Elvis Said He Gave His Entourage Expensive Gifts to Make Up for the ‘Hell’ He Put Them Through
Elvis Presley’s entourage lived lives that brushed fame, but Elvis expected much from them. They worked late hours, traveled often, and had to be willing to protect the singer with their lives. They also said they dealt with Elvis’ constantly changing moods. After Elvis’ bodyguard confronted him about this, Elvis said he tried to make up for his terrible behavior with lavish presents.
Elvis Presley once said he relied on gifts to make up for the way he treated his entourage
In 1975, bodyguard Red West mustered up the courage to have a serious conversation with Elvis. He had known the performer since high school, and they’d grown close over the years. West saw the way years of fame and drug use had changed Elvis and decided to talk to him about it.
Their conversation went well but the next morning, Elvis seemed upset about it.
“I don’t want to hear all that s*** … I wish people would stay out of my personal life,” West recalled Elvis saying (via Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy). “I’m going to do what the f*** I want to do. I don’t need anybody preaching to me.”
West said the reversal in Elvis’ attitude frustrated him so much that he walked out of the room and punched the refrigerator. Elvis followed him and tried to further explain his stance. In his eyes, he was making up for his behavior.
“[H]e follows me out and he has calmed down and he says, ‘What do you think I give you guys all these gifts for? It’s to make up for the hell I put you through, for the work you guys do. That’s why I give you these gifts.’”
Elvis did have a reputation for giving expensive presents. If a friend mentioned liking something, no matter how big, Elvis would often purchase it for them. These presents ranged from trailer homes on his property, to new cars, to horses.
He initially agreed that he needed to change
West said his concerns had more to do with Elvis’ well-being than the way he treated the people around him. He was so frustrated with Elvis the morning after their discussion because Elvis initially seemed receptive to his concerns.
“This night I told him that all the s*** he was swallowing had changed his personality,” West said. “I told him I wished he could get back to like he was in the old days. Well, he surprised the hell out of me. He didn’t flash with anger, he just said quietly, ‘Yeah, I agree with you.’ And he didn’t have too much to say that night.”
Unfortunately, though, Elvis was less open to West’s concerns by the morning.
Priscilla Presley said Elvis’ generosity made him a good boss to his entourage
Elvis’ behavior made it difficult for West to be around him. According to Priscilla Presley, though, the bodyguard should have been more grateful. Priscilla believed Elvis was a good, generous boss.
“They’d ask him if he could help them out with a down payment on a house or the first and last months’ payments on an apartment,” Priscilla wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “Elvis always came through for them, lending them the one thousand or five thousand or ten thousand dollars they asked for. He was rarely if ever paid back.”
Outside of the money he lent them, Priscilla said he gave them expensive presents whenever he felt like it.
“There was also no limit to the expensive gifts he gave them — television consoles for Christmas, bonus checks, Cadillac convertibles, Mercedes-Benzes,” she wrote. “If he heard someone was sad or depressed, he loved to surprise them with a gift, usually a brand new car. When he gave to one, he would usually end up giving to all.”
Some of his bodyguards believed Elvis’ endless generosity was also a result of his drug use.
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
