In the year 1956, Elvis Presley turned 21, the age at which all young Americans had to report for military service.
The singer had revolutionized the youth and parents of his country with Hound Dog or Blue suede shoes, giving the former a new form of expression that shocked the latter with a hip slap. However, what happened on January 4, 1957, would be considered by his fans as 'Black Monday'. A date that would mark a vital change in his career.
Presley's manager, Colonel Parker, wrote a letter to the Pentagon weeks before the singer's birthday, saying he had to find a solution for him, too much was at stake. Enlisting in the military would mean postponing upcoming movie and album deals, too great a loss for all parties involved, producers and record labels alike. However, Parker managed to convince the musician that enlisting would bring him even closer to an older audience, whitewashing his image in front of a generation of World War II veterans.
The government offered the manager the possibility of Presley joining the 'Special Services', a group created in the 1940s by the US War Department, in charge of employing artists and organizing performances within the body. Parker knew that the singer's image as a troublemaker and troublemaker would only be aggravated by priority treatment from the government. In this way, he decided that the musician would serve as a private, without any preferential treatment.
From King to Recruit
On March 24, 1958, Elvis Presley entered Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. The young man had just finished filming his movie, King Creole. Before the cameras, he posed confidently, with that smile that had catapulted him from Chess Records to practically the entire globe. But in personal letters to friends and family from him, he was very concerned. He was overwhelmed by the strict military training, the possibility of losing fame, and everything he had managed to build up to then. One of his superiors let him use his personal phone so he could communicate with his family, on these occasions the young man cried inconsolably.
When summer came, Presley was allowed to move into a house with the rest of his family, something that greatly improved his mood. However, on August 14, 1958, his mother passed away from exhaustion and the poor condition of her kidneys and liver. The young man was devastated.
German Amphetamines
In September the king, together with the rest of his family, was transferred to West Germany, to the city of Friedberg. There he lived with his entourage from hotel to hotel, constantly harassed by fans thronging the doors. A sign on the gate announced that autographs would only be distributed between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
During his time on duty in Germany, Parker was working overtime to generate merchandising and close editorial advances for when Presley finished his service. The endless conversations between the two gave a good example of the musician's concern about being forgotten, something that terrified him. However, Parker was not willing to allow his client to perform for the troops free of charge. Such a deal would have given the US military full rights to exploit those performances, and the colonel wasn't willing to go there.
During some maneuvers, exhaustion and poor physical shape, together with the genetic problems that the Presley family carried, began to take their toll. It was a sergeant who first offered him amphetamines. He was fascinated by its effect, the energy and strength that they gave him during the years of service would remain branded in his mind. Elvis would depend for the rest of his life on these types of medications to keep up with his intense artistic activity.
During this time he also met his later wife, Priscilla Ann Wagner, daughter of one of his classmates, Currie Grant. He was 24 and she was 14, an age difference the younger Presley didn't seem to mind. The rest of the time in Germany they spent together, although it would take two years until, under very strict rules from her parents, Priscilla could travel to the United States to meet the king.
Elvis in Europe
Joquín Luque is the president of the biggest Elvis Presley fan club in Spain. When Club Elvis was created in Badalona in 1991, the figure of the man from Tupelo was "practically non-existent" in our country, and access to archival material and records was very limited. Thirty years and a thousand members later, the club is officially recognized by Graceland, the singer's last home and a 'mecca' for his fans.
Luque believes that the little influence of the king in Europe was due in part to the irregular situation of his manager in the United States. Colonel Parker hid his true nationality for years, he was born in Breda, the Netherlands, and entered the country illegally. To give a fact, the only time Elvis set foot in the United Kingdom was on his return from Germany. The small airplane in which he was traveling had to refuel and landed in Scotland for this purpose.
It is hard to believe that someone like Elvis did not take advantage of his influence to tour Europe, however, there is more. Joaquín points out the two great disappointments in the singer's life: his failure as an actor and never having been able to go on that tour.
The influence that American music had in the following decade during the 'British Invasion', could have been completely different if Presley had toured the Old Continent like Chuck Berry or Muddy Waters, among others. Who knows how we would remember the king today on his 44th anniversary if he had come to set foot in Spain.
