NEWSElvis Presley's Manager Believed Gospel Music Could 'Save His Life' From Addiction Battle
A new book sheds even more light on the dynamic between Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
In the upcoming tell-all Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider's Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business, author Greg McDonald explores the life of the former carnival pitchman and what he thought might have saved the King of Rock and Roll.
A new book tells all about the relationship between Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
"He loved Elvis like a son," McDonald explained of Parker — who passed away in 1997 — during a recent interview. "The Colonel never wrote a tell-all, even after these negative stories came out about him. He refused. And when I saw Baz Luhrmann’s film, I knew somebody had to come out and finally tell the truth."
Despite the rocky relationship between the two, McDonald made it clear they had immense respect for each other. "Everybody depicts the Colonel as this bad guy, but if Elvis Presley was standing in the room right now, and somebody in the room said something bad about the Colonel, they'd get thrown out of the room. They loved each other, but they had a tough relationship toward the end because Elvis wasn't doing well, and the Colonel was worried about him," the writer — who knew both parties — claimed of Parker and Presley.
Colonel Tom Parker thought 'gospel music' would save Elvis Presley's life.
In the months leading up to the "Burning Love" singer's 1977 death at age 42, Presley's battle with addiction began to take hold of his mind and body. According to the author, people looked to Parker to help get the "Jailhouse Rock" musician help.
"There were no Betty Ford Centers," McDonald stated. "There were no rehabs that were respectable to go to if you were a big star like Elvis. They just didn’t exist. And when Elvis was in Graceland, he’d hide for weeks at a time. It wasn’t healthy. People would say, ‘You’ve got to get him out of the house and get him on the road, so he’ll quit this.'"
Elvis Presley passed away at age 42.
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"The Colonel would tell him he needed to get his act together," McDonald added. "But this was Elvis Presley, and he knew who he was. And if you walked up to Elvis and told him, 'You've got to quit doing drugs,' he would throw you out of his house no matter how fond he was of you. Can you imagine going up to Elvis and telling him, 'You've got to quit taking pills?'"
Despite Presley's lack of desire to quit prescription drugs, Parker believed there could be one thing that could have possibly saved the music icon from his addiction. "The Colonel and I were down in San Diego at one of the big buildings where Elvis was appearing," he recalled.
Elvis Presley battled an intense drug addiction.
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"Billy Graham was there for several days. He had a 100-piece choir… There must have been 50,000 people… On our way home, the Colonel said, 'The thing Elvis loves the most in his life is gospel music. And if he had a 100-piece choir like Billy Graham and only did gospel music… It might save his life,'" McDonald revealed.
"The Colonel knew Elvis needed something more than Vegas and the regular rock 'n' roll tours," he explained. "He knew that Elvis loved gospel music. He loved it better than anything… The Colonel knew Elvis was at risk. He felt that gospel music would save him."
Fox News Digital conducted the interview with McDonald.
