by Patrick H. Moore
Who can forget Elvis crooning “In the Ghetto” in those smoky, soulful tones or belting out “Suspicious Minds” or rocking out to “Jailhouse Rock” or even better, “That’s All Right Mama?” Elvis was the one and only king, surely one of the most popular and best known pop country/rock ‘n roll/rockabilly/blues singers who ever lived. I vividly recall listening to one of his early Sun Records recordings. Elvis is about to sing “Hound Dog” and he wants the band to get into the mood. So he says (I paraphrase): “Let’s get gone, baby! Let’s get real gone!”
Well, Elvis has been gone for a while now. He died on August 16, 1977, of a drug overdose. The King was 42 years old at the time of his death. It was a sad day in the history of popular music and Elvis is still being mourned today. In the title song of Paul Simon’s 1986 album, “Graceland,” the great singer-songwriter invokes Graceland (Elvis’ home in Memphis, Tennessee) as a symbol of truth and beauty and even perhaps heaven.
Although one might expect that Elvis, given his glamorous life in the fast lane, might have popped a few pills from time to time (it’s long been an occupational hazard among our southern blues and country singers), most people probably are not aware of the degree to which The King was hooked on narcotics.
But such is life. And Elvis, to his credit, tried to redeem himself by becoming a crime fighter. Elvis personally declared his own private “war of drugs.” He wanted to rid the country of “hippie vermin” who were taking drugs and, at least in his mind, destroying our national character. Elvis claimed that he had done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and believed that given his high profile, he was in an ideal position to fight these scourges. The King went so far as to arrange a private meeting with President Nixon to propose his plan to stop the trafficking and abuse of street drugs. (I say this all with a straight face because Elvis was obviously sincere in his intentions.) The King wanted to be appointed a “Federal Agent at Large,” a non-existent category of agent, but Elvis didn’t care. He was used to receiving special treatment. Why not name him a Federal Agent at Large? Wasn’t this a bit hypocritical on the King’s part considering his own drug problem? To most of us, yes, but the way Elvis saw things, there was a major difference between downing boatloads of prescription pharmaceuticals (that was okay) and using prohibited drugs such as marijuana and LSD or meth or heroin (not okay).
Both Elvis’ personal drug addiction and his determined attempt to become Elvis Presley, Crime Fighter, are colorfully described in the two following posts:
First, the Crime Library brings us the following amusing account of Elvis scurrying from doctor to doctor to keep his prescription bottles filled:
At the height of his fame, he was a handsome, lithe and charismatic singer, marrying a beautiful teenage bride and becoming internationally famous. His death on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42, was far from glamorous. The King was found in his bathroom after going to the toilet, slumped over in a pool of his own vomit at Graceland Mansion. While the initial autopsy noted a “cardiac arrhythmia,” (at the behest of the family) it was revealed to be a cover-up, and the real cause of death — the cocktail of 14 different drugs in his bloodstream — was later revealed.
Presley’s penchant for prescription drugs seems to have began during his service in the army in the late 1950s, and then spiraled out of control in the ’60s, when he was most in demand. He would take uppers to get through a night’s performance, and downers to go to sleep. He was such a canny addict, that he studied the Physician’s Desk Reference, and would often fake symptoms while visiting doctors in different cities, soliciting prescriptions from each. He was twice admitted to rehabs in the 1970s for exhaustion; in reality, he had nearly fatally overdosed.
At the time of his death he had a cocktail of drugs in his system that would seem unbelievable: painkillers Demerol, Morphine; tranquilizers, Valium and Placidyl; antihistamine, Chloropheniramine; Codeine, Ethinamate (a sleeping pill), Quaaludes and an unidentified barbiturate.
Ironically, as a RollingStone.com’s biography notes: “He remained devoutly spiritual, never drank alcohol, and publicly denounced the use of recreational drugs.”
A site called 5 Ridiculous Attempts at Crime Fighting describes Elvis’ master plan to make common cause with Richard Milhous Nixon to save the soul of America.
The King Declares War on Drugs
You probably think Elvis Presley and drugs go together like Maury Povich and staged paternity tests. That’s the popular conception, after all. But that might come as news to Elvis: He didn’t consider himself a drug user at all. He never touched a drug that wasn’t first prescribed to him by a doctor. Or several doctors. All at once. But he wasn’t a drug user. No, in fact, Elvis hated illegal drugs and the dirty hippies who used them so much that he even volunteered to help the government fight them.
He started his personal war on drugs by writing a six-page letter to then-serving President Nixon. In it, he requested that he be named a “Federal Agent at Large,” a position Elvis was sure would enable him to bust every junkie he came across despite the fact that, by all accounts, Elvis made up the position of “Federal Agent at Large” while writing the letter.
The transcript of the letter can be found here, and reveals some interesting thinking on Elvis’ part. He points out that “The drug culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, Black Panthers, etc. do not consider me as their enemy.” Yes, Elvis was offering to be Richard Nixon’s undercover hippie hunter.
Historians generally agree that what happened next is one of the three awesomest things to happen since God killed all the giants in the Old Testament. Nixon received Elvis’ rambling, barely coherent letter that ended “I have a personal gift for you which I would like to present to you and you can accept it or I will keep it for you until you can take it.” If that’s the closing sentence in a letter from an ex-girlfriend, you’re going to want to make sure to never see her again, ever. Proving Nixon either had a way better sense of humor, or a way bigger crush on Elvis than history gives him credit for, Nixon agreed to the meeting with Elvis.
ADMIT ONE: The White House
Elvis promptly donned his Formal Rhinestone Cape and his most subdued and tasteful Giant Golden Cummerbund, then set off for the White House. Handshakes were given, pictures were taken and even gifts were exchanged: Nixon gave Elvis an honorary badge and title (that’s right, that badge up there? That’s not a Photoshop), while Elvis revealed his “personal gift” for the President of the United States: a gold-plated Colt .45.
Although he had to leave it at the gate initially, and it was later “presented” by Secret Service Agents, that act still cements the King as the single most prominent pop culture icon in history. If Lady Gaga showed up to the white house today carrying a hand grenade and a samurai sword as “gifts for the President” we highly doubt they’d be shaking hand afterwards.
Tragically, the two men–Elvis Presley, Federal Agent at Large, and a golden Colt .45-wielding Richard Nixon–parted ways after that, never to meet again. Though we have to imagine that Elvis’ handlers had to get used to every trip to the bathroom being referred to as a “top secret mission to the men’s room.”
So, there you have it: Elvis Presley — world famous pop icon, crime fighter and serious drug addict, dead at 42, of a drug overdose. In his final interview, Monica Maristain asked Roberto Bolano, the outstanding Latin Americannovelist, poet, essayist and short story writer (a crime writer in his own right), whether he preferred John Lennon, Lady Di, or Elvis Presley. Initially, Bolano opted for The Pogues or Bob Dylan. But then he caught himself and laid it on the line: “…let’s not split hairs: Elvis forever. Elvis wearing a sheriff’s badge and driving a Mustang, popping pills. Elvis and his golden voice…” Although the King has undoubtedly left the building, he will live on in our hearts and minds. Despite his problems, he was he one of our greatest singers and helped invent rock ‘n roll.