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Elvis Flew Into a ‘Fit of Rage’ Every Time He Heard John Lennon’s Name After a Comment Made by Lennon

Emma McKee — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 22:25:00 +0000

Elvis Presley was a major source of inspiration for John Lennon. He, like many other artists in his generation, heard “Heartbreak Hotel” and felt as if his life had changed. When he was a famous musician in his own right, Elvis agreed to meet with the band. While The Beatles walked away from the meeting feeling slightly disappointed, Elvis reportedly began to foster a simmering hatred toward Lennon.

Elvis Presley resented something John Lennon said when they met

In 1965, The Beatles finally had the opportunity to meet Elvis. They drove to Graceland and spent the night playing music with Elvis. Journalist Chris Hutchins said Lennon had long been asking him to set up the meeting, but things went awry between him and Elvis almost immediately.

Elvis Presley | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

“John had annoyed Presley by making his anti-war feelings known the moment he stepped into the massive lounge and spotted the table lamps – model wagons engraved with the message ‘All the way with LBJ,’” Hutchins told Express. “Lennon hated President Lyndon B Johnson for raising the stakes in the Vietnam War … As we left and were walking down the drive, [Colonel Tom] Parker called out after me: ‘Tell the fans it was a wonderful night’. John turned to me and said: ‘Tell them it was crap.'”

Elvis reportedly felt the same way. After that night, Elvis would reportedly “fly into a rage” every time he heard Lennon’s name. He became known for outbursts like these; when something he didn’t like played on television, he often fired bullets into the screen.

Elvis wanted to show John Lennon and The Beatles that he was still a star

While The Beatles looked forward to meeting their musical hero, Elvis hoped to establish some form of dominance during the meeting. He respected the band, but he was wary of the new crop of musicians.

“When John [Lennon], Paul [McCartney], Ringo [Starr] and George [Harrison] walked in, Elvis was relaxing on the couch, looking at TV without the sound,” Priscilla Presley said in the book Elvis by the Presleys. “He barely bothered to get up.”

Beatlemania was in full swing by 1965, and Elvis’ career had begun to decline. Priscilla explained that his casual greeting was to remind the band that he’d been a star first.

“He viewed this whole world of music coming from England — The Beatles, the Stones, and the Dave Clark Five — with tremendous interest and, I suppose, some trepidation. He acknowledged their talent and energy — he told me on many occasions — but he worried about losing popularity,” she wrote. “And in 1965, no one was more popular than The Beatles … The fact that Elvis greeted them with studied casualness didn’t mean he didn’t care. He did. He was simply affirming his role as Original King.”

The ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ singer called The Beatles anti-American

Elvis’ dislike of The Beatles continued even after the band broke up. In 1970, he met with President Richard Nixon and told him that The Beatles “had been a real force for anti-American spirit” (via Vox).

The Beatles | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The following year, he met with J. Edgar Hoover and said that the band was partially responsible for the “filthy unkempt appearances and suggestive music” of the youth.

Lisa Marie Presley’s Memoir: 3 Explosive Revelations About Life With Priscilla Presley

Lucille Barilla — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:55:15 +0000

Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir From Here to the Great Unknown is a raw and unfiltered look at her life growing up as the only daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. Here are three explosive revelations about life with her mother, Priscilla Presley.

Lisa Marie Presley called herself Priscilla Presley’s ‘trophy’

In her memoir From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie Presley called herself Priscilla Presley’s “trophy.” Lisa Marie claimed that her mother’s wishes for her were dramatically different from what she wanted.

For example, Lisa said Priscilla sent her to a pricey French school with other celebrity kids because Priscilla was dating someone French and was “obsessed” with the culture. Furthermore, Priscilla wanted Lisa Marie to go to a finishing school where she would be taught social skills, etiquette, and cultural refinement to prepare her for high society or professional life.

“I felt like she should have gotten a different daughter. It was about how things looked. The way things appeared seemed more important than feelings. My mom would never allow herself to lose control, everything was all in its place,” Lisa said in the book.

Lisa Marie admitted she was wild and Priscilla was a ‘chronic stop sign’

Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie Presley in a vintage, undated photo | Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Lisa Marie Presley revealed she was wild and rebellious as a teenager. She went against most of Priscilla Presley’s strict rules, which were the opposite of how she lived at Graceland before Elvis Presley’s death.

“By this point in my life, my mother’s role was just to be a chronic stop sign,” Lisa Marie wrote. “She didn’t try to talk to me, hang out with me, or be a friend.”

In contrast, Lisa Marie said she was “very much in love with my father’s side.” She called them “wildly colorful people” and she related to the Presley family in a way she couldn’t with Priscilla.

Lisa Marie added, “I know she tried her best. She was trying to figure things out and grow up too and I gave her a genuinely hard time. I never yelled at her, never mouthed off to her, cursed at her, was never violent around her, anything like that.”

She concluded, “I was just despondent, extremely melancholy, moody, dark. I’m sure she had no idea what to do with that.”

Lisa Marie claims one of Priscilla’s longtime boyfriends sexually assaulted her

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Lisa Marie Presley wrote she was molested by Priscilla Presley’s longtime boyfriend, actor Michael Edwards, beginning when she was just 10 years old. She alleged Edwards would enter her room at night when she was a child.

“The first time Edwards came into my room in the middle of the night, drunk, kneeling, was years before. I think I was 10. I woke up to find him on his knees next to my bed, running his finger up my leg under the sheets and if I moved he stopped, so I moved.”

“He said he was going to teach me what was going to happen when I get older,” Lisa Marie alleged. She then explained in graphic detail what Edwards had done to her, including physical assaults, and spankings that caused bruising.

Michael Edwards denies allegations he ever sexually abused Lisa Marie Presley per People Magazine. Priscilla Presley dated Edwards from 1978 through 1984. She has not commented on Lisa Marie’s allegations.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

Elvis Presley: Riley Keough Reveals Her Surprising Vision for Graceland’s Future

Lucille Barilla — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 17:20:28 +0000

Elvis Presley‘s granddaughter, Riley Keough, is now in charge of her grandfather’s home, Graceland. She is responsible for preserving the mansion and the legacy of the music legend for future generations. While promoting her mother’s autobiography, From Here to the Great Unknown, Keough revealed her vision for Graceland’s future.

Riley Keough reveals her plans for Elvis Presley’s Graceland

Riley Keough took over Graceland after the death of her mother and Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie. The ownership transfer followed the terms of Elvis’s estate plan, which stipulated that Lisa Marie’s children would inherit Graceland. Keough and her two half-sisters, Harper and Finley Lockwood, became co-heirs upon their mother’s death.

While promoting Lisa Marie’s book From Here to the Great Unknown, Keough shared her surprising vision for the future of the historic home. She told People Magazine “My hope is to continue what my grandmother [Priscilla Presley] did, and then my mother did. Which is simply to preserve our family home,” Keough stated.

Riley Keough’s plan comes months after Graceland was reportedly up for sale

Elvis Presley’s Graceland home | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Keough’s statement comes just months after a public notice from a company called Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC shared details of what they claimed was a loan Lisa Marie took years earlier, that today, with interest, totaled $3,800,000. This alleged loan was never paid back before Lisa Marie died in 2023.

However, Keough’s lawsuit against Naussany Investments in Shelby County Chancery Court states, “These documents are fraudulent.” Thus, Keough’s suit against the company blocked any proposed sale of her family’s home.

It was later revealed via the U.S. Department of Justice that a woman named Lisa Jeanine Findley (also known as Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins, and Carolyn Williams) of Kimberling City, Missouri was arrested and charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Keough said there are some quirks about being associated with Graceland

Riley Keough shared that being personally associated with Graceland has some quirks and perks. One of the strangest was when her family stayed at the home while tours occurred in the off-limits upstairs area. Fans didn’t know the Presley decedents were upstairs as they toured Elvis Presley’s historic home.

Keough told Seth Meyers, “There were some nights that [Lisa Marie] wanted to stay there, and she would bring us with her. The tours start in the morning and they end at 4 p.m., so if we were to stay in the house — Elvis’ room and my mother’s room are not part of the tour — we would stay upstairs and have to wait, we’d get stuck until the tours were over.”

She continued, “I guess they could have stopped the tours for a second. So we could run out, but they never did that. They never offered.”

“I used to go with my family. We would have dinner there,” she added.

From Here to the Great Unknown is currently available for purchase. It is written by Lisa Marie Presley and co-authored by Riley Keough.

Lisa Marie Presley ‘Knew’ Something Was Wrong With Elvis on the Day He Died

Emma McKee — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 14:25:00 +0000

When Elvis Presley died in 1977, his young daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was staying with him at Graceland. Lisa Marie herself said she had been able to tell for several years that her father’s health was declining. She reportedly had an even stronger sense that something was wrong on the last night she saw Elvis. Her daughter, Riley Keough, recounted the sense of unease her mother felt on the last night of Elvis’ life.

Lisa Marie Presley had a sense that something was wrong with Elvis on the day he died

Toward the end of his life, Elvis’ drug use and self-isolation became mounting problems for him. Even Lisa Marie, who was a child when he died, could tell something was wrong.

“One night when I was five or six, we were watching TV,” Lisa Marie said in the book The Colonel by Alanna Nash. “I looked up at him and said, ‘Daddy, Daddy, I don’t want you to die.’ And he just looked at me and said, ‘Okay, I won’t. Don’t worry about it.’”

Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley and Elvis Presley | Magma Agency/WireImage

Keough said her mother felt a sense of foreboding when she said goodnight to him on the final night of his life.

“She said goodnight to him, and I think she knew, saying goodnight, that she had some kind of sense,” Keough said in An Oprah Special: The Presleys — Elvis, Lisa Marie, and Riley (per CBS News). “I think she had a sense many times that he wasn’t OK. You know, she would tell me that sometimes she would find him in his bathroom looking kind of out of it or holding onto the railing to stand up straight. And she also wrote these letters when she was little, saying, ‘I hope my daddy doesn’t die.’ So there was some kind of sense there.”

Lisa Marie Presley took an item from Elvis’ room after his death

After Elvis’ death, Lisa Marie continued to spend time at Graceland as she still had family at the home. Still, Graceland maid Nancy Rooks said she mostly avoided the upstairs, where Elvis died. Rooks could only recall her going upstairs on one occasion.

“I noticed a change in her, however, whenever she came to the house after his passing,” Rooks wrote in her book Inside Graceland: Elvis’ Maid Remembers. “The only time I remember her going upstairs was one time, several years after he had died, when she asked me to go up to his bedroom with her.”

Lisa Marie took a keepsake from Elvis’ closet before leaving the room.

“She got very quiet as we entered the room, and stopped, looked around for a few minutes, and then went over and got a black and white ballcap from his closet and walked out of the room with it,” Rooks wrote. “I think that just knowing that her father had died up there was too much for her. I guess it would be for most children her age.”

Her posthumous memoir is now available

This month, Lisa Marie’s posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, was released. She worked on the book for years before recruiting Keough to help her. After Lisa Marie’s sudden death, Keough sifted through tape recordings to finish the book.

Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley | Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

“This extraordinary book is composed of both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voice, a mother and daughter communicating across the transom of death as they try to heal each other,” reads the book’s official website. “Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other — the last words of the only child of a true legend.”

Elvis Presley: 3 Biggest Takeaways From Riley Keough’s Interview About Lisa Marie Presley

Lucille Barilla — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 15:32:56 +0000

Riley Keough sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview at Elvis Presley‘s Graceland to discuss her mother Lisa Marie Presley‘s new book, Into the Great Unknown. Lisa Marie recorded stories about her life with the intent of publishing a memoir. After Lisa Marie’s death in January 2023, her daughter Riley Keough was tasked with finishing the book. Here are 3 of the biggest takeaways from her interview with Winfrey about her mother’s recollections growing up Presley.

Riley Keough was ‘worried’ about her mother, Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie Presley “worried” her daughter, Riley Keough, in the weeks before her death. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Keough told Oprah Winfrey, “The last three weeks that she was alive I was with her a few times that I felt worried.”

“I think there was always sort of an undertone for me. Because of this feeling that I was on borrowed time with her. But there were a couple of interactions with her that she felt detached in a way. A kind of a resignation,” Keough stated.

Lisa Marie Presley attended the Golden Globe Awards to watch Austin Butler take home a trophy for his work in Elvis on January 12, 2023. She appeared unsteady on her feet at the event. In two days, she was dead of cardiac arrest brought on by complications stemming from small bowel obstruction.

Lisa Marie Presley couldn’t let go of son Benjamin Keough’s body after his death

Lisa Marie Presley and Benjamin Keough | Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

In From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie Presley admitted to keeping her son Benjamin Keough’s corpse on dry ice at her home. This was so Presley could grieve her son in a way she felt was best and figure out the logistics of his burial.

Riley Keough told Oprah Winfrey, “The moment my brother died, I was like, ‘this is the end of her,’ because they were so close. They were as close as Elvis was with his mother, and I just couldn’t imagine a world where she would make it without him.”

In the memoir, Presley described mourning her father, Elvis similarly. She said she felt a sense of closeness to his body, instead of fear.

Presley was just 9 when Elvis died. His body lay in state in Graceland’s music room. “I went down to where he was lying in the casket, just to be with him, to touch his face and hold his hand, to talk to him,” the book reads.

“I asked him, ‘Why is this happening? Why are you doing this?’”

Riley Keough said she felt ‘frustrated’ toward Elvis Presley when she was younger

Elvis Presley was an enigma for Riley Keough, as he died years before she was born. Keough explained she didn’t understand her mother’s feelings about losing her father. It appears that Presley never fully got over his death.

“I had a mother who was kind of feeling like ‘how could you leave me’ in a sense, and I lived with that,” she said. “I was young, but I kind of related him to causing my mother to feel pain, so I remember being young and feeling frustrated that he did that.”

Keough inherited Graceland after her mother’s death. She now oversees the important historical home and irreplaceable treasures that draw half a million visitors each year to Memphis, Tennessee.

However, the home doesn’t appear to give Keough the same comfort it did her mother. Presley said in many different interviews that Graceland always felt at home when she would visit. It was one of the main reasons she continued to spend holidays in Memphis when she lived in California.

“I don’t want to come here usually, and I have to sort of force myself to come,” Keough told Winfrey. “And then once I’m here, I really feel a sense of closeness when I go sit in the meditation garden.”

Riley Keough’s interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS. It can be streamed on Paramount Plus.

Elvis Presley: Lisa Marie Always Asked Her Father to Perform These 2 Classic Songs

Lucille Barilla — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 14:46:21 +0000

Although Elvis Presley was Lisa Marie Presley’s father, he was also her favorite performer. She loved watching him on stage and recording the songs that have since become industry classics. However, Lisa Marie had her favorite Elvis songs. She always asked him to perform these two classic tunes from his extensive catalog.

Lisa Marie Presley’s two favorite Elvis Presley songs were soulful classics

Elvis Presley’s music catalog consisted of hundreds of songs. With so many to pick from, Lisa Marie Presley narrowed her choices to two.

Lisa Marie’s daughter, Riley Keough, shared her mom’s choices in her late mother’s soon-to-be-released autobiography, From Here to the Great Unknown. People Magazine published an excerpt.

“I had certain songs that I liked; “Hurt” and “How Great Thou Art.” I would ask him to sing those songs for me, and he would always say yes,” Lisa Marie revealed.

“Hurt” was covered by Elvis in 1976, and the song reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. The original song was recorded in 1954 by Roy Hamilton, whose version peaked at number eight on the R&B Best Seller chart. It was also covered by Jimmie Crane, Al Jacobs, and Juice Newton.

Elvis Presley recorded “How Great Thou Art” in May 1966. The song was part of his gospel album, How Great Thou Art, which was recorded during the same sessions. This recording would go on to mark Elvis’ first Grammy win for “Best Sacred Performance.”

Lisa Marie Presley said going to Elvis Presley’s shows was her ‘favorite thing in the world’

In the book From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie Presley shared that seeing her father perform live was her “favorite thing in the world.” She said, “I was so proud of him.”

In the book, Lisa explains, “Going to his shows was my favorite thing in the world. I was so proud of him. He would take me by the hand and bring me out onstage, then get walked to wherever his place was on the stage, and I would be taken from him and brought to wherever I was going to be sitting in the audience, usually with Vernon [Presley].”

“The electricity of those shows. There’s nothing I’ve felt that’s been even close to that feeling ever. Electrifying is such a generic word but it really is what it felt like. I loved watching him perform,” Lisa Marie concluded.

How did ‘From Here to the Great Unknown’ come about?

According to the book’s official website, From Here to the Great Unknown are a collection of her life experiences. She planned to write an autobiography, but her life was cut short at 54 in January 2023.

Prior to her death, instead of writing her story down, Lisa Marie made hours of recordings to discuss life at Graceland, living in the shadow of her famous father, life in LA, and her many romantic relationships. Lisa Marie also spoke of the day Elvis died, “getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran toward his body on the floor.”

In the book, Lisa Marie discusses motherhood, parenting Riley and her siblings, the late Benjamin Keough, and twins Finley and Harper Lockwood. She also speaks of the overwhelming pain she felt upon Ben’s death and carrying on the Presley legacy.

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough comes out on Oct. 8, 2024.

Riley Keough Channels Dad Elvis in Mesmerizing Performance of ‘When Doves Cry’ at Paris Fashion Week

Ali Hicks — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:12:55 +0000

Riley Keough has been intimately familiar with international fashion since 2004 when she made her catwalk debut. Elvis Presley‘s only granddaughter walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana and Christian Dior at just 14 years old. Now 35, the Daisy Jones & the Six star delivered a musical performance that captivated attendees at the Chanel runway show.

Riley Keough performs on the runway during the Chanel Paris Womenswear Spring-Summer 2025 show | Kristy Sparow/WireImage

Riley Keough made her film debut in 2010’s musical biopic The Runaways. Since then, she’s demonstrated that strong singing voices run in the family. Keough’s most successful part to date is her starring role in Daisy Jones & the Six. The musical drama miniseries premiered in 2023. It ushered in Keough’s first Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film respectively).

Riley Keough at the Chanel Paris show on October 1, 2024 in Paris, France | Kristy Sparow/WireImag

Riley Keough’s ethereal performance for Chanel

Today, Keough was back in Paris for Fashion Week, this time to support Chanel’s return to the Grand Palais for the first time since the historic building’s refurbishing. The Under the Bridge star donned a black Chanel jumpsuit and translucent cape for the largest show of the week. Her ethereal look involved ’70s-inspired platform heels and silver accessories. Keough wore black cat-eye liner and styled her long dark hair in a center part and gentle waves.

Riley Keough performs on the Chanel runway as part of Paris Fashion Week | Kristy Sparow/WireImage

As Keough walked the runway, she sang Prince’s 1984 hit, “When Doves Cry,” setting the mood for the transcendental presentation. Keough returned to Chanel’s 20-meter-high white birdcage. She sat on a swing that gradually raised her high above the crowd, which included supermodel Naomi Campbell and actors Margaret Qualley and Lupita Nyong’o.

Riley Keough performs during the Chanel Paris Womenswear Spring-Summer 2025 show in Paris | Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Chanel’s nod to the past via Keough

The performance nodded to the French fashion house’s 1991 fragrance campaign starring Vanessa Paradis, who swung inside a birdcage while covered in black feathers. According to People, one of Coco Chanel‘s seamstresses gifted her a birdcage, which led to the iconic commercial for the label’s Coco fragrance. Introduced in 1984, the Coco perfume is one of Chanel’s most successful and beloved scents.

Riley Keough at the 2024 Met Gala on May 06, 2024 in NYC | Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Keough also partnered with Chanel earlier this year, modeling for the brand in a spring/summer campaign. She wore Chanel to the 2024 Met Gala in the form of a black gown with a sheer stomach area and a cropped sequined top featuring pink and blue flower embellishments. The Magic Mike star wore a diamond choker and matching ear cuffs — an refined representation of a brand known for elegance and simplicity.

Is ‘Little Sister’ Elvis Presley’s Heaviest Rock Song?

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Elvis Presley‘s songs revolutionized rock ‘n’ roll but he wasn’t really a hard-rock musician. There are exceptions to every rule. For example, Elvis put out a song in the early 1960s that was a lot heavier than his usual style. The tune typified a great genre that barely exists anymore.

1 Elvis Presley song proved he could still be hip years into his career

Fans of the “Hound Dog” singer know that he started out as a rock ‘n’ roll performer before making a transition into pop music in 1960. For the next few years, his output was dominated by pop songs such as “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” “Return to Sender,” and “It’s Now or Never.” Elvis’ critics (and outright haters) often claim that the singer was behind the times for most of the 1960s.

However, Elvis released a song in 1961 that was very current: “Little Sister.” During the early 1960s, surf music was all the rage. “Little Sister” has a sweet surf-rock riff that propels the song. The tune could have been about anything and that riff would make it an enjoyable listen. There’s a lot more power behind the guitar of “Little Sister” than the openings of “Blue Suede Shoes” or “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise.”

The song also works because Elvis sings it with a certain verve and humor. While he stopped putting his all into his music as his movie soundtracks got worse and worse, you can hear the passion in his voice on “Little Sister.” Perhaps he felt energized singing something that was very hip at the time.

‘Little Sister’ might work for rock fans who aren’t Elvis Presley fans

There’s a duality to Elvis’ place in our culture. On one level, everyone recognizes that he was instrumental in popularizing rock music. However, some rock fans aren’t interested in listening to his music. For someone raised on heavy metal or grunge, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll can seem quaint.

“Little Sister” might be a good place for those listeners to start. It’s a little heavier, sexier, and worldlier than some of Elvis’ other songs. It also proves that his early 1960s output wasn’t devoid of rock.

The song was part of a pair of hits released at the same time

“Little Sister” was released as the B-side of another lively Elvis song: “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame.” “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. Meanwhile, “Little Sister” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 10 and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. It’s interesting that the A-side and the B-side were roughly as popular as one another.

“(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame” appeared on the compilation album Elvis: 30 #1 Hits, which introduced many members of Generation Z to the King of Rock’ n’ Roll. The record topped the Billboard 200 for three of its 211 weeks on the chart. “Little Sister” was part of the sequel to Elvis: 30 #1 Hits: Elvis: 2nd to None. The sequel record reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 16 weeks.

“Little Sister” is a great song and you should play it for your friend who likes rock but not early rock ‘n’ roll.

Julia Roberts Called It a ‘Real Privilege’ to Be Able to Narrate Lisa Marie Presley’s Life Story

Emma McKee — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 20:21:00 +0000

In 2024, Julia Roberts will narrate the audiobook of From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir. The book covers Presley’s life at Graceland, tumultuous relationships, and experiences as a mother. Roberts described it as a great privilege to be able to record Presley’s life story.

Julia Roberts is narrating the audiobook of Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir

Presley spent the final years of her life working on From Here to the Great Unknown. The memoir, which is out Oct. 8, will have an audiobook narrated by Roberts.

“Lisa Marie Presley’s one-of-a-kind memoir deserves an equally exceptional talent, and we are thrilled that Julia Roberts is lending her extraordinary gifts to this poignant production,” Amanda D’Acierno, president and publisher of the Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, told The Hollywood Reporter. “Julia’s performance adds a profound depth to this heartfelt story of mother and daughter. Combined with Riley Keough’s narration and the intimate recollections from Lisa Marie’s personal tapes, this audiobook promises to be an unforgettable experience for listeners.”

Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, and Elvis Presley | Magma Agency/WireImage

In a statement, Roberts said she was happy to lend her voice to the moving memoir.

“I was so moved by Lisa Marie’s incredible memoir,” she said. “It was a real privilege to give voice to her wild and beautiful life and I deeply appreciate Riley entrusting me with her mother’s story.”

Presley’s daughter, Riley Keough, believes Roberts is the ideal person to read her mother’s book.

“I’m so thrilled to have Julia be a part of this and read the voice of my mother,” she said. “I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect to help share her story with the world.”

Riley Keough will narrate Lisa Marie Presley’s audiobook alongside Julia Roberts

Keough’s voice will also narrate portions of her mother’s audiobook. In 2022, Presley asked her daughter for help completing the book. After her death in early 2023, Keough went through tapes her mother recorded and used them to finish the memoir. She hopes the book and accompanying audiobook will cut through the tabloid information about Presley. She wants to present her mother as she truly was.

“What she wanted to do in her memoir, and what I hope I’ve done in finishing it for her, is to go beneath the magazine headline idea of her and reveals the core of who she was,” Keough told People. “To turn her into a three-dimensional human being: the best mother, a wild child, a fierce friend, an underrated artist, frank, funny, traumatized, joyous, grieving, everything that she was throughout her remarkable life. I want to give voice to my mother in a way that eluded her while she was alive.”

The book gives an in-depth look at Lisa Marie Presley’s life

Because she was Elvis’ daughter, Presley was in the public eye from the moment she was born. Outlets have endlessly covered her ill-fated romances and relationships with her family members. With her memoir, Presley wanted to share her side of the story.

Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley | Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Keough’s involvement in finishing the book will give further insight into the relationship between mother and daughter.

“This extraordinary book is composed of both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voice, a mother and daughter communicating across the transom of death as they try to heal each other,” the book’s official website reads. “Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other — the last words of the only child of a true legend.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland: What Happens if Someone Sneaks Upstairs to King’s Suite of Rooms?

Lucille Barilla — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:33:55 +0000

Graceland was Elvis Presley‘s family residence. Therefore, when it was decided to open the home to the public, choices were made regarding what rooms would be accessible and which would not. The Presley family agreed early on that the upstairs rooms of Graceland were off-limits. So what would happen if a visitor tried to sneak upstairs to the king’s suite of rooms?

What happens if someone tries to sneak upstairs at Graceland?

Once the decision was made to open Elvis Presley’s Graceland home to the public, it was determined what rooms fans would be able to view. While he was alive, Elvis rarely let anyone upstairs. It was his private domain.

Therefore, when Graceland became a museum of Elvis’ life, that tradition continued with a tiny alteration. As Elvis died in the bathroom upstairs, the area was sealed off from fans so fans wouldn’t focus on that space.

So, if someone tried to sneak upstairs, they would likely be escorted out of the home. Nonetheless, it is doubtful that anyone will get upstairs. The bottom of the stairs is roped off, and a security guard stands at its bottom.

Per the official Graceland website, its not just the personal items located in the rooms. It’s also a matter of getting crowds through the area safely and efficiently.

“Along with these personal feelings is the matter of logistics. With our volume of visitors, we would be required to put in an extra staircase as an exit. We’d have to remodel upstairs, as the hallway connecting the rooms is not large enough to accommodate crowds.”

It continues, “This would radically alter the house, and no one wants to do that. The issue of privacy and respect is also why we do not publish photographs of the upstairs area. However, we do bring items from upstairs into our exhibits.”

Who is allowed in Elvis Presley’s private Graceland suite?

Elvis Presley’s Graceland home | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Since the home opened, only Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and her immediate family have been allowed upstairs. Graceland’s Vice President of Artifacts and Exhibits, Angie Marchese, is also allowed in the private suite of rooms.

Reportedly, only a handful of people have been upstairs after Elvis’ death through the years. Some of these lucky individuals are Nicolas Cage and Michael Jackson, who were married to Lisa Marie, and Elvis movie director Baz Luhrmann, who was only given 15 minutes to see the area to try and visually try and replicate the area for the film.

Why were so few people allowed upstairs at Graceland?

During Elvis Presley’s lifetime, he only allowed certain family members or friends upstairs. That area was reserved for Elvis, Priscilla when they were married, and Lisa Marie Presley.

After Elvis and Priscilla split, Linda Thompson lived at the home and was allowed in the private suite. So was Ginger Alden, Elvis’ fiancé at the time of his death in 1977.

This tradition was continued when the mansion opened up for tours, The website states, “The part of Graceland we show the world on our tour is the part that Elvis showed anyone who visited him at Graceland. The upstairs was his private area.”

Elvis’ bedroom suite, his office, bathroom, and Lisa Marie’s bedroom reportedly remain untouched. The areas are maintained but everything in the rooms is as Elvis left it when he died on Aug. 16, 1977.

However the remainder of the downstairs area, the racquetball courts, Vernon’s office, and the Meditation Garden are open for visitors to enjoy. Elvis Presley’s Graceland is open for tours 363 days a year with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.