:41:15but he kept all that inside himself.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23To give some structure to these bottled-up emotions and the chaos of his life,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Elvis had been searching for control mechanisms.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29Guns and badges offered one answer.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37In 1970, he'd gone to Washington to collect the Federal Agent's badge
0:41:37 > 0:41:39from a bewildered President Nixon.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43It would allow Elvis to carry a gun anywhere he desired.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46Elvis loved guns.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49The first time that I actually saw
0:41:49 > 0:41:52the gun with Elvis is when he came into my dressing room
0:41:52 > 0:41:56backstage and he was singing to me in the shower.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00I was washing my hair and I heard Elvis Presley's voice and I thought,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03I'm going nuts, I can hear Elvis in the shower.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06But when I opened my eyes, he was actually over the shower door
0:42:06 > 0:42:08singing this song to me.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11When I came out of the shower and he'd left,
0:42:11 > 0:42:15I noticed that he'd used the toilet.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20Because he had left his gun on the back of the toilet.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24You know, it was a silver-plated Colt 45.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29One night at the Las Vegas Hilton, the 30th floor,
0:42:29 > 0:42:34Robert Goulet came on television and I really don't know what it was about Robert Goulet,
0:42:34 > 0:42:38I don't think it was him, maybe Elvis was just in a bad mood,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41but he came on television and Elvis was sitting there...
0:42:41 > 0:42:45# I am what I am
0:42:47 > 0:42:53# I am my own special creation. #
0:42:53 > 0:42:58And he picked up a 45 and pulled a round into it and shot the television.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Elvis had a fascination for law enforcement,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05guns, badges, authority,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07power, you know.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11It was like a carry-over from the time he was a little boy, maybe,
0:43:11 > 0:43:12and played cops and robbers.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Not long after separating from Priscilla,
0:43:15 > 0:43:21Elvis met the former Miss Tennessee, who would spend the next four years with him, on and off.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23He needed a lot of attention,
0:43:23 > 0:43:25he needed a lot of care...
0:43:25 > 0:43:30physically and emotionally and he was, at times, he was like my baby,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33at other times he was like my brother, other times he was my lover
0:43:33 > 0:43:36and sometimes he was my friend.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40He would be watching television and say, "Honey, would you turn it up, please?"
0:43:40 > 0:43:44OK, I guess your legs are broken!
0:43:44 > 0:43:49He had a raucous, irreverent sense of humour.
0:43:49 > 0:43:55He loved his movies and Monty Python, we were both huge fans of Monty Python.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57God, if they don't stop, I'll kill myself.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02I swear I will.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06All right, that's it.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08GUNSHOT
0:44:10 > 0:44:13His sense of humour and fun had not deserted him.
0:44:13 > 0:44:18Nor had his generosity, as he bought gifts of cars and houses
0:44:18 > 0:44:20for friends and strangers alike.
0:44:20 > 0:44:27Elvis was so incredibly generous that we called him everything from crazy
0:44:27 > 0:44:34to Santa Claus to a fallen angel, I mean, he was astonishingly generous.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38He could come in on a Tuesday and say, "Honey, look what I found for you",
0:44:38 > 0:44:41and it would be a five carat blue diamond.
0:44:41 > 0:44:42"What is this for?"
0:44:42 > 0:44:47"Well, it's Tuesday, here. It's beautiful and you're beautiful and you should have it."
0:44:47 > 0:44:50He was really like having a Prince Charming in your life.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53He was always a big kid.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57He always bought things for people and friends and bought whatever he wanted.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01He bought it for himself cos he could never do that when he was a kid.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03He made up for it on his own, later on.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07Elvis's childhood needs, his love of his mother,
0:45:07 > 0:45:09memories of his stillborn brother,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12haunted his downtime.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16The very first night I was with Elvis, he said to me,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19"If we had the money, I wouldn't have been born at home.
0:45:19 > 0:45:26"Maybe my twin brother would have been born alive and not dead.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28"We couldn't afford doctors."
0:45:28 > 0:45:35So Elvis, psychologically, from very...from very young,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38believed in doctors.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42Pain, anxiety, pain, fatigue.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Pain, pain, pain...
0:45:45 > 0:45:47There used to be a commercial on TV
0:45:47 > 0:45:51that goes, better living through chemistry.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Elvis used to say, "Better living through chemistry."
0:45:54 > 0:45:57Depression, tension, anxiety...
0:45:57 > 0:46:02He basically was not a drugger but some irresponsible doctor
0:46:02 > 0:46:08introduced him to high pain medication
0:46:08 > 0:46:11and that was the downfall, physically.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15The effects of Elvis's increasing dependence on medication
0:46:15 > 0:46:17became more visible in Vegas,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20at the hotel now renamed the Hilton.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25Colonel Parker was becoming anxious about the rambling monologues
0:46:25 > 0:46:27as Elvis battled his demons on stage.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30Ladies and gentlemen...
0:46:36 > 0:46:41The night that Elvis was on stage and made very derogatory remarks
0:46:41 > 0:46:46about the Hilton hotel officials, I was in the audience,
0:46:46 > 0:46:48sitting next to Colonel in a booth.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06When Elvis started, Colonel turned to me and said,
0:47:06 > 0:47:10"I wish I could just disappear under this table.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12"I've never been so embarrassed in my life."
0:47:12 > 0:47:18The next song is dedicated to the hierarchy of staff of the Hilton hotel.
0:47:18 > 0:47:24# I'm the king of the jungle They call me tiger man
0:47:26 > 0:47:30# I'm the king of the jungle They call me tiger man... #
0:47:30 > 0:47:31When he comes off stage,
0:47:31 > 0:47:35Colonel Parker, he attacks Elvis with words,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38and says, "Elvis, they pay us to perform here.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41"It's not our thing to tell them how to handle their business
0:47:41 > 0:47:44"and their people. They don't tell us how to handle our business."
0:47:44 > 0:47:46They get in a tremendous argument.
0:47:46 > 0:47:51Arguing to the fact Elvis throws out the words, "You're fired, then."
0:47:51 > 0:47:53He quit, Elvis fired him.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55I mean, they had a terrible clash.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59I'm sure the whole hotel heard what was being said.
0:48:01 > 0:48:02And, as a consequence,
0:48:02 > 0:48:08Colonel came downstairs, it was about 3am and he said to me,
0:48:08 > 0:48:11"Come in the office, I have dictation."
0:48:12 > 0:48:17And he spent the next couple hours dictating the terms under which he was leaving.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19I typed them.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Colonel presents the bill late that evening,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25"I'm finished, I'm outta here. We're packing up, but you owe me..."
0:48:25 > 0:48:27I don't know, like 1 or 2 million.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31It was Elvis's nature, he hated confrontations.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34He didn't like to get in arguments or heavy confrontations.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Number two was, Elvis was loyal.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40So, they sort of kissed and made up.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45Elvis's loyalty to the manager who had made him a star back in '56
0:48:45 > 0:48:46led to a plague of problems.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51Not just in Vegas but in the recording studios where Presley searched for new hits.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53And you could hear it in the lyrics.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56# I see a change
0:48:56 > 0:48:59# Has come into our lives
0:48:59 > 0:49:04# It's not the same as it used to be
0:49:05 > 0:49:07# And it's not too late
0:49:07 > 0:49:09# To realise our mistake
0:49:09 > 0:49:16# We're just not right for each other... #
0:49:16 > 0:49:21Elvis was a brilliant producer in the studio.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25He knew how he wanted his music presented, more so than anybody.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28But sales were plummeting.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31The reason was obvious to those around him.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35The best composers were once again kept at arm's length from Elvis's sessions.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38It was like the '60s with the Colonel all over again.
0:49:38 > 0:49:46I see the men from the publishing company, with a guy up against the wall,
0:49:46 > 0:49:52saying, "You were hired to play guitar, not to pitch songs and if you ever pitch a song again,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55"you will never do another Elvis Presley session."
0:49:55 > 0:49:58And the Colonel interfered in even more obvious ways,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02cutting deep into Elvis's increasingly fragile self-confidence.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05I think the Colonel had gone into the studio
0:50:05 > 0:50:09after certain things were mixed and we know
0:50:09 > 0:50:12on the Madison Square Garden live album
0:50:12 > 0:50:14he sped the tracks up.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17It sped up the tracks, sped up Elvis's voice,
0:50:17 > 0:50:21but you got one more song for publishing's sake...
0:50:21 > 0:50:23It made him sound like Mickey Mouse, almost.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26The tempos were just freakily fast.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30FAST VERSION OF ALL SHOOK UP PLAYS
0:50:37 > 0:50:42So, I think there was a lot of frustration there and he didn't really know how to deal with that.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46Colonel also messed with the mixes.
0:50:46 > 0:50:51I heard Colonel talking to New York and RCA,
0:50:51 > 0:50:56saying, "We can't even hear Elvis with all that background stuff."
0:50:56 > 0:51:01And, "You need to turn that stuff down." I heard that with my own ears.
0:51:01 > 0:51:07I think the Colonel was saying that people are paying to hear Elvis Presley sing.
0:51:07 > 0:51:12And all the other stuff is getting in the way of that.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16The band and the singers and everything.
0:51:16 > 0:51:21When people fool with artists' work, they wind up killing the artist.
0:51:21 > 0:51:28I lost my friend mainly because of creative disappointments.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33I think those caused the other problems.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37Elvis's shows now fluctuated from the sublime
0:51:37 > 0:51:39to the chaotic.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45Later on in his life, when he was having some problems with prescription medication,
0:51:45 > 0:51:49he could come out on stage and he could forget lyrics to a song,
0:51:49 > 0:51:53he could seem disoriented and the audience was oblivious to it.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56I hear rumours flying around, I got sick in hospital.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59In this day and time, you can't even get sick.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00You are strung out.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05By God, I'll tell you something, friend, I've never been strung out,
0:52:05 > 0:52:07in my life, except on music.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Living by night on the Hilton's 30th floor,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Elvis became increasingly isolated
0:52:15 > 0:52:16and in need of help.
0:52:16 > 0:52:22I think the first time I realised that Elvis was taking medication
0:52:22 > 0:52:25I was in Las Vegas with him and it was in the first couple of weeks
0:52:25 > 0:52:27that I was there.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30I remember one night looking down at his nightstand
0:52:30 > 0:52:34and I saw all these prescription bottles and I said,
0:52:34 > 0:52:36"Are you sick?" He said, "Why do you ask, honey?"
0:52:36 > 0:52:39"Well, these are all prescription bottles."
0:52:39 > 0:52:44He said, "No, I had a little sore throat" or "I've gotta keep my throat good for performing."
0:52:44 > 0:52:47For many years, Elvis was in denial.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50No question 'bout it.
0:52:50 > 0:52:55He became dependent on people to take care of things for him.
0:52:55 > 0:53:00He became dependent in many ways, just like he did with the medications
0:53:00 > 0:53:04that five different doctors, who are not in touch with one another,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06were giving him.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09And he became addicted to them.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Elvis's health was declining,
0:53:21 > 0:53:24often in clinics and hotel bedrooms.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26The Colonel started to interfere.
0:53:26 > 0:53:32Lo and behold, there's Colonel Parker and I walked him to the door,
0:53:32 > 0:53:33he opens it up,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37and what I saw was Elvis's...
0:53:37 > 0:53:42body being dunked into a bucket of ice water
0:53:42 > 0:53:44by the doctor. Elvis was like this.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46"Ahhhh."
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Moaning.
0:53:48 > 0:53:49And the door closed.
0:53:49 > 0:53:5560 seconds later, the door opened, the Colonel walked out,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58he stood with me, toe to toe,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02stared in my eyes and said, "Now, you listen to me.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05"The only thing that's important
0:54:05 > 0:54:09"is that that man is on the stage tonight.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12"You hear me? Nothing else matters.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14"Nothing."
0:54:15 > 0:54:17# Gather round me, buddy
0:54:19 > 0:54:23# Raise your glasses high... #
0:54:23 > 0:54:25While Elvis struggled with his demons,
0:54:25 > 0:54:27so increasingly did the Colonel,
0:54:27 > 0:54:30throwing away huge sums of money in the Hilton casino.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36This was what Colonel said.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40"When I'm playing, I forget everything,
0:54:40 > 0:54:42"except what I'm doing.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44"I have no aches or pains.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47"I have no stress over the business.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50"I am focused on the gambling."
0:54:50 > 0:54:55He played roulette and would put chips on every number.
0:54:55 > 0:55:00In a period of 1.5 hours,
0:55:00 > 0:55:04- he lost over 1,250,000. - HE WHISTLES
0:55:04 > 0:55:06And Elvis believed that toward the end,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10the reason he was playing the hotels was to pay off the Colonel's debts.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Elvis had felt indebted to his manager for 20 years now.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19And the lyrics of Walk A Mile In My Shoes
0:55:19 > 0:55:23seemed to echo the low point their relationship had reached
0:55:23 > 0:55:25by 1976.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28# If I could be you
0:55:28 > 0:55:29# If you could be me
0:55:29 > 0:55:32# For just one hour
0:55:34 > 0:55:35# If we could find a way
0:55:35 > 0:55:37# To get inside
0:55:37 > 0:55:38# Each other's minds
0:55:38 > 0:55:40# Uh-huh
0:55:40 > 0:55:42# If you could see you
0:55:42 > 0:55:44# Through my eyes
0:55:44 > 0:55:46# Instead of your ego
0:55:48 > 0:55:51# I believe you'd be, I believe you'd be, surprised to see
0:55:51 > 0:55:53# That you've been blind
0:55:53 > 0:55:54# Uh-huh
0:55:54 > 0:55:56# Walk a mile in my shoes
0:55:57 > 0:55:59# Walk a mile in my shoes
0:56:01 > 0:56:03# Yeah, before you abuse
0:56:03 > 0:56:04# Criticise and accuse
0:56:04 > 0:56:06# Just walk a mile in my shoes... #
0:56:06 > 0:56:11Elvis was becoming increasingly remote from the manager and the city
0:56:11 > 0:56:12he had once loved.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17Here we're talking about Las Vegas and money,
0:56:17 > 0:56:20the very epitome of materialism.
0:56:20 > 0:56:25Here's Elvis Presley, upstairs, after his show,
0:56:25 > 0:56:27meditating.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31Before his show, saying a prayer.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35Reading spiritual books of depth and substance.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38The contrast was amazing.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39Quite amazing.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43He definitely believed that he was blessed by God.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46It wasn't just an accident, he felt he'd been picked out.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49But he used to question it.
0:56:49 > 0:56:50"Why me?"
0:56:50 > 0:56:55# Sweet spirit
0:56:55 > 0:57:01# In this place
0:57:01 > 0:57:05# And I know
0:57:05 > 0:57:09# That it's the spirit... #
0:57:09 > 0:57:12I would sit in his dressing room when I'd go see him
0:57:12 > 0:57:14and he'd be there fidgeting.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Waiting for his second show.
0:57:18 > 0:57:25He felt he should have stayed in the church and not become an entertainer.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Elvis would wear, on almost every occasion, three necklaces.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32He would wear the Christian crucifix, the cross,
0:57:32 > 0:57:37he would wear the Egyptian ankh and he would wear a Jewish star.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42And he would tell me, he said, "I don't want to miss out on heaven on a technicality."
0:57:42 > 0:57:47# I see my light I see my light come shining
0:57:47 > 0:57:50# From the West down to the East... #
0:57:50 > 0:57:54Elvis never returned to Las Vegas after the winter of '76.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58He would die in Graceland six months later, aged 42.
0:57:58 > 0:58:03# I shall be released
0:58:10 > 0:58:15I think we could really say that Elvis and the Colonel revitalised Las Vegas.
0:58:15 > 0:58:20They brought in people from all over the world.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24And not only the International Hotel benefitted,
0:58:24 > 0:58:26but every hotel in Las Vegas.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30I think he had this wonderful opportunity where the city
0:58:30 > 0:58:36really needed a pick me up, somebody to come in and shake up the entertainment scene
0:58:36 > 0:58:40and make it cool again for name entertainers to appear in Las Vegas.
0:58:40 > 0:58:44So he brought that to the table but Vegas brought to the table the opportunity
0:58:44 > 0:58:46for Elvis to showcase himself.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49So I think it was a marriage made in heaven.
0:58:53 > 0:58:55After 837 shows,
0:58:55 > 0:58:59the Hilton's curtains finally closed on an exhausted Elvis
0:58:59 > 0:59:04who had given his all for the love and loyalty of his audience.
0:59:23 > 0:59:26Subtitles by Claire Brown Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:26 > 0:59:29E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk