Elvis Liked Being a ‘God Figure’ to People in His Life: ‘He Needs to Be Needed’
Elvis Presley was so famous that he became a God figure to many of his fans. People worshiped him in his lifetime and continue to be dedicated fans even decades after his death. According to Elvis’ bodyguard, Red West, the singer liked being treated this way. West said Elvis wanted people to treat him as though he were a god.
Elvis’ bodyguard said the singer liked being a ‘God figure’
Elvis was incredibly generous to the people in his life. He gave away lavish gifts — houses, horses, cars, and more — without thinking twice about it. Still, he reportedly didn’t pay his entourage all that much considering how much money he made. West, who knew Elvis for years, believed this was intentional.
“I have seen him give away some of the most incredible gifts imaginable. In later years he was to give away clothes and cars and rings, and even airplanes and houses, but he likes to be in control,” West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “Gifts are one thing. Money is something else. The point is that I believe somehow he believes money gives a person independence. He doesn’t want people to have independence from him. He likes to be a father figure, or a God figure.”
He went so far as to refer to his entourage as his disciples. Elvis studied spirituality, and he seemed to want to be something more than human to the people close to him.
“For many years, with real seriousness, he called us his disciples,” West said. “He was willing to feed and clothe and give you a good time, but he liked to be in charge of what he gave you when he gave it to you. Somehow he thinks if you get enough money together you can pull up sticks and leave him because you don’t need him anymore, and, above all, he needs to be needed.”
Priscilla Presley once said she felt Elvis was nearly a God
Elvis’ wife, Priscilla, certainly viewed him in this way. She met him when she was just 14 and grew up in his thrall. For years, he was the most important person in her life and she began to view him as a godlike figure.
“You have to remember, he was such an impact in my life, in every way,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “He was my mentor, he was my confidant. I wrote this in my book. He was everything. In my book I wrote ‘my God,’ because I lived and breathed him.”
Red West thought Elvis wanted his entourage to rely on him
Though some members of Elvis’ entourage took issue with their low salaries, most did not. They were happy to work for Elvis in whatever way they could.
“If you look through most of the boys around him, none of us ever had any real money when we started with him,” he said. “Me, Sonny [West], Dave [Hebler], Joe Esposito, Gene Smith, Jerry Schilling, Lamar Fike, Cliff Gleaves. None of us had bread. We just jumped at the chance to do his bidding and work for him. Good times, bad tunes, but not much money. It was almost as if it was a requirement to work for him that you had to be broke. You had to need him more than he needed you.”
