Elvis Presley’s Bodyguards Believed He Was Blessed by God
Elvis Presley’s bodyguards spent much of their lives supporting him. While it was not an easy job — Elvis could be quite demanding — they were happy to dedicate themselves to him. According to some of his bodyguards, Elvis had a seemingly supernatural power over people. While his bodyguards sometimes thought this was ludicrous, they couldn’t deny that Elvis seemed to be blessed.
Elvis Presley’s bodyguards thought there was something special about him
Elvis was a majorly successful singer, a stroke of luck he thought was godsent. This didn’t sound like too outlandish of a belief to his longtime bodyguard Red West.
“He believes there was a master plan by God in singling him out for his fantastic success,” West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “Now, while it does sound a little wacky, I have often given it a lot of thought and have often felt that maybe there was something to it. I mean, how does it happen that a skinny little kid from a dirt-poor family in Tupelo, Mississippi, suddenly becomes the best-known name in the world? How is it that he commands all these fortunes and has all these millions of people who love him?”
West said he wasn’t all that religious, but couldn’t help but feel Elvis had a special aura about him.
“It was almost magic that Elvis and Colonel Tom got together. That seemed destined,” he said. “I often felt that I’m in the aura of some very special human being. He genuinely believes that he is a prophet and we were his disciples. He demands fanatical loyalty, expects it. There have been times that I have felt that Elvis bordered on being a bit of a nut, but look at the loyalty we gave the man. We broke our backs for him. We’ve risked our lives for him.”
West said Elvis had a power over his entourage that was difficult to explain. All he knew was that he was willing to do anything for Elvis and expected little in return.
Elvis Presley’s bodyguards also believed he took his faith too far
Still, there were members of Elvis’ entourage who thought he took his faith in himself too far. Dave Hebler, who joined Elvis’ entourage much later than West, thought Elvis often spouted off about things he didn’t understand.
“Now, there are experts in the psychic phenomena field who are very hard to discount,” Hebler said. “A lot of their stuff stands up, and I am tempted to believe in it quite a bit. But with Elvis, while I believe a lot of his homegrown philosophies, it’s quite obvious he has only a very surface knowledge of this stuff. The ludicrous part was him passing himself off as an expert, particularly in this healing business.”
Elvis had long believed he had the ability to heal ailments through touch. While Priscilla Presley corroborated this claim, Elvis’ other bodyguards denied it. West said he always avoided talking about his back pain around the singer. Elvis had once laid hands on him and falsely believed he had permanently healed his pain.
He constantly searched for greater purpose in life
While Elvis felt his talent was a gift from God, he also often felt rudderless in his own life. For years, he searched for meaning in various religious and spiritual texts. When his new barber, Larry Geller, talked to him about spiritual development, Elvis became obsessed with finding meaning in his life.
“He asked Larry why, out of all the people in the universe, he had been chosen to influence so many millions of souls,” Priscilla Presley wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “Granted this unique position, how could he contribute to save a world burdened with hunger, disease, and poverty? Why was there so much human suffering in the first place? And why wasn’t he happy, when he had more than anyone could want?”
His pursuit of answers continued until his death.
