MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: When Elvis Presley used to unleash one of his jokes, his loyal entourage of bodyguards and hangers-on would usually erupt with laughter. Among his repertoire was the infamous line, "Fourteen will get you 20!" However, the true meaning concealed behind this infamous one-liner reveals a darker reality, that has a potential to darken the legend's legacy.
Implicit in Elvis's epithet was the dark speculation that if he was found having sex with a 14-year-old girl, he would get 20 years in prison. The King of Rock 'n' Roll remained oblivious to his own joke; overshadowed by his illustrious music career, there existed a hidden side to Elvis, where he would have scores of sexual relationships with teenagers, from the early days of his fame in the 1950s right up to his last breath at the age 42. Unveiling his predatory behavior, a three-part Amazon documentary titled 'Elvis's Women' has the potential to become a defining moment of the contemporary #MeToo movement that could shatter the lasting legacy of Elvis.
'We were ready for him, we were ladies-in-waiting!'
In the eyes of many women interviewed, the renowned singer of 'Can't Help Falling in Love,' was their first love. Most of these girls lost their virginity to Elvis, while some scored a handful of dates but a prevailing theme among these women was their unwavering belief that Elvis's love for them was unique. Elvis's longstanding nurse Letitia Kirk claimed the singer would bring so many teenage girls to his Tennessee mansion that she lost count. She says Elvis had a "pimp" DJ George Klein who was "bringing these little young teenagers up for Elvis to check out. It was a revolving door. I didn't even try to learn their names. Too much for me."
Elvis's gang, known as Memphis Mafia, would often go to the gates of Graceland, where scores of his young admirers would hang around and pick out a young teen to meet her idol. 16-year-old Kathy Tatum was picked by the 'mafia' in 1969 when 34-year-old Elvis had just become a father. Tatum claimed the singer never wanted to complete sex but he would kiss and fondle her constantly. She added that Elvis's even promised to marry her in a few years after he got a divorce but she realized that his interest in her might diminish once she no longer remained a teenager.
Some schoolgirls had an idealized image of the King, only to have their dreams shattered when faced with the reality of his actions. At the age of 16, when Kay Wheeler watched Elvis on TV for the first time in 1956, she started a fan club in her native Texas, despite the disapproval of adults who deemed his dance moves inappropriate. "We were ready for him, we were ladies-in-waiting," she said.
As the fan club gained popularity nationwide, Kay received an invitation to meet Elvis at a press conference in San Antonio. Upon entering his dressing room, she says the 22-year-old Elvis "started being all friendly, and kissing and holdy." "You wanna run for your life because you know you're in danger." A photograph from the press conference captures Elvis's arms wrapped around her from behind. When asked by a reporter about his plans for marriage, Elvis replied, "Why buy a cow when you can milk it through the fence?"
'His taste for young girls, aged 15 or 16, made me sick!'
Later, Kay was invited to Elvis's room, and when she tried to leave he pursued her, "Where are you going?" He grasped her firmly and began to bump and grind against her legs and back, replicating his provocative dance moves. "He came on like Godzilla," she said. "Elvis Presley was the most dangerous thing to any woman that could be conceived of." Biographer Alanna Nash said, "The age of 14 was everything to Elvis." Elvis's fascination with the age of 14 held significant meaning, according to Alanna Nash. During his teenage years, he experienced a formative romantic relationship for the first time, only to face heartbreak when his 14-year-old girlfriend abruptly ended their connection.
This emotional setback was further complicated by his complex and suffocating relationship with his controlling and physically affectionate mother. "He got stuck from that childhood incident and couldn't get beyond it," believes Nash. "In this day and age, he'd be sharing a cell with R. Kelly' [the R&B singer jailed for more than 20 years for sexual misconduct with minors]." David Stanley, Elvis's stepbrother and a member of his entourage throughout the 1970s, expressed his deep disapproval of Elvis's preference for young girls. "His taste for young girls, aged 15 or 16, made me sick. I told him that it's a miracle he didn't get busted. He got away with things most people didn't, because of his money, fortune, fame and power, charisma and magnetism. Elvis could talk the socks off you," he said.
Stanley's discomfort with Elvis's behavior was further amplified when he was present at Graceland on a fateful day in August 1977 when Elvis tragically passed away at the age of 42. The cause of death was a heart attack triggered by a drug overdose. Stanley believed that Elvis intentionally ended his own life due to the fear of his fixation on underage girls being exposed in a forthcoming book. "He just couldn't go on," said the stepbrother. "He premeditated taking the medications that killed him. Love, hurt, pain, exposure — he just couldn't take it any more."
