How Elvis Presley Earned His Friend’s Endless Respect After His Mother Died

Elvis Presley’s mother died shortly before the father of his friend, Red West. Both men returned to Memphis to mourn their parents. West said that the loss of Gladys Presley was extremely hard on Elvis given the closeness of their relationship. Still, Elvis made a point to be there to support West in his grief.

Elvis Presley supported his friend not long after his mother Gladys died

While Elvis was in basic training, he received word from his father that his mother’s health had taken a sharp downturn. He returned to Memphis to see her but, shortly after his arrival, she died of a heart attack.

West, who knew the Presley family well, tried to take emergency leave to pay his respects. While his commanding officer did not approve this, West soon learned that his father was ill. His commanding officer granted him emergency leave and, when he arrived in Memphis, he learned his father had died. While West was in the city, he attended Gladys Presley’s funeral and the funeral of his father the following day.

West could tell Elvis was not in good shape following his mother’s death. Still, the singer made a point to pay his respects at West’s father’s funeral. 

“Man, he had gone through a trial the day before at the funeral home. He was out of it. But just before the service started, Elvis appeared at the doorway,” West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “He was with Alan Fortas and Gene Smith and Lamar Fike. They were all very respectfully dressed. Elvis almost had to be carried over to me. He was there to mourn the passing of my dad.”

West said he had never felt closer to Elvis 

West said he felt this took commendable strength on Elvis’ part. He could barely speak, but he wanted to be there to support his friend in whatever way he could.

“Damn, man, that took something,” West said. “He came over to me and sort of half fell into my arms. ‘My mama was here yesterday just where your daddy is. Red,’ Elvis told me. He couldn’t say too much more. He was so badly broken up.”

This moment made West feel closer to Elvis than ever before and cemented his loyalty to him.

“We just sort of held on to each other and I thought, This is one helluva guy to go through what he did the day before and then face it all over again to pay his respects to my daddy,” West said. “Southerners can be great like that. I was never closer to any man in my life than that day.”

Elvis Presley’s friend said the death of his mother was extremely hard on the singer

West was also in deep mourning at the time, but he felt that Elvis’ suffering was at a different level. Elvis and Gladys had a uniquely close relationship, and her death sent him reeling.

“Everybody breaks up when he loses a mother or a father. With Elvis I think it was a lot deeper,” West said. “It was a heck of a shock to lose her when she was so young. Elvis had planned so much for her. He was going to take her to Germany with him, they were going to tour Europe together. She was going to be the best-looked-after mother in the world. And then this.”

He wondered if Elvis’ life would have taken a different course if his mother hadn’t died so young.