The Memphis Mafia

1956: First photo of what'd become the Memphis Mafia 

The Memphis Mafia was a group of friends, associates, employees and hotshots whose main function was to be close to Elvis Presley at all times from 1956 until his death.

Many of them filled roles in the King of Rock's life, such as arranging his tour security, logistics, and scheduling concert dates and venues. In these cases, Elvis paid wages (set by the Colonel), but most lived on benefits such as gifts, cars, houses, and bonuses. The number of members varied over the years, but the core of the group was always made up of the same people who spent large amounts of time with Elvis.

INITIAL MEMBERS

Elvis preferred to have men around him who were loyal, trustworthy and made a difference, so family and childhood friends were very important to him. The group started with Elvis's first cousins ​​Junior and Gene Smith, high school friend Red West and rockabilly singer Cliff Gleaves. Judy Spreckles appears to have been the only woman to join the group in the 1950s.

At the height of the "Wild Bunch" (as they were known by the authorities), the Mafia's central base had 23 members, not counting Elvis and the Colonel. Apart from these "pillars", all band members, backing vocals and Elvis' girlfriends were still considered members.

Early members also included Delbert "Sonny" West, Billy Smith, Charlie Hodge, Lamar Fike, and Marty Lacker. Over the years the pay list grew with the addition of Jerry Schilling, Larry Geller, Joe Esposito, Dave Hebler, Marc Luciano, the Stanley brothers (Ricky, Billy and David) and several others.

Biographers specializing in the Mafia say that Elvis formed it because he knew it was the only way to lift his childhood friends and family out of poverty.

The Memphis Mafia in the 1950s and early 1960s

ORIGINS OF NICKNAME AND TCB / TLC

Around 1956, the media adopted the name to identify men cruising through town in black limousines, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, escorting Elvis. A journalist watching Elvis arrive at a hotel asked "who are they, the mafia?" and the moniker took off.

Elvis himself would have liked the name, although Priscilla says otherwise. According to her, Elvis didn't like the name because it could be associated with organized crime (which had tried to take over Elvis' career several times).

The acronyms TCB (Taking Care of Business) and TLC (Tender Loving Care) were created to define who is who within the group. TCBs were, in addition to Elvis, those who worked directly for him (like the TCB band). Those who received bracelets, necklaces and jewelry with the TLC engraving were usually people who worked behind the scenes and women. Despite this, practically everyone had jewelry with both symbols.

PARTY LIFE

Peter Guralnick writes: "Elvis and his mafia were partying day and night. Hollywood was an excellent invitation not to sleep. Sometimes they spent nights with Sammy Davis, Jr. and the eccentric Billy Murphy. The Colonel described them as "a bunch of old men." They came to resemble Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack in eccentricities. Nick Adams and his gang were always there too. Elvis and the boys were always taking speed."

According to Joe Esposito, "it was a party you wouldn't believe. We went to different shows every night and picked up dozens of women to come back to the party the next night. We saw all the artists of the time and we never slept. We lived just taking pills to make it through the night."

Elvis and his men of trust on June 27, 1968, during filming of the '68 Comeback Special

SECURITY AND OTHER EMPLOYEES

Elvis' fame, which only grew in 1956, made it necessary to create this group of men who would provide security and support. When Elvis rented movie theaters to watch movies undisturbed or parks to ride attractions without crowds crowded around him, there were always threats of physical violence and even death from moralists, extremists, and fanatics. This also occurred a lot during the 1970s in Vegas. To help contain threats and prevent any from being carried out, trusted men formed the Mafia.

These men provided any and all services. Joe Esposito was the tour organizer for 17 years; Sonny West was responsible for security at the shows; Red West had been a driver for Elvis, Bill and Scotty in 1954 and provided travel logistics. Other members had roles that were less close to Elvis' but equally necessary.

According to Priscilla, each received a weekly salary of $250 in the 1960s, which later rose to $425 a week in the 1970s. At Christmas, the Mafia received cash bonuses. Those closest to Elvis received wedding parties, houses, cars and other gifts.

BAD INFLUENCE OVER ELVIS

Vernon grew increasingly suspicious of some members of the Mafia over the years, particularly after 1972 when finances spiraled out of control and Elvis would still lose 50% of his fortune in his divorce settlement on October 9, 1973. Many of these men left the Mafia for personal reasons or because of a fight with Vernon over finances, but they returned later.

The most well-known fight is that of Vernon with Sonny and Red West. Vernon worried about the possible lawsuits that could be generated because of the way both security guards treated fans. Vernon ordered the Colonel to fire them with just a few weeks' pay in advance on July 31, 1976 and it all ended up in a big fight where Vernon, Elvis, Sonny and Red walked away disgusted with the situation.

This led to Sonny, Red and David Hebler writing the book "Elvis: What Happened?", which would be released on August 1, 1977. Elvis attempted a monetary settlement with them to have the book not published, but nothing was agreed.

The King of Rock was very concerned about the consequences that the revelations contained in the book would generate, especially on Lisa. Revelations that he was addicted to prescription drugs and eccentricities beyond the reach of the media would not be good at all. After the book's release, Elvis would have worried a lot about the repercussions on his life and career for the two weeks he had left.

Mafia members sometimes served as surrogate parents and this irritated Vernon. Elvis didn't go anywhere without them and even the girls he dated complained that they didn't have privacy when they were with the singer because there was always someone around.

Billy Smith and his wife Jo spent a lot of time with Elvis at Graceland and on tour and would always say, "Elvis would spend his nights in bed with the two of us, talking about anything. Sometimes he would have nightmares and would come to me to talk about it. he ended up sleeping in our bed, we didn't see anything unusual about it."

Furthermore, the Mafia was the famous supporter of Elvis' erratic and destructive behavior. When they rented the Rainbow Rollerdrome in Memphis, they played "War", a game that Elvis was proud to be the creator of. The men split into two groups and tried to injure members of the opposing group in any way possible. Another game was "Whip".

The idea of ​​a fun game for Elvis was one that had a real chance of getting hurt, including the use of fireworks. Some Mafia members bought up to $15,000 worth of fireworks. In these games the division was also in two teams that kept throwing fireworks against each other. Elvis was left with a scar on his neck from one that hit him and one of his friends almost lost an eye.

The base of the Memphis Mafia at George Klein's wedding; December 28, 1970

GIRLS AND CHARGES OF HOMOSEXUALITY

Several of the Colonel's assistants and members of the Mafia had the job of getting girls for Elvis, and some were even famous movie stars.

In her memoir, Peggy Lipton recounts that she felt "trapped in Elvis' room because he was impotent with me and I couldn't leave the room because the Mafia was all on the other side of the door."

Buzz Cason even spoke of a "room with a two-way mirror where Mafia members could spy on Elvis and the girls who had sex there."

Natalie Wood was annoyed when Elvis refused to have sex with her and said later that she wasn't the only one who thought "Elvis and the Mafia might be gay since he always wore makeup even offstage."

Erika Dee Loss emphasized that "Elvis wore pink T-shirts and black pajamas with pink polka dots, deliberately appearing feminized." (pink was the color of the time for women).

Alan Fortas confirmed that "there was indeed speculation that Elvis was homosexual or at least bisexual, which is why the Colonel wanted to marry him off quickly." Some rumors were that Nick Adams, one of the actors who always hung out with Elvis, was bisexual and that they were involved in sexual relations.

According to the story, Elvis was terrified of homosexuals, which, from a psychic point of view, is a strong indication that the person is sexually repressed.

He was even afraid to play opposite Lizabeth Scott in "Loving You" (1957) because a magazine had spread rumors that she was bisexual and had a huge list of actresses with whom she was sexually involved.

Elvis also shunned any men who might be interested in him sexually, which fueled even more rumors about his repression. According to Geoffrey Warde Robert Atwan, "Elvis' homophobia is an interesting Freudian pattern." Even so, there is no solid proof that Elvis was not straight.

Elvis and Judy Spreckles at The Ed Sullivan Show backstage; July 5, 1956.
Spreckles says she was one of Elvis' closest friends and to whom he had confessed
big secrets. Only 21 years old at the time, she was the target of scorching criticism
by the media for marrying a much older millionaire.

DIFFERENT OPINIONS

It's no secret that the Memphis Mafia aroused a lot of suspicion. Some thought those men couldn't be there just because they liked Elvis, there must be something more.

Patrick Humphries wrote that "these men were bouncers, drug dealers, pimps, and people with no special skills or ambitions in life who made less than $500 a week to put up with Elvis' paranoia and screaming and hide his dirtiest secrets from the media." Still according to Humphries, "nobody would subject themselves to that for so little."

Greenwold adds that "Elvis often had fits of violence and swore at a lot of people, so it was strange that someone would want to submit to this and get almost nothing in return."

Jerry Eden wrote that he was "disgusted by the two faces of Elvis' cousins, who were clearly only there for the money, gifts, houses, cars, and women he rejected." Eden adds that "they were all bloodsuckers and, aside from Charlie Hodge and Red West, they were unscrupulous rednecks who would do anything to get things for free. They called themselves security, but they were really just petty, self-serving men ready to suck up to Elvis in exchange for the prizes."

While most opinions tend to go with Humphries, Greenwold and Eden, there are those who believe that the Memphis Mafia was made up of honest people who only wanted to help Elvis. Marty Lacker, one of its members, defended his friends saying that "they were there for everything but money and prizes, because that's what they got the least. Everyone genuinely wanted to take care of Elvis and each other as if we were brothers."