Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley by Jerry Schilling, Chuck Crisafulli

From the Publisher

An intimate memoir of a friendship with Elvis Presley, arguably one of the most important artists in rock 'n' roll history, taking you from late-night parties at Graceland to the bright lights of Hollywood sets and the glittering stages of Las Vegas.

Entertainment Weekly

Schilling has the goods—where else can you read about the King giving karate lessons to Liza Minnelli in a hotel room while Chubby Checker and porn star Linda Lovelace looked on?

The Washington Post

More than anything, this moving and elegantly told memoir resonates with the spirit of true friendship.

Publishers Weekly

In 1954, at age 12, Schilling first met fellow Memphis homeboy Presley, a 19-year-old truck driver "a year out of high school and less than a week into a recording career that carried no guarantee of turning into steady work." He provides a fascinating view of Memphis in the late '50s, but most of his memoir is from after 1964, when he officially joined the retinue of friends-the "Memphis Mafia"-that served as Elvis's surrogate family. While this thoroughly enjoyable book deftly describes his many adventures with Elvis and other notables, including the Beatles, Ann-Margret, the Beach Boys and Billy Joel, the heart of it is his many observations of Elvis's inner exploration. Unlike the rest of Elvis's posse, Schilling was liberal in his musical and racial views, and he shared Elvis's spiritual hunger "for a sense of meaning and purpose." Schilling provides the most detailed account yet of the sometimes comical LSD trip he took with Presley, and he poignantly observes the "disappointment and frustration" Elvis felt about his Hollywood movies. Overall, Schilling's heartfelt narrative makes this more than just another piece of Elvis product. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In 1954, Schilling had a chance meeting with Elvis Presley at a Memphis pickup football game. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, which eventually led to Schilling's entry into the strange and exciting Presley entourage in 1964. Here, the author vividly describes meeting the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Richard Nixon, and basketball great Wilt Chamberlain; tripping on LSD with the King; and sitting in shock with Elvis as they watched the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on television. Throughout, Schilling treats Elvis evenhandedly, focusing on their friendship but not ignoring the drug problems, isolation, and creative vacuum that killed Presley. The King comes alive once again as a romantic, sensitive, caring, and sometimes childish and moody man in a bubble. Refreshingly, the author reveals as much about himself as Elvis, showing how the tinsel lifestyle transformed him from a well-meaning, wide-eyed, obedient kid to a divorced adult wanting freedom and a career. Schilling has captured the aura and grim realities of life with one of the most important American icons of the 20th century. One can only hope that he will follow with a book about his post-1977 life as a manager of the Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Nelson, and Billy Joel. Highly recommended for all types of readers.-David P. Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

• Interviews & Essays

Interviews & Essays

As I got to know Elvis better over the years, I was struck by the range of his reading. He loved superhero comic books, but he also put a great deal of effort into absorbing the lessons of the Bible, the Koran, and the writings of Jewish mystics. As he achieved greater levels of fame and searched ever deeper for meaning in his own life, he turned to works like Paramhansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, The Impersonal Life by Joseph Benner, and the great numerological work Cheiro's Book of Numbers. But his reading list could always surprise you -- you might find him one day poring over Notes from the Underground, a countercultural magazine picked up in San Francisco, and the next day he'd be focused intently on culling every possible detail of the Kennedy assassination out of the published volumes of the Warren Report.

Almost as striking as what Elvis read was the way he read. His copies of books were always ferociously dog-eared and margins were full of his own scribbled notes and questions. He loved to lose himself in a text, seeking out deeper meaning in words and ideas, much the same way that he'd give himself over to a song in order to interpret it. And he was an excitable reader -- when he was thrilled with a work he'd memorize huge sections of it, and soon be buying copies to hand out to just about everyone he encountered. I think it's safe to say that he was the only headlining star in Las Vegas whose idea of a great after-party was a freewheeling discussion of The Prophet

. Elvis's love of language wasn't limited to words in book form. He had memorized General Douglas MacArthur's farewell speech and could deliver a stirring rendition of it. He was deeply moved by Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and committed that to memory as well. When I first went to work for Elvis in 1964, on our first cross-country drive, he stunned me one night in a Barstow motel room when he turned his attention to a television set and perfectly intoned the lines of the poem "High Flight," which was being used as a station signoff. The last lines of the poem were "...And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod / The high untrespassed sanctity of space, / Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

Whenever you thought you had Elvis figured out, he surprised you. He was a seeker and a searcher, and his passion for great ideas and beautiful language was as deep as his passion for great music.

Jerry Schilling