ELVIS, YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO DRIVING A TRUCK!

Elvis was booked to play “The Grand Ole Opry” once or twice during the early 50’s, and, as a result, was forced to contend with a rather difficult stage manager there.

After “The King” finished playing one night, and he was alone with Jim Denny he asked,

“Well, whatdoyathink?”

To which Mr. Denny responded,

“Elvis, you need to go back to driving that truck.”

(Or basically, “Don’t quit your day job”).

Of course, the twenty-something year old Elvis was devastated, and George Klein, current host of the Sirius Radio Elvis Channel, and Presley’s life-long friend, said that the rock n’ roll legend was quiet all the way back to wherever they happened to be going that night.

They say what goes down must come back up, and it was definitely true in Elvis’ case. For you see, the next night he performed at some nearby venue, and the local teens went smack dab crazy over his music. As quickly as he fell down, he got right back up. (Of course, the applause and adulation of a few hundred young people didn’t hurt).

Though years had passed, and Elvis gained stratospheric popularity, based on the following incident, it was all too obvious that Elvis never forgot the promoter’s stinging critique.

Pt. 2

Elvis was engaged at some large concert in some large city, and after finishing up one night, and he’d returned to his dressing room, he received a call from Faron Young, a popular country singer.

“Hi Elvis, this is Faron. I just saw your show. Would you mind if I stop by and ‘shoot the bull’ for a couple minutes?”

To which Elvis gladly acquiesced, as he had always liked the man.

However, when Elvis answered the knock on the dressing room door, not only was Faron Young standing there, but another man whose face he could not forget, but whose name he was unable to remember.

But based on the context of this story, you might easily surmise that the familiar stranger was none other than Jim Denny.

As Faron Young and Elvis dialogued, the old stage manager and record promoter was unusually quiet. However, as they were about to depart the premises, Young voiced a request.

“Hey Elvis, Jim D. here is looking for work at the moment. Maybe you could put in a good word for him with Colonel Parker, (Elvis’ road manager).

To which the savvy entertainer responded,

“Yeah, sure Chief. Sure, I will.”

As it fell together, however, no sooner had the two men departed the premises than Elvis began “cursing a blue streak.”

Pt. 3

It so happened that his friend, George Klein, was in the dressing room at the time, and he immediately realized something was happening which he’d never seen happen before. Granted, Elvis knew how to dish out some choice 4 letter words, …but not like this.

“Elvis, Elvis what’s going on?”

To which the angry young man responded,

“Do you know who that guy was? He’s the S.O.B. from The Grand Ole Opry who told me that I should go back to driving a truck!”

And while Elvis was a benevolent soul, and never forgot where he came from, and lavished gifts and favors on his friends, and enjoyed doing for those who couldn’t do for themselves…

He exclaimed,

“It will be a cold day in h_ _ _ before I do anything for that loser!”

I suppose the moral of the foregoing story is,

Be kind to those whom God sets in your pathway. You never know when you may be speaking to the next Elvis.

 By William McDonald, PhD. "Elvis Stories." Copyright pending