Elvis Begged His Friend to Free Him From His Outfit in the Middle of a Performance
In the 1970s, Elvis Presley wore elaborate onstage outfits that were just as eye-catching as they were heavy. Priscilla Presley believed her former husband relied too much on the later years of his career. While Elvis made them a staple of his onstage wardrobe, even he grew sick of them. During a rambling speech at one show, Elvis paused to ask a member of his entourage to help him out of his constricting outfit.
Elvis Presley asked his friend to help him out of his outfit in the middle of a show
During a performance in the early 1970s, Elvis began to chat with the audience. He tackled a wide range of topics, from his divorce settlement with Priscilla Presley, who was in the audience, to rumors about his drug use.
As he tried to introduce his next song, “Softly As I Leave You,” he requested help from his friend, Charlie Hodge.
“So the next song — no, this is a true story of a song,” he said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “It’s been around for a long time. Charlie, take this belt off, it’s going to cut me, castrate me, do something, you know.”
As Hodge apparently made his way over to Elvis, the musician began instructing him on how to cut the belt properly.
“Look, I just — be careful, son, don’t let it get caught in the cord,” he said. “I’ll die out here. Electrocute my a** and — excuse me, folks. I mumble things — oh, damn, it’s so tight you cut off my hair, man, I can’t sing.”
Elvis Presley relied on extravagant outfits in his later years, said Priscilla Presley
When she watched Elvis perform in extravagant outfits, Priscilla Presley couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She believed the costumes were his way of breathing new life into his career. She didn’t think he was successful in this, though.
“The style, grace, and pride that for the past eight years had been the hallmark of a Presley live performance now bordered on self-parody,” she wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “Frustrated with the lack of challenge of each passing show, Elvis resorted to sheer flamboyance, symbolized by his costumes, each more elaborate than the one before, loaded with an overabundance of fake stones, studs, and fringes. There were voluminous capes and cumbersome belts to match.”
The outfits were so heavy they exhausted him, and they distracted from his talent.
“He was performing in garb that added thirty-five pounds to his weight,” Priscilla wrote. “It was as if he were determined to upstage himself rather than relying on his raw talent.”
The musician wanted stage outfits that stood out
While Elvis’ outfits did not excite Priscilla, they are still a key part of his public image. Graceland archivist Angie Marchese said his jumpsuits became just as iconic as his music.
“The costumes were as big a part of his show as the songs,” she told Commercial Appeal. “They really define the Elvis image in those years.”
She believed his star power was so great that he needed an outfit to match.
“He wasn’t going to go out there in a tux or a suit,” she said, adding, “He needed something special. He was Elvis.”
