The legendary music maker Elvis Presley served shoppers of his unique best-selling hits, together with “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock,” with a mix of nation, rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll, and each his sound and charisma rewarded him with hysterical followers.
Presley was a pioneer of youth music similtaneously Patsy Cline produced a crossover between country and pop and Ray Charles bridged the hole for ground-breaking soul. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was a cultural icon within the Nineteen Fifties in each the music and tv industries.
In the months main as much as his sudden demise on Aug. 16, 1977, Presley was reportedly in lots of ache.
Elvis Presley died on Aug. 16, 1977, at his house in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis through Getty Images)
“He was actually heavy,” Ted Pryor, creator and former bodyguard for Presley, advised Fox News Digital.
“Elvis was at a degree the place he was so heavy he did not prefer to be touched, as a result of he was continuously perspiring and sizzling,” he mentioned.
Pryor, an excellent middleweight kick boxing champion, was employed to Presley’s workforce due to his world champion standing.
“Elvis, when he was youthful within the service, he realized slightly little bit of martial arts, and he was infatuated with it,” Pryor mentioned. “Getting to bodyguard for ‘the King’ was fairly thrilling for me.”
Ted Pryor just lately revealed a ebook titled “Three-Time World Champ: The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Business Icon” the place he goes into extra element about his time working for Elvis Presley. (Jack Randall; Getty Images)
Pryor and his buddy Joe had been coaching Florida legislation enforcement, FBI and DEA personnel on self-defense strategies to deploy within the subject once they acquired a name from Presley’s workforce providing work as bodyguards whereas he toured the U.S.
“Unfortunately, nobody knew it then, however he was broke,” Pryor advised Fox News Digital.
“He needed to begin touring, as a result of his supervisor gambled his cash away,” he added of Presley’s then supervisor, Colonel Tom Parker.
The kickboxing duo traveled throughout the nation from Tennessee and Florida to New York to California with “the King” however by no means internationally.
Elvis battled a prescription drug habit and skilled weight acquire within the years earlier than his demise in 1977. (Getty Images)
“Elvis by no means traveled exterior of the United States,” Pryor mentioned. “Elvis’ supervisor, there was a purpose why he saved him within the U.S., as a result of he had a playing downside.”
Despite Presley’s weight acquire, which has been broadly analyzed within the a long time following his demise, ladies flocked to the “It’s Now or Never” singer and maneuvered trickily by way of crowds to get to the stage.
“The ladies used to hurry the stage,” Pryor advised Fox News Digital. “It was fascinating, since you’d have a chokehold round their waist. We would take them to the ground slowly, and our junior bodyguards would take them away.”
Pryor mentioned the boys would fend off three to 4 ladies at a time with takedown strategies and that one girl, who had been given a shawl by Presley himself, used the accent to choke Pryor with it.
Elvis moved Priscilla Presley into his Graceland house in 1963 and later, in 1967, the couple wed earlier than divorcing in 1973. (Getty Images)
“She was attempting to get to Elvis,” he mentioned. “She put it round my neck and began choking me.”
Pryor and Joe remained by his aspect for what would unknowingly be the ultimate tour of his life till they acquired the sudden information that will go on to shock and devastate the world. Presley’s death was so surprising that former President Jimmy Carter issued a public assertion relating to his passing in Memphis.
“It wasn’t a great name,” Pryor mentioned. “I feel the entire world was shocked when that occurred.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Elvis and Priscilla shared one little one, Lisa Marie Presley, who was born to the couple in February 1968. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Looking again on his time with Presley fondly, Pryor mentioned that the vocalist handled his bodyguards “very well” and that regardless of being usually “bitter,” he was “good” to them.
“He misplaced his mother, he lost his wife, and he was bitter towards ladies,” Pryor mentioned.
