Things like this are really cool. Elvis is one of those people who I love as if he was family. I've grown up on him, studied him, and just tried to be as much like him as I could. I'm 19 years old and he's like a hero of mine and I try to keep the image of him away because like he even said an image is one thing a human being is another. He was a normal person put into a world that no one had ever been in before. He was literally the king and no one had been that famous before. I mean even Michael Jackson had that level of fame and the same things happened to him. Normal people being put into a world not meant for them and they make good and bad decisions. Elvis wasn't perfect and made some pretty bad decisions in life but I think all the good he did out ways the bad. Spending millions of dollars on charity that no one will ever know about, giving away soo much without recognition, wanting so badly to make his fans happy that he'll physically destroy and exhaust himself just so he can put on a show for you like you've never seen before. Giving credit to God when people will literally take the time to Pray to Elvis as if he was God himself. He was put into impossible situations but in the end he faced the challenges and came out of it a king and a hero. TCB⚡
Yeh how positive he sounds, to bad that he was asked to leave along with Red, they almost destroyed him just to get revenge so because they were no longer on the gravy train it did,nt take long to betray Elvis after they were fired, he was absolutely distraught when he found out about what they had done, so I don,t really think west boy,s gave a toss about what they did, so no they don,t deserve to still making money of Elvis.
For sure! So he must need money so he wrote another book about Elvis. He just needs to be quiet. Im sure Lisa Marie wants nothing to do with red & sonny west
Someone should have asked Sonny about his nasty tell all book written right before Elvis died. Sonny and the other milked him until and after his death.
I believe the West's had Elvis's best interest at heart. I lost my kid brother to substance abuse, and the more I tried to intervene and help him at the end, the more he pushed away...sometimes you can't save a loved one from themselves
Sonny and RED west both loved ELVIS and did what they could to keep him from taking the pills, the rest were there to bleed ELVIS for the money and the girls they could get, JOE[ THE BLOW ] ESPOSITO was a greedy little bastard and wanted ELVIS to fire everyone except him and then he would have complete control of Elvis and his money,
Yeah he was a great guy, he sold him out for a book and some $$$$!! The sadder thing is they even recorded Elvis when he called and they game it out to the world to hear!! So how do you explain that lets say the book was done to save him why was the recording of there talk released to the public something Elvis I am sure that was private!! I am sure for a few extra dollars. He fed them for so many years and then they sold him out thats the truth
chris Krist, I answered your ignorance on another video, but I'll do it here as well.... It was Vernon that caused all that, he never liked the boys, even though he watched them grow up and Elvis told him many times he NEEDED them, In Vernons eyes if they weren't making Elvis money they were useless. Anyway, according to Marty Lacker who was inside at the time, Elvis told Vernon to give them $5,000 each and assure them they would be hired back in 2-3 months, Vernon gave them a weeks pay and told them they are out forever this time, so Sonny and Red felt hurt after all those years. Sonny and Red had every right to tell their side of the story they warned Elvis over and over what he was doing to himself, and what happened a few weeks after the book was released Elvis proved THEY were right!
bukowskispen they only thing I find ignorant is when the other person who commented he is suppose to go with what your reply is!! I grew up being taught being loyal respectful to my friends , family and to others who earned and deserved it!!! But they shouldn't act after his death that they were his brothers loved and cared for him!! The bottom line is everything they had in life even there underwear the wore was from Elvis!! They wrote the book to make money and I am curious why was the conversation by phone he had was it recorded and put out there was that also to help him? They at the end of it all showed they where in it for the ride, yes Elvis had serious problems but who knows maybe if that book was not written he may have lived!! Many close to him say that book really depressed him a lot more then he was!! Years after they go on shows and try to show how much they loved and cared for him, maybe they did when they had the free ride but they really sold him out at the end!! Book tv interviews the recording of him on the phone hmmm really loved the guy!! So I am replying back to your ignorance!!!! The luckiest red knecks in the world that they where blessed to live in Elvis Presleys life, until the end they lived of Presleys name!!!!
I am from Memphis and was looking for Kid Galahad because I think that was his best movie but couldn’t find it so I just watched the doc about the memphis mafia and I have to say that it was Sonny’s story about being in California with the horse when he learned of Elvis’ death that made me cry...I could really tell that he was genuinely torn to pieces over what happened to Elvis...he was a TRUE friend to him...and I agree with Larry Elvis was addicted...he was a victim...and when you think about someone’s life BEFORE addiction set in so deep it breaks your heart
@@gracieg7601 I got to meet Sonny at an Elvis fans gathering in Florida years ago, and got to talk with him one on one a few minutes while he was setting up his booth. Something I will never forget. I still believe he and Red were trying to help Elvis realize his problem.
I believe the west brothers betrayal of elvis caused him such upset, he no longer cared what happened. I believe he took all three doses of the meds together. Just as his step brother claims. If not to kill himself, then as a way to get out of the tour. He couldn't face his fans and what they would think of him.
He wrote a note to Billy Stanley several months prior that his life was all screwed up and it was hard to go on. I think the book by Red and Sonny West was the final blow that destroyed Elvis. It's entirely possible that he deliberately took all those meds to either kill himself or get out of the tour.
I SPENT 4 EVENINGS WITH HIM AND HIS WIFE JUDY, THEY ARE BOTH SUPER NICE, AND VERY KIND TO ME!! MAY THEY BOTH REST IN PEACE!! THEY BOTH LOVED ELVIS VERY MUCH!!
It’s funny,Sonny and Jerry Schilling both said they started doing Indian Wrestling with Elvis prior to his shows..I met Jerry in Vegas and we talked for a good while,great guy and IMO he’s more believable since he never trashed the King publicly.
How true did Elvis remain to Sonny and Red? Elvis let his father do something he apparently didn't have the guts to do. And because he let Vernon do something he himself should have done, Vernon did it his way and not according to what Elvis told him to do. As Elvis himself use to say, "Understanding solves all problems."
Why not, now sunny is a liar because you knew elvis you spoke to him he told you parker was a jerk, well I don't know much but I know who the jerk is, you just can't take it elvis died an someone has got to get the blame
have to give sonny major props for this - it's not easy praising Col Parker, especially in front of modern Elvis fans. i totally disagree with him, but have to respect him for expressing an unpopular opinion, with such conviction. RIP.
I wonder how Sonny dealt with the guilt of the tell-all book he wrote filled with every horrid tale on Elvis. He had to know that book contributed to his death. I think he must have had a love/hate relationship with Elvis to write such a sleazy tell-all. And, with time passing you forget the bad and he could make some money off his Elvis memories. RIP Sonny.
Its a shame that when sonny and some of the guys wrote that book about elvis they drifted away from from elvis and when elvis died some of the guys wasnt allowed to attend elvis s funeral so sad ❤❤ ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Как грустно до слёз становится ,когда слушаешь эти воспоминания людей намного переживших Элвиса. Среди них не нашлось ни одного , кто бы помог ему.Полковник Паркер,сильная личность,имел влияние на Элвиса.Почему он не повлиял на него ??? Плевать ему было на Элвиса, он выжимал из него все силы!!!
I would like to have asked if he thought the way Parker took advantage of Elvis, overworked him, and kept him from going outside the country played a part in his use of medication, deteriorating health, and untimely passing. I understand that one time when Elvis was very ill, he told one of the entourage "that man needs to be on stage tonight, nothing else matter". I also think his gambling caused Elvis to have to work much more than was healthy for him. I'm sure he made some good business decisions but I also think he made detrimental decisions that were harmful.
People referred to The Memphis Mafia as "hangers on" or "users"...but it was Elvis who sewed-up and occupied these guys lives for fear of being alone. He paid a heavy price for his fame...but so did they. You say no to Elvis...see how that goes over.
From the very beginning after Elvis became a phenomenom and sensation he would of continued same in concerts all over the globe with no movie deals to hinder.
Everyone gets a bad rap from crazy fans, they always want to blame everyone else except Elvis, Like he's their child who could do no wrong, This guy seems pretty honest and isn't really slating anyone, just giving facts. Many Fans don't like to hear the truth, they'd sooner believe in lies and Fantasy. Some fans will say They all sponged off of him, the other side of that is, He had no friends so had to pay them to hang out with him, or the truth is somewhere in the middle. If Elvis wanted drugs he'd have got someone to get them for him, Sure he could have fired everyone he employed and it wouldn't have made any difference to the outcome, he wanted to do what he wanted in private and make work as easy as possible, Like turning down better film roles, or doing a world tour, his love of guns would have made it near impossible for him to tour most of Europe where you can't walk around with loaded weapons
How many real friends do we have besides our family? When you are a famous Superstar and rich, most of the people around you are there for money and personal use, a star has few real friends! about drugs, no one likes to lose his health deliberately.Elvis had diseases that had genetic roots. He could not do anything for them. He was insomnia, walking in sleep and in the three illnesses he received from his mother, I think we can not easily judge anyone, but we can ask why Sonny and Red and Dave after they were fired by Elvis's father wrote a story against him and Elvis' heart was broken?
Yes that's right i definitely believe that elvis was the type of guy that wouldn't do something he didn't think he'd do well, some so called 'fans ' just can't see reality they have convinced themselves it was everyone else's fault and not Elvis!..
Him and others were wrong to put out a Hit piece book about Elvis in 1977.Elvis fires them, they retaliated with a Hit piece book about Elvis Life for $$$$$$
Yes... And the book was sad to read. I still love Elvis and adore his music, his generosity, his charisma. But it was unbelievable some of the stuff I read. However, what Sonny and Red (and the Stanleys) etc. wrote about Elvis, it's quite convenient NOBODY wrote the same filth about THEM. They point out Elvis's weaknesses and slimy behaviors, but curiously, THEY LEAVE THEIRS OUT. Yet these guys were all dogs. And now making $$$ off a dead guy. 🙄🙄🙄
I’m a huge fan of elvis Presley’s and I love 💕 elviss music and flims too elvis will always be the king 👑 of rock and roll 🎸 my dream is to visit Graceland and communicate with elvis 2:27pm
Elvis was lucky to have Sonny and Red as friends for they told him the truth about his drug dependency when no one else was. Ironically they were hated for it. Everyone else around Elvis preferred to pretend he wasn't really dying.
Thats good to know the real story about A Star is born. Also I've never understood why the Presley family was so angry with Sonny and Red. I was a teen when the book came out, and I thought that was there way of trying to save him, shame Lisa Maria never realized that while they were alive so the guys could have closure, they deserved that.
What I don`t understand is they were coming to him with many opportunities for great acting parts for great movie`s and he did want to be a great actor so why he didn`t take one movie I really don`t understand this, they say Elvis did need a challenge he didn`t want to loss weight for a movie but he did loss weight for concert aloha from Hawaii
Larry is a story teller unfortunately he tends to imagine things, and the boys didn't like him for that reason, I mean if he had a run in with parker for whatever reason well he's going to make out parker was horrible towards elvis, however Larry can't supply any proof or witnesses as I say Larry is a wacko bigtime
Just before Elvis's career took off, Col. Parker told him this. If, you allow me to be your personal Manager, I'll make you a Millionaire by the time you reach the age of 21. But, I get a 50% cut of all money raised by your career. Elvis agreed. He had no idea he would become the legend he became.
Oh please , Far too many praises here for Sonny West . He is not being entirely honest here at all. Tom Parker was a degenerate gambler who worked Elvis to death . Parker owed those casinos in Vegas millions in debt . In addition to that , where did that bastard get off taking 50 percent of Elvis's earnings as his manager when the industry standard was 10 to 15 percent max at the time . No manager to this day takes that kind of percentage . Sonny knew what was going on . Lets not forget that nasty book he and his cousin Red West wrote about Elvis which was released just a few weeks before Elvis's death , supposedly written to "help Elvis " give up his prescription drugs . Yeah right , nobody believed him then when he made that claim and few if any believed him in the many decades that followed . I believe Sonny personally did love Elvis and that he later may have regretted writing that horrid book , we will never know for sure , but you are not getting the entire truth from Sonny here in this video. His praise for Tom Parker is way out of line . If any of you want the truth about Parker listen to others who knew Elvis as well , especially Larry Geller . None of us can know with certainty whether any of the so called Memphis Mafia really loved Elvis for himself . His manager worked him like a dog especially in the latter years of Elvis's life . In the earlier years of Elvis's career Parker had him committed to one silly movie after another much to Elvis's displeasure and constant worry . All the Memphis Mafia crowd that were with Elvis for years have all had their stories to tell and they did not think much of Parker at all . As stated we can not know if anyone of them truly cared for and loved Elvis . Elvis certainly loved and cared for them both financially and emotional as a friend When Elvis died Joe Esposito said "it was as if a train had stopped ".. I'LL BET.....the gravy train ! Anyway I'm going to end by saying I will choose to believe they did love Elvis and in thus doing , give them all the benefit of the doubt .
I've been reading the book by the Stanleys ("Elvis We Love You Tender") and it's also not exactly kind to the guy. Basically telling the ugly things that went on while the mafia worked for Elvis. Hookers, drugs, groupies, etc you name it, all on those tours. While Elvis never went with the hookers, the "guys" did, and they all enjoyed the hell out of it. No doubt they "loved" (?) Elvis, but he was their gravy train. He made people money while he lived, and he's making them money after death.
it was never too big a challenge for elvis to do a star is born , elvis would have rose to it , he became a sergeant in the army and rose to that challenge and passed , he wanted so much to be a serious actor and he would have slimmed down and got himself ready , he did it before , i hate it when sonny backs parker , he deffinatley had influenced wat elvis wanted to do he controlled his every move stopped him talking to other writers When parker first started as Elvis's Manager 1955/56 he made a deal he said "you take care of the singing and i'll take care of the business and one will not interfere with the other"! and for a while it worked that way until the latter stages and parker started getting involved with everything till he was telling Elvis wat to do about everything he became a control Freak. Once Parker had his claws in elvis he never let go he hated not having complete control over him Elvis wanted to do other things and would tell Parker his ideas but that was a near impossible as it only served him to shut it down Elvis always resented that & he got very discouraged he had pretty much no say in anything anymore he dreamed of going to the UK but he never got there because Parker was not an American citizen he was an illegal Immigrant a Dutchman even the name Colonel he took from somewhere Everything was about money to Parker he always pushed deals to make more money he sacrificed Elvis's career & happiness for Money! But once Elvis realised he outgrew parker he saw him as a promoter Parker didn't know his artist, the drive wat they needed for their own satisfaction creatively he would say your making movies why do you want to make other kinds of movies your making money! Elvis was thirsty for the arts he wanted to do movies with substance but parker didn't get it
Sonny and red, were let go, because they told Elvis, the drugs are killing you, things are not the same, because of the drugs, Red said what happened to the good old days Elvis, Elvis said there gone red, this was the END
My personal opinion is that the What happened book really was a last ditch tough love effort to beg their man/child friend to please get it together and clean up for his and his daughters sake. Sunny was one of the very few guys in Elvis's life to stand up to him because he genuinely loved the guy. I can't imagine how crushed he must have been 2 weeks after the book was released. I've never heard him say a bad thing about his friend .
Its funny he free loaded so many years of Elvis, then sold him out with a book that caused Elvis into a bigger down spiral, and now years later he still is making his bread of Elvis name and acting like he was his buddy to the end!! He even recorded Elvis didnt he? Great Friend !!!
You still don't get it do you, all parker's fault all the Security mafia dr nick elvis dentist doctors ect ect elvis the saint yea? You can't get get into your head elvis was a nut job drugged up author of his own making, crazy thing is elvis has some nut job fans that for sure
Chris Krist you are just a troll, like going on youtube pages and starting arguments with people. Why dont you keep your negative views to yourself. Nobody cares what you think. You werent there, you werent around Elvis, so you dont know diddly squat.
If Elvis had challenged himself and his art he more than likely would have lived a long life. He in my opinion was bored and never grew or was allowed to in spite of what Sonny says.I think if he would have taken the Star is born it would have taken him in a whole new direction. You just can't sing the same songs over and over wearing a jumpsuit. I love him him but he didn't allow himself that gift, or the gift of his home being his and his once wife's home. Too many people meddling and keeping from him being even more. I think that's why he died to young, just bored.
Still making money off of his knowledge of Elvis to the very end! They were fired for roughing up the fans and other reasons. Interesting. Where was there loyalty? I wonder what Elvis would have to say today? Given what we know about his heart and humanity he probably say nothing about them! Differences in people says it all! Truth will win out. Love to all.
You are wrong Sonny West, you wasn’t even around, and the fans do like her you did not do your research. And yes, I believe he was going to marry her, he was making changes that’s why he got rid of you three first, but he wasn’t finished and he didn’t get to live long enough to do it
Wingsong tell a man the truth to his face wild he is lavishing gifts to while high....don't wait to a man realize he is being used by you, and fired your rear! and then decides to write a tell all book behind his back, with a lot of very private and personal intimate things about stuff that has nothing to do with his dependencies on drugs. They betrayed him when he was sick and vulnerable. bastards! They lived with regrets for the rest of their lives, because Elvis died before they could makeup... PS . yes Priscilla is a wonderful woman who was young and loved Elvis, but couldn't take it anymore, the cheating and drugs...she did, and is doing a great job with his legacy..God bless her!.
Really ? Was he lucky through all these years of people loving him. Go to Graceland there are lines of people from all over little kids adults from all over the world Elvis week brings thousands So does his Birthday I've been at Graceland in December on a Thursday freezing cold and stll long lines He was a one of a kind that will never happen again he transcends all generations All the Elvis empersonaters and people flock to them he has sold billions of records no one has come close to that yea he just got lucky.
Same kind of "Luck" as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber????? They're Not my taste but millions of fans over years tells you "Luck" is for scratch off players like yourself!
