Prisiclla Presley Didn’t See Elvis Presley Perform Live Until Almost a Decade After They Began Dating
The infamous first meeting between Priscilla and Elvis Presley occurred in Germany in 1959. He was 24, and she was just 14. It set the stage for a relationship that lasted over 14 years. Surprisingly, Priscilla claims she didn’t see Elvis perform live until almost a decade after they began dating.
Elvis Presley’s live show was new to Priscilla in the late 1960s
In her book Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley discussed what it was like to finally see Elvis Presley in concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. It was nine years since he last performed live.
“Though it had been nine years since Elvis had given a live performance, you never would have known it from his opening,” Priscilla wrote. “The audience cheered when he stepped onstage and never stopped the entire two hours as Elvis sang.”
Priscilla said Elvis moved through the songs “All Shook Up,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “In the Ghetto,” “Tiger Man,” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” She wrote, “He mixed the old with the new, the fast and hot with the lyrical and romantic.”
“It was the first time I’d ever seen Elvis perform live,” Priscilla remarked. “Wanting to surprise me, he had kept me from rehearsals. I was astounded. At the end, he left them still cheering and begging for more.”
Priscilla Presley felt ‘fortunate’ to be a part of Elvis Presley’s life
As the woman with whom Elvis Presley was in a relationship, Priscilla Presley felt “fortunate” to be a part of his life. She told Remind Magazine that when she met Elvis at age 14, her artists of choice were Ricky Nelson, Bobby Rydell, and Tab Hunter.
However, she said being a part of Elvis’ world meant being exposed to the music he loved. She said, “The music that he played on his record player when I would visit was music that I had never heard of. Country. Rhythm and blues. Gospel.”
She continued, “He taught me so much in that period about music, where his roots were, what he gravitated to, and the feelings he had for songs. About music, where his roots were, what he gravitated to, and the feelings he had for songs.”
During his time in Germany, a different side of the King of Rock and Roll was exposed
As a soldier in the United States Army, Elvis Presley was initially separated from his family and friends. However, he soon was joined by his father, Vernon, his grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley, and some hometown friends.
Elvis spent only a few nights in his army bunk in Building 3707 at Ray Barracks in Friedberg. Then, he lived at an off-base residence in a house in nearby Bad Nauheim.
It was there he met Priscilla. She admits it was there a different side of the King of Rock and Roll was exposed.
She told Remind, “A lot of those songs that he played were connected to things that he felt—being in the Army. Not having a mother. Being over there alone in Germany on maneuvers.”
“He’d never been out of the United States — just very small, regional areas. He was never really alone in his life, and now he’s taken out of pop culture, taken out of his music at the top of his career. I got to see a different side of him,” Priscilla revealed.
Elvis moved Priscilla Presley to Memphis, Tennessee, to live with him at Graceland. They were married in 1967 and welcomed their only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 1968.
