| An interview with Elvis Jr |
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Did your father know he had a son?
Elvis Jr.-
A lot of people ask me if Elvis Presley, my father, knew that he had a son. The truth is yes he knew. In his last will and testament he acknowledged having another child. He even had a song called "My Boy," recorded in 1973 at Stack Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. While they were recording this song he broke down and cried, so they stopped the recording. J.D. Somner, the backup vocalist and dear friend of Elvis's asked, 'Is this true?' and Elvis said, 'Yes it is. He's out there somewhere.'
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How did you learn your identity?
Elvis Jr.-
Well, I was adopted at birth by a show business family, The Vargas, and was in the circus. In 1961, my mother, Angelique Delores Pettyjohn, was an extra on the set of Blue Hawaii. Elvis Sr. spotted her and thought she was a beautiful girl. They had an affair and of course from then on, the rumors began to spread. It was taboo to have a superstar with a child born out of wedlock. Colonel Tom Parker made sure this secret was kept. It remained unknown in Hollywood for many, many years. Initially, Col. Parker wanted my mother to have an abortion and she didn't want that, so the best thing to do was to find a family that would accept this child as their own. I was born Dec 24th, 1961 in Indiana. I was told right before my 21st birthday that I was adopted because my career as a singer was starting to blossom. I was starting to do shows, and stuff like that. I was a wild animal trainer for many years but then I started taking on my second job that was singing. So that was important because I started to sing some of my
father's songs just because people would request it. At the same time my folks wanted to tell me I was adopted at birth and I wanted then to know who my parents were. The only thing I had to go by at the time was that the showgirl that handed me over said, 'Take care of this child. He belongs to Elvis.' My parents signed some papers that they would never contact her and that was the end of it. So resurrecting this after 21 years, everything becomes legal, at least in the State of Nevada.
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What was it like to realize you are the son of Elvis Presley?
Elvis Jr.-
Well, it wasn't a good feeling at all. I was confused. I thought it was a joke and then I had to take it seriously. Then after I took it seriously, I figured I could either continue being an animal trainer in the name of Philip Stanic or continue a career that was left behind by my father. And that was a tough, tough decision because I knew that it would take an enormous amount of work to continue his tradition: to follow in his shaded footsteps never trying to take his place because I don't think anyone in this world could take his place. I knew I would regret not doing what I had to do in my life. So I decided to continue in his footsteps and take every avenue possible to conquer his level.
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How has this knowledge changed your life?
Elvis Jr.-
Well, it's changed my life. It's changed my career; it's changed a lot except my self-status. I'm still a normal human being. But as far as stepping out on stage and towards the media everybody thinks that you have to be 100 per cent like your father or look 100 per cent like your father or sing all of his songs and you know, they want you to be a clone. And that's very difficult because you have your own self to deal with. You can clone yourself to a certain extent but after that you just have to say, 'Accept me for who I am.'
mp3.tv-
Have you ever regretted learning your identity?
Elvis Jr.-
Sometimes. I know that I could have made it on my own. I've never had that problem. I've been a go-getter. God has been guiding me, always been with me on all levels.
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How has Graceland responded to you?
Elvis Jr.-
Well I tell you what, Graceland has responded to me in a very predominant way. They don't want to acknowledge me because I was born out of wedlock. If I were born in the household they would have acknowledged me. Graceland doesn't have to acknowledge me. Of anyone who could acknowledge me I would want it to be my father. Knowing that my father acknowledged me in his will as having a son means more than his house, or his museum or his family. I tried many years ago to get in touch with Lisa Marie Presley, but I was turned down. So through the years of course, I decided that the best thing for me to do is to get on with my life and to do my own thing.
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Why did you choose not to pursue the Presley Estate?
Elvis Jr.-
A lot of people ask me the questions, 'Why didn't I go for the Estate,' and 'why didn't I seek something from my father?' Well, at the very time I was a young man, I was poor, I had nothing. To get lawyers in that situation would have been very difficult for me. I never wanted anything from the Estate. I never cared about it. I'm a self-made man. I'm very happy and I'm proud of what I can do and accomplish, and as for the Estate, I wish them the best of luck in what they're doing.
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Prior to knowing that you were Elvis Presley's son, were you drawn to him in any way?
Elvis Jr.-
I had heard his music, but I wasn't drawn to him in that way because my folks wouldn't let me listen to rock and roll. I was brought up listening to Dean Martin and Lawrence Welk Orchestra. It was very difficult for me to get to know more and more about my father and later you find out why. But the irony about the whole thing was that my idol was Dean Martin, and later on I had come to find out my father's idol in life was also Dean Martin.
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Did you ever have the chance to meet your father?
Elvis Jr.-
I met my father at the age of 16 going on 17 at the backstage of the Hilton Hotel in 1976. This was in Las Vegas, and was his last performance at the Hilton Hotel. After that, he never came back. He ended his tour in Indianapolis, Indiana. Meeting him backstage was an honor. I was backstage with a group of musicians who had backstage passes. Elvis Sr. just walked through the hallway. There was a janitor scrubbing the floor and Elvis stopped and said, 'Hey, how you doing?' We all looked and were in awe. We didn't think a King would stop and talk to a janitor. Then we all knew he was humble. He was a real person. Then he came along and started talking to all of us. I was a thin kid at the time. I wanted to meet him and I thanked him for his concert. I told him his concerts were great. He took off his ring and gave it to me. He said, 'Try it on son. Keep it son, it looks great on you." So I kept it. I remember him saying, 'I'll see you all back after the show' which never happened. He had the most powerful voice
although he was ill. So I've got the great honor of saying that I met him backstage and I met my father's manager and (eventually) became friends with him.
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What made you decide to choose a similar career path as your father?
Elvis Jr.-
Well the voice was there. It was an easy thing to handle - to get on stage and sing songs. I mean I never took a vocal lesson in my whole life. I've been blessed and given this route - the same route that my father had. He was blessed with a talent also. If there is anything that is similar it's the voice.
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When did you discover your singing talent?
Elvis Jr.-
I was about 15 years old when I first really started to sing. At 16 years old, I started getting up on stage. At 18 years of age, I really started to do some shows. The first place I ever performed at was a military base nightclub in Las Vegas called "Eagle's Nest." Later on in life, I found out that the first place my father played in Memphis was called the "Eagle's Nest" and subsequently they both burned down in the same era - in the mid 1980's. That was really, really weird. A lot of things like that have happened in my life, and they are documented facts.
mp3.tv-
Please tell us how your career began.
Elvis Jr.-
My folks had bought me an instrument that I hated with a passion. It was called the accordion. Unless I played it for an hour a day, I wasn't able to play with the other kids. If I had the choice I would watch Dean Martin because he was a singer. Later on, I started to sing just like anyone else would. Then I thought 'wow, there is something going here.' When I look back it was terrible really. Back then I thought it was great. So I started singing in the shower, then everywhere else. One thing led to another, then my friends who were musicians, wanted me to play with them. They had some gigs they wanted me to play with them at a country bar. So of course I couldn't - I was underage to drink. So I'd have to come in through the back door, do some songs and then leave. That was all part of being 21 years of age. I started doing the honky tonk scene after the Eagle's Nest. I did country bars then started working my way up to the strip in Las Vegas. I started doing the lounges and all the casinos, then worked my way
up to the showrooms. It was exciting because I always got to meet new people, new celebrities.
mp3.tv-
How do you differentiate yourself from your father when you're performing?
Elvis Jr.-
That's kind of hard to say because you're staring in front of an audience of people who are either very, very dedicated Elvis fans or the ultimate Elvis skeptic, and when you're out there you're just singing and performing the songs that make people happy. You see that smile on their face and it means a lot. It makes you forget your own problems. It's the biggest rush in this world.
mp3.tv-
How have fans received you during your tours throughout the world?
Elvis Jr.-
Just phenomenal. You can see what happened in the past with Elvis Sr.'s tours - even to the point where they start ripping your clothes off on stage! It's eerie. But traveling to different countries in this world is a big thing because my father never toured out of the U.S. except for Canada in 1957. In Germany, he got up on stage just to sing a couple songs for the military but he never toured and went to the places that I've been. And I feel that was a piece that was missing in his life and that I got to fulfill years later.
mp3.tv-
Please share with us some of your more memorable experiences with fans.
Elvis Jr.-
In Japan, they told me that the audience would be very calm and they wouldn't applaud or scream. Walking out on that stage and seeing that audience was phenomenal. Everyone was jumping and yelling. The people backstage said they were shocked at how the crowd reacted. They said this was pure magic. Well, the pure magic comes from Elvis Sr.
mp3.tv-
Tell us about your 25-CD Project.
Elvis Jr.-
That has been a dream of mine for many, many years - to be the first entertainer to launch a series of 25 CD's at once. The only other entertainer that I could think that could ever do this would be my father. This collection has everything from rock and roll to country to gospel music, Christmas music, Valentine's music. It's a tremendous collection of 240 songs and live concerts. It is a dream come true. And once this is accomplished it's really going to bring a lot of joy to the people, as much as it's brought joy to me to record it. I'm very, very content with this company, eliquidMedia that is helping me launch my CD's through their Internet works. I'm just really looking forward to see the response and happiness that will come out of this.
mp3.tv-
Are these CD's a combination of your original music along with music from Elvis?
Elvis Jr.-
Exactly. On the first album, that's Volume 1 entitled Son of a King, there are two songs on this album that were designed and written for my father. They were written by a great songwriter whose name is Delores Fuller. She wrote 18 hit songs for my father such as "Rock-A-Hulla Baby" and "You Can't Say No in Acapulco." I've known Delores Fuller for quite a few years. She came to one of my shows as a skeptic because she worked so strongly with my father. After realizing and knowing my background she came up to me and even offered me some of my father's unrecorded material. I've included two songs on this album. One song is entitled, "I'll Touch a Star," which was written for him in the early '60s for the movie, World's Fair. The second special song entitled, "She's Hurting Me Again," was written right after his divorce from Priscilla. A lot of people say, 'Why didn't he just record it down the road?' Well, he had a busy schedule. RCA Victor and a lot of people had a lot of
say on what songs should be recorded so they were pushed on to the B-side and other songs took priority such as "You Were Always On My Mind," and so forth. I'm re-creating these songs and bringing back the era. Once they were done I presented them to Delores Fuller. She wrote a letter to me, which was very dear to me, and it said, "Well, 30 years later, finally my work is done." What a great compliment.
mp3.tv-
Tell us more about Delores Fuller.
Elvis Jr.-
This was a lady that discovered Tanya Tucker, and gave Johnny Rivers his first hits. The first time I went into a recording studio with Delores Fuller was at Sun Song Studios in Las Vegas. Delores said, 'I've got some back tracks that were used for your father and I'd like to put your voice to them.' The songs were "Rock-A-Hulla Baby" and "You Can't Say No in Acapulco." To make a long story short, I went in the studio, started recording and Delores came in and we were just listening to some tracks and she says, 'Junior, just listen to this. If you can only get this close to what you're hearing right now, that would be great.' I said 'Delores, that's me.' Her jaw dropped to the floor and it was the biggest compliment I ever had. It was amazing.
mp3.tv-
Is this your first CD release?
Elvis Jr.-
I've released CD's before. I started my own little label in 1985 because I couldn't get onto a label. My first release was in Japan in 1990 and that was put on a CD and released to England, Germany, Canada and the United States. I've been in and out of the studio for years and now I just took the time to put all the songs together and package them the right way and release them with titles like "Son of a King," "My Boy," "The Legendary Story Unfolds," "My Christmas Album - A Tradition Continues," "Country Fortunes…"
mp3.tv-
Why the particular release date for the CD's?
Elvis Jr.-
Well, the release date is the 25th Anniversary of my father's death, Aug 16th of 1977. It's a desire that I've had to mark this anniversary. That's why we are releasing it this year, August 2002. It's going to be released on the Internet of course, and this will be the only place people will be able to buy the song lines.
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What is the web site address?
Elvis Jr.-
www.sonofaking.com and also www.livinglegacy.com. I've got so many domain names I can't believe it.
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Where do you see your career in the future?
Elvis Jr.-
Probably where it's at right now - this is the future. It all depends on the public. It depends on the situation, my tours, traveling and so forth. My next project is my book - my life story. The project after that is a movie on my life story. The title is of course, A Living Legacy.
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What is your favorite Elvis Presley Song?
Elvis Jr.-
He had a lot of great songs, that's what made him the biggest entertainer in this world. That's what made him an icon in this world. And people say 'What is it that he had that no other singer had?' Well, he sang gospel music, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, country music. He sang in different languages, Hawaiian, Italian, German, in Spanish, in English. He sang in all likenesses and to all people in this world, whether they were black or white. When it came to religion he believed in all religions. There is this one song that sticks out that I would say is in dedication in the gospel world to my father and of course to religion and it's entitled, "I'm Known by Many Names." It was originally written for me and it's on my gospel album. It has received some of the highest recognition from the Vatican and Pope John Paul II. So I'm eager to share that with people who like gospel music. I'd say some of my favorite tunes are from his gospel music because those were the sentimental tunes that my
father had. I'm not overly religious, but that is the only music that he received three Grammy's. How Great Thou Art is the title of one of my CD's. That's about God and that's about Elvis Sr.
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Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.
Elvis Jr.-
It's been a pleasure.
Websites:
 Living Legacy Jr. : www.livinglegacyjr.com
Son of a King : www.sonofaking.com
Elvis Jr.com : www.elvisjr.com
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