Priscilla Presley’s Mom Wanted to Take Part in a ‘Mother’s March Against Elvis Presley’
Priscilla Presley was a fan of Elvis Presley long before she entered into a relationship with him. He was one of the biggest artists in the world, and his music was inescapable; her friends brought Elvis merchandise to school and joined his fan club. While Priscilla was never this dedicated of a fan, her mother didn’t think she should be listening to Elvis’ music at all. She thought he was far too inappropriate for teenage girls.
Priscilla Presley’s mom didn’t think she should listen to Elvis’ music
When Priscilla was in junior high school, she began understanding why some of her friends were fans of Elvis. After seeing him perform on television, she realized what others saw in him.
“Then I saw him on television on Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey’s Stage Show,” she wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “He was sexy and handsome, with his deep brooding eyes, pouty lips, and crooked smile. He strutted out to the microphone, spread his legs, leaned back, and strummed his guitar. Then he began singing with such confidence, moving his body with unbridled sexuality. Despite myself, I was attracted.”
This was the last thing her mother wanted. She believed Elvis’ dancing was obscene and entirely inappropriate for teenage girls.
“Some members of his adult audience were less enthusiastic,” Priscilla wrote. “Soon his performances were labeled as obscene. My mother stated emphatically that he was ‘a bad influence for teenage girls. He arouses things in them that shouldn’t be aroused. If there’s ever a mothers’ march against Elvis Presley, I’ll be the first in line.'”
It likely came as a shock to her mother, then, when Priscilla began dating the controversial musician.
Priscilla believed Elvis was a good person
While her mother believed Elvis was a bad influence, Priscilla had a different opinion. She heard that Elvis was a kind, respectful Christian boy and preferred to think this of him.
“But I’d heard that despite all of his stage antics and lustful, tough-guy looks, Elvis came from a strict Southern Christian background,” she wrote. “He was a country boy who didn’t smoke or drink, who loved and honored his parents, and who addressed all adults as ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am.'”
Priscilla Presley initially found Elvis just as inappropriate as her mother did
While Priscilla chose to see the best in Elvis, she once thought of him as just as inappropriate as her mother did. When a school friend asked Priscilla to join the Elvis fan club, she showed her some photos of the musician. Priscilla found one of the pictures so distasteful that she declined to join the fan club.
“Obviously I’d heard of Elvis; one of my best friends had a fan club that you could join and she showed me the magazine, and when she showed me the inside,” Presley told Good Morning Britain (per The Daily Mail). “Elvis was signing this blonde woman across her breasts. I looked at that and [thought] there’s no way I could be a part of this fan club. It’s really gross.”
