Elvis Presley in Paris ...
On Saturday the 18th of July 1953, Elvis Presley dropped into Sun studios with $3.98. His plan was to record a song entitled My Happiness to give as a present to his mother Gladys on her birthday. The lyrics of My Happiness are nice and simple, “Whether skies are grey or blue, any place on earth will do, just as long as I’m with you, My Happiness.”
When Elvis found fame and fortune he bought his mother an expensive car. She was ill and couldn't drive it but he parked it outside the hospital so at least she could see it out of her window. Elvis had to join the army in March 1958. He was given a haircut, assigned army serial number 53310761 and stationed in Germany.
There are two famous quotes from John Lennon that are about Elvis. The first quote is about growing up in Liverpool before hearing Heartbreak Hotel. Lennon said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” The second quote is, “Elvis died the day he went into the Army.” When Elvis was a soldier he didn’t die but sadly his mother did. Elvis was given leave to attend her funeral. When he arrived back in the U.S, The press didn’t allow him to grieve in private. Reporters gathered round him and stuck microphones in his face. As a tear streamed down his cheek, someone took a photo and Elvis said, “She was all I lived for, she wasn’t just my mother, she was also my best friend.”
Elvis had her headstone inscribed “You're the sunshine of our home.” Elvis did his best to keep himself together but he couldn't hold back his tears or hide his feelings. Elvis had good friends who cared about him. Some would even stay up late at night singing with him to try and ease his troubled mind. An Army buddy of Elvis gave him a little book as a present. It was a collection of poems. There was one poem in that book called, “Should You Go First” that struck a chord with Elvis. He read the poem so many times he could recite it off by heart. Elvis’ Grandmother, Minnie Mae came to stay with Elvis and cooked him all his favorite dishes. Elvis’ idea of a treat was a plate full of sauerkraut, Southern crowder peas, and burnt bacon.
Not long after the funeral he would return to base in Germany. However, in June 1959 Elvis was awarded two weeks’ leave. He decided the best thing to lift his spirits would be to travel to Paris. As a teenager, Elvis worked as an usher in a cinema in Memphis. He got to see the young Bridget Bardot in a film called, Manina, The Girl In The Bikini. He couldn’t help dreaming that when he went to Paris he might meet up with her. Maybe she’d want him to be her Teddy Bear and treat him nice? He could serenade her with a song like, “Don’t Say Don’t". When Elvis booked into the Prince de Galle hotel the room was bigger than he expected. For a young man born in a shot gun shack he would be forgiven for saying, sacrebleu. Elvis was a little mixed up but was feeling fine.
You know someone once said that when good Americans die they go to Paris. The next time you find yourself in Paris consider that the spirits of Elvis and Gladys Presley aren’t so far away. Maybe like you, they managed to see the view from the top of The Eiffel tower an hour before sunset. Or maybe they squeezed their way into a crowd to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France cyclists. Paris is the city of dreams – I'm sure Gladys would love the stained glass windows of The Chapelle. And Elvis would smile at seeing young lovers linger along the floodlit banks of the seine. Art fans are spoilt for choice in Paris … you can look at the work of street artists who draw pictures of The Church of the Sacred Heart on the pavement. Or you can visit the Cathedral that took 200 years to build. You can see Duchamp’s Urinal at the Pompidou or you can see Mona Lisa’s smile at The Louvre.
If I’m being honest Elvis Presley wasn’t as into going to art galleries as he was staying in and watching comedy shows. Elvis was a massive fan of the film Monty Python and The Holy Grail and Elvis was also known to love The Pink Panther movies that starred Peter Sellers. Elvis loved clowning around and doing impressions of Inspector Clouseau with his outrageous French accent. Everyone deserves a bit of happiness. As they say in Paris, “On n’est point toujours une bête pour l’avoir été quelquefois”. And now and then there’s a fool such as I.
Text © Harry Pye, 2020
