Lisa Marie Presley Says Elvis Presley Was a Thrill-Seeker, His Driving ‘Could Be Your Last Minute’

Elvis Presley was never the kind of guy to go in for moderation. The King lived a big life, and his larger-than-life persona didn’t stop at the door to Graceland. In fact, according to Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis was getting into all sorts of mayhem at home — so much so that he was sometimes worse than she was as a child. She added that this was true of his driving as well — Elvis was not someone you wanted behind the wheel. 

Lisa Marie Presley says Graceland was a funhouse

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Elvis Presley was by no means an overly strict father. In fact, Lisa Marie Presley says that when she was growing up, there were no rules at Graceland whatsoever. 

“There was no schedule, there was no time at Graceland, no rules. It was almost like this fun house, no matter what you did, no matter what you destroyed, no matter what you threw, what broke it would somehow miraculously get replaced within 24 hours,” Lisa Marie Presley said. 

“[Elvis] was not strict at all. He would sleep all day so me and my friends had the run of Graceland and I knew nobody would tell me what to do because they would get fired. I was a terror. I’m not proud of it,” she explained.

Despite all the wild action, Presley spent plenty of quality time with his daughter, who he doted on. 

“He and I spent a lot of time together upstairs, that part of Graceland is basically his room and my room. He’d set up a little chair in my room and TV and be around a lot,” she explained.

Elvis Presley was not known for his expert driving

However, Lisa Marie Presley says that there was one thing everyone at Graceland dreaded — getting into the car with Elvis Presley behind the wheel. Apparently his thrill-seeking and adventurous lifestyle applied to his driving acumen. 

“When you would get in a car with him when he was behind the wheel, this could be your last minute,” Lisa Marie Presley said. 

Apparently Elvis occasionally liked to land his private jet as well, another opportunity for friends and family to fear for their lives.

“Same with the plane. All of a sudden the captain would come on, saying ‘please fasten your seatbelts,’ because [Elvis] was going to land the plane. It was just like everybody would stick their head between their knees and hide or something… bury themselves in their seats. It was just one of those ‘Oh good God’ moments.”

Elvis Presley got into as much mayhem as his daughter

While Lisa Marie Presley was busy causing a ruckus with no repercussions at Graceland, her father was just as ready to have a good time. 

Lisa Marie Presley recalled that her father would take her out on golf cart rides around Graceland, sometimes in the middle of the night. She said if she wasn’t the one making a mess with the cart, he was. 

“I could decapitate a golf cart, I could take the hood off by running under a tree. I could drive through a fence and it would get fixed within three days. If it wasn’t me, running the golf cart through a tree, through the forest or through a fence, it was my father.”