The Memphis Mafia were a boatload of boys who surrounded Elvis Presley like a force field. Corn fed hillbillies that Elvis picked up along the way. Their job? To be protectors and providers for The King.
I have a long and rather detailed past that tangles up with a bit of Elvis. I was at a time a huge huge fan and spent some amazing time in Memphis. If it were not for Memphis I most likely wouldn’t even be alive today.
For those of you who have never been to that amazing city I suggest you stop now and Orbitz it. Memphis oozes sultry music. Where other citys light up with theater or cinema or sport, Memphis is nothing but drums guitars horns and speakers. Its a glorious place.
Elvis Presley became a parody. Fried banana jokes and flying capes seem to mar the history. I hate that. I hate that Elvis Presley 101 isn’t required teaching in our public schools. As a performer as a non traditionalist, hell even as a simple pop icon.
Back to this Mafia jazz. Just a silly nickname for Elvis’ boys. They’re the ones who got a car for just showing up for work, fetched his needs guarded his indiscretions with the quiet loyalty of a true la cosa nostra. Get a load of those leisure suit wearing hipsters in that photo. Sporting their shiny new drug enforcement badges while the boss sits there loaded. Part of me looks and this and literally wants to cry. Were they protecting him or were they on for the ride. When fame gets so big the line blurs. Reality doesn’t exist and people suck of you like parasites. But then again Elvis was a big boy (quit the fat jokes right now) and made decisions on his own. We go with the ‘whatever you want boss’ mentality far too often. Cuz I’m telling you right now if I were part of that crew I would have tied Elvis to a bed and kicked his ass til he got his shit together. Oh and I would have had dressed better but that goes without saying. They couldn’t save him from himself but did they in any way have guilt for allowing his demise?
Not sure, and really in the end who cares it doesnt matter, hes dead and has been for years.
I was an Elvis purist. When saying I was a fan in my oh so cool circles I would say.. ‘old Elvis, pre jumpsuit days’. What an asshole I was for being so selective. Yeah he maybe wasn’t as foxy but holy shit have you ever seen some of his performances? Even bloated and sweating that guy fucking ruled. Elvis was so rounded he almost appeared womanly. Harsh? Yeah. But still fucking insanely entertaining. There were like 20 thousand people on stage with him too. What the hell. Going to see Elvis was an event. There were no pyrotechnic, blood spurting voodoo gymnasts, there was a fat guy in a a jumpsuit kicking your ass with plain talent. Take that.
So wait wait .. where was I? Lamar Fike died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Jan. 21 at a hospital in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, TX. He was everything from a lighting director to a tour manager to shoe shine boy if need be cuz that’s how it went. They didn’t draw a salary but they lived off the generosity of ‘The Boss’. Themselves and their families supported by Presley. Think what you will, Presley is and was amazing. Maybe in times like this we all need to take the time to rediscover him. I really am.