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Elvis Presley's Memphis Mafia: the story of the King of Rock 'n' Roll's entourage

How Elvis Presley got his own mafia and what it cost the singer.

Elvis and his mob: the story of the King's extended family

The King of Rock and Roll steps out of the car and is greeted by a deafeningly screaming crowd of fans. He smiles his trademark soft smile and waves. People emerge from his car and his escort car and surround Elvis in a tight ring. They are his security guards (technically), friends and mates. Their name is Memphis Mafia, and they're with the King not just when he's in public. They plan his tours, they are his logisticians and bodyguards, but in reality they are so much more than that. They are his family, good or bad, that's a fact.

Elvis gave them cars and houses, and they were always there for him. Where did this new kind of mobster come from?

Elvis and his friends
Elvis and his friends

Who started it all

They seemed to have been with him forever. Elvis had a strong attachment to his childhood friends and wanted to be surrounded by people he could trust. So, from the very beginning of his career in 1954, he surrounded himself with the very friends of his youth with whom he did not want to part.

It all started with his two cousins Junior and Jeanie Smith and his school mates Red West and Cliff Gleaves. The only girl in their company was Judy Spreckles. At that time there wasn't a huge crowd yet, just a group of friends who spent time together: going to Vegas, horseback riding and just having fun. A little later they were joined by Sonny West, Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito, Billy Smith and Mevlana Hezri. As time went on, the number of names on the list grew and the family became a clan.

Where did the nickname come from?

As banal as it may seem, the press came up with this nickname in the 60s. You could say that the guys asked for it: they wore dark glasses and black suits and accompanied Elvis everywhere. According to one report, when the company appeared in this way in front of a crowd outside the Riviera Hotel some observer shouted out: "Is this the Mafia?". The nickname stuck. Elvis and his friends even liked it.

Elvis and his bodyguards
Elvis and his bodyguards

"Memphis Mafia" was not the only nickname that Elvis Presley's company had. In addition to it, they had their own acronym "TCB", which stands for "Taking Care of Business", which conveys the idea of a group of people who solve a case and has the same "gangster" connotation. This acronym was even on Elvis's private plane, on which he travelled with his friends.

It's not all that pretty

Sure, the story of the "Memphis Mafia" may seem like fun, but there are two sides to every coin. Unfortunately, it's not all fun and good in this story either.

This company was terribly fond of parties, every night they went to a new place, to a show or a dance. Of course, to lead such a lifestyle you had to forget about your health. One of the members of the "mafia", Joe Esposito, recalled that they almost never slept, and to keep themselves toned up they all took pills, which later caused Elvis' addiction.

But entertainment was never enough for them. According to his friends, for Elvis himself, entertainment was only fun if it was dangerous. As a result, they would make up their own dangerous entertainment. One of their favourite games was to split into two teams and shoot firecrackers and fireworks at each other. Even though they wore helmets, goggles and gloves, the game was still very injury prone. Elvis was left with a scar on his neck as a "trophy" and one friend nearly lost an eye.

Of course, there were some nice moments. These people were family to Elvis. Even the girls who met him noted that, for the most part, they spent time not only with Elvis, but also with his friends. Smith, one of the members of the "mob" said that there were times when Elvis would come into his and his wife's bedroom in the middle of the night because he had a nightmare or just needed someone to talk to. Smith recounts:

"The three of us would talk for hours, talking about everything! Sometimes, he had a bad dream and needed to talk, he would come and literally fall asleep with us in our bed. This happened many times and it didn't bother us at all"

This close friendship, lifestyle, constant partying and high spending, which the bank account could no longer cover, worried Elvis' relatives, in particular his father Vernon Presley. Gradually he lost trust in the members of the "mafia", fearing that they were a bad influence on his son. He tried to take the situation into his own hands and even fired the West brothers. Red and Sonny were not even able to discuss the situation with Elvis in person and were not given the appropriate severance package. In the end, all parties were left with the feeling of being betrayed.

Elvis Presley and his entourage
Elvis Presley and his entourage

Later, the West brothers decided to write a book telling the story of their relationship with Elvis, about his addiction to the drugs that loyal doctors prescribed to him on an unlimited scale. The idea for this book came as a shock to Elvis and his father. Vernon even tried to offer monetary compensation to keep the book from seeing the light of day. The idea of the West brothers was to shake Elvis up and make him change his lifestyle, take some rest and give up pills. All this happened in the last years of Elvis' life.

Unfortunately, the story of the "Memphis Mafia" ends with the death of their King. Later, many former members of the "Mafia" wrote books recounting their experiences with Elvis Presley and their friendship from many different angles. But, understandably, all these books could not bring back the old days.

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