Parker and the World Tour

#262520

For many years it's been common consensus among Elvis fans that Elvis never made a world tour because his manager Tom Parker was actually an illegal immigrant. This is all fine on the face of it but it doesn't exactly hold up to logic.

With Elvis' money and prestige, it would have been fairly easy to get Parker processed. At least in the United States, he wasn't a criminal and he was a respected/productive citizen to the outside world who with his client generated an enormous sum of money for the federal government and for their entourage. Money buys a lot. If they found a kidney for Mickey Mantle on the drop of a dime, Tom Parker can get his papers. Was the Colonel really so naive that he didn't know this? It seems hard to believe. The money was probably enough that they could have it done privately.

This is where Alanna Nash's allegations of criminal activity make a little sense. Perhaps though the truth is something more prosaic like Parker's fear of Elvis finding out. Perhaps this would lead to a lapse in faith and more questions.

If there were no inside suspicions of a crime or of poisoning his relationship with Elvis what other reason could Parker have for not pursuing such a lucrative venture? These guys could have made a mint touring the world.

I think opposition on Elvis' part is pretty much out. Some fans have argued, perhaps accurately, that he could have made the tour happen with more initiative. However, I have never read any text that cites vocal opposition to world tour on Elvis' part.

It's weird...Any thoughts?

#262527

I think about this weird subject from time to time, as well. I do tend to think that would be too much of a cat for ol' Colonel to let slip by Elvis.

I think Jerry Hopkins 1979 or '80 book on Elvis' last years has a line or two that implied that Elvis showed interest and then backed away from it himself. I'll have to dig it up.

But then that multiple-part DVD series on Passport Video has a retired pilot who Elvis hired who I recall saying Elvis was primed for a Euro-tour and he was going to be the one to fly the plane.

#262531

It's not relevant whether or not it is logical / makes sense.

Elvis fans need an External Evil Genius to dump everything on that they don't like about Elvis' Career (Since Elvis himself is untouchable off course. You, aparently, cannot bestow any responsibility on him).

It's like those Egyptians after the bombing in Sharm El-Sheik last year saying to reporters that it must have been Jews "Because Muslims would not do such a thing to each other" (Most of the victims then were locals and not tourists).

That's what they want to believe and that's what they will believe. If it's actually true or not is totally beside the point.

#262534

I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!

Gillybee · #262536

thenexte wrote:I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!

At what point did the pills and guns become a liability? Was it an insurmountable problem as early as '69/70?

#262544

Gillybee wrote:
thenexte wrote:I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!
At what point did the pills and guns become a liability? Was it an insurmountable problem as early as '69/70?

As early as '69/'70, are you kidding? Check out some of the home movies of Elvis travelling to Hollywood for his movie shoots across the country in the mid-60's in his bus along with his entourage, that's really where the whole pill-popping thing started to get crazy, as Elvis started to get bored out of his mind. I would say if anything returning back to live performances *accelerated* Elvis' need for uppers and downers dramatically. People didn't realize the impact of the drugs in his system that early on, although some accounts by outsiders actually do, e.g. when visiting the White House he was observed to be heavily under medication (and that was December 1970!). This spontaneous visit was probably one of the rare glimpses the outside world get into his private life where he was *not* protected by his entourage and let down his guard.

Did you ever read the accounts of the Memphis Mafia how they would systematically clean up the hotel suites Elvis was staying in after a show and dispose of the syringes? Did you ever realize why there are so many later erratic Vegas shows with Elvis rambling from the stage but hardly ever so on tour, to the point where Hilton management had to cut down the season to two weeks? Was that because people didn't want to see him? No, it was because he would get so high in Vegas with Feelgood doctors right around the corner, that he was turning into an embarassment! Shielding the drugs from the outside world was a primary function of his entourage, it's all too well documented today and there's no need to live in denial about the facts. Colonel Parker was hardly the reason these World tours never came about.

#262546

thenexte wrote:I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!

The medicine was legally prescribed and I'm sure they had permits for their guns. I blame no world tour on the Colonel and Concerts West. They are the two forces that could of or should have made this happen. Most likely the Colonel kept telling Concerts West that EP was not interested in a world tour, he needed his boy close.

Juan Luis · #262548

It was something "maybe next year" type thing until it was obvious it was not going to be soon. And Elvis did not push for it as hard as he knew he had to. Because if he did. He knew he would have to work his ass off rehearsing new material etc. And after Aloha it seems he was pretty content for the time being....but 76 came fast!

#262549

I don't think you can play it off to drugs and guns. Elvis could have easily taken a private plane and I am sure there are many people who traveled internationally at that time with guns on their person. Even more Elvis could have sent them ahead. He wasn't so attached to guns that couldn't endure a few hours without them. As for the drugs, they were not illegal drugs. They were prescription drugs. Whether or not he was using them for prescription is up to debate but it was nothing that would keep him out of a foreign country.

I also don't think it's fair to attribute to a lack of insistence on Elvis' part. He didn't like going out to Hollywood to make some of those movies but he did. And why should he have to insist anyway? It's Parker's job to maximize Elvis' revenue potential and this was a way to make a lot of scratch. A source of frustration for me in discussing in Elvis' relations with Parker with some fans is this idea that Elvis should have done the managing himself.

Juan Luis · #262562

Manage himself? By just telling him(Parker) to set up something within a time frame? Elvis was not bright enough to realize people wanted to see him in Japan and Europe? Parker did set up the Aloha Special and Elvis did not wait too long after to go back to his old ways....because of depression of divorce. He got out of shape quickly right after. And his health went with it and it (World tour) was just wishful dreaming. Imo.

#262573

Every other artist in the business does not have to twist their manager's arm to make them considerable money. That's the point that makes it odd. Elvis not insisting on a world tour is different from Elvis refusing to go on a world tour which no one at any point has ever said. Regardless of Elvis' interest, Elvis' health a world tour which would have brought a tremendous amount of money into the Presley's coffers. That is why it is odd that one was never scheduled. If Elvis is willing to settle for one publisher for financial reasons, for movie deals that he does not want for financial reasons why wouldn't he undertake a world tour for financial reasons.

The manager is there to line up opportunities and handle business. How is the artist supposed to know the logistics of running a world tour or how much money he should be making etc? It is not too much to ask to have a manager you can trust who maximizes your financial capabilities.

You can argue that he should have fired Parker but that's about the extent on this.

Depression is not a good reason either because the novelty of a world tour could have snapped him out of that depression. If you look at Elvis' life, although he had a tendency to fall into routine, he at his best and most engaged when something came along to break that routine. Whether that something different was Leiber and Stoller popping in the 1950s, Felton Jarvis' presence in the booth in 1966, the 1968 TV Special, Larry Geller's religious chats, the first tours in the 1970s, working with Chips Moman or going back to Nashville the following year. It's an important difference to recognize that while he seldom sought a break from the status quo, he almost never shrunk from it either.

#262584

This not doing a world tour issue may not have been as much of a ball drop on Parker's part as it's often made out to be. Some stories have it that Parker would test whoever was making the offer by telling them he wanted a substantial downpayment up front, and if the deal fell through they didn't get the downpayment back. According to this scenario nobody was willing to take Parker up on the offer. That they backed off from the deal was Parker's way of determining that they weren't serious to begin with, just talk.

Parker was not a trusting man, and he didn't trust the promoters who made these offers. Parker also was a bottom line guy as we all know, and as he apparently told Elvis it didn't make sense to travel 6000 miles for a million dollars when you can travel 600 miles and make a million.

Parker may very well have been holding the world tour option off until he felt the time was ripe, but then Elvis decline set in and it was off the table.

If Elvis wanted it bad enough he would have pushed for it. In my opinion Elvis was only truly hungry for it in 69-70.

Juan Luis · #262585

likethebike wrote:
The manager is there to line up opportunities and handle business. How is the artist supposed to know the logistics of running a world tour or how much money he should be making etc? It is not too much to ask to have a manager you can trust who maximizes your financial capabilities.

You can argue that he should have fired Parker but that's about the extent on this.

Depression is not a good reason either because the novelty of a world tour could have snapped him out of that depression. If you look at Elvis' life, although he had a tendency to fall into routine, he at his best and most engaged when something

After the Aloha broadcast Elvis was back on the old routine. Right after. And remember that satellite program was something huge in 1973! And Colonel Parker was supposed to jump into the future (like now) and read what you wrote that Elvis tended to fall into routine etc. And people do not get "snapped" out of depressions.

Rob · #262586

likethebike wrote:A source of frustration for me in discussing in Elvis' relations with Parker with some fans is this idea that Elvis should have done the managing himself.

Not possible with all of the demands that Elvis had placed on him. During the final two years, I think he'd have had a hard time on stage getting through one show without Charlie there.

How could he possibly manage himself?

#262589

thenexte wrote:I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!

Elvis walked up to the White House, handed a guard a letter, and a day later had a historical meeting. I don't think Elvis ever once worried about guns/drugs crossing country boundaries. I actually believe (even as humble as our boy was) he felt he was above the law.

#262600

People do fall into depression though and the best remedy for Elvis would have been preparing for a world tour. External influences do have an impact on depression. He might have not fallen if he would have had the novelty.

Juan Luis · #262608

likethebike wrote:People do fall into depression though and the best remedy for Elvis would have been preparing for a world tour. External influences do have an impact on depression. He might have not fallen if he would have had the novelty.

It seems he just could not wait to get broadcast out of the way to get back at what was really within (depression) since his separation. I think he would have traded not just a world tour but anything to get back what he felt was taken from him. Imo.

#262623

According to Jerry Schilling that challenge in the mid-70's (for which Elvis probably would have gotten back into shape) could have been the 1976 movie "A star is born", which they discussed with Elvis to play the lead opposite Barbra Streisand. A shame that it got nixed by the Colonel using some of his old tricks of demanding Elvis to get "top billing". I think that particular event is one of the biggest oversights on the Colonel's part in the 70's, not thinking about the long-term, but instead exploiting Elvis for the short-term benefit of the money generated by the tours.

And if you think about it that's not unlike to what happened in the 60's, where his dealings required Elvis to sign away his life for years at a time in the movie contracts. The Colonel always went for the sure thing, that would generate money, no matter if it had any artistic value, that's the bottom line here. Elvis was truly missing an A&R manager, that would steer him into new directions, which is something the Colonel was never interested in or probably don't even care about. His ways just never changed, and Elvis felt obligated to him, which is what caused a lot of the frustration!

#262633

JLGB- For what's it worth I think your putting it off to tomorrow line of reasoning is quite reasonable and maybe close to the truth. In 1970 nobody expected Elvis to be dead in seven years.

I disagree in degree about the divorce. Perhaps challenge, novelty of seeing Europe and adulation from audiences he'd never dreamed he'd ever see might have served as somewhat of a replacement for the things he lost.

Nexte- It may have been a mixed blessing that he didn't get involved in the Streisand project because it turned out so disastrously. Appearing in a movie that was a complete shooting gallery for critics was not going to pull Elvis out of the doldrums. He'd have to have been incredible to get any kind of notice and it's not like he was working with Sidney Lumet.

#262639

Some interesting details/facts/problems/excuses about a supposed world tour:

-No passport for Parker?
-Trouble at the customs with Dr Nick around?
-Security issues.
-No suitable venues (15000/20000 domed seaters, with airco)
-Parker didn't want the ticket prices to be too high..
-Elvis already went world wide... with the Aloha show.

2 very interesting notes:
-Charles Stone said he had a planeticket for London, to book Elvis at Wembley in '77/'78!

-Elvis had a conversation with some promotors in '77 about sponsoring a world tour:
After the meeting he said to Larry Gellar: ''Back in the 20's/30's they would shoot you and dump your body in the river. Nowadays they are well spoken businessmen, offering great things, but you cannot trust them!''

Puzzling right?

#262658

I have to go back to my original post as to what makes it a big mystery to me in that it would have been such a moneymaker. Money can smooth over almost issue we've brought up.

#262662

Gillybee wrote:
thenexte wrote:I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!
At what point did the pills and guns become a liability? Was it an insurmountable problem as early as '69/70?

In 1969-70 an international tour wasn´t that interresting, because he hadn´t toured USA since 1957. It was when it became boring, sometime in 1973. Elvis would have a hard time i Sweden with pills and that stuff (which the Rolling stones learned in 1981 when Mick jagger and Co was taken care of). The difference is that Rolling stones had no image of being good, polite people and nothing to lose. Elvis really had an image of a perfect human being.

But keep in mind. Elvis was clean a few months before the Aloha special, but started again right after. Perhaps he could have stayed clean for a while, while doing a world tour. Who knows?

Regards//Björn

#262668

... Our man was back on the pills, after the 12.30 show, doing the extra

songs, such as No More, etc... Prescribed by his doctor, ofcourse!

Yeah, right

#262670

To Robert: I feel that the thing Elvis mentions to Larry Geller has nothing to do with promotors/concerts... I feel this has got everything to do with the FBI investigation that was going on at that time (see FBI Files, Operation Fountain Pen)

I feel that why Elvis never went on a world tour is the fact that Parker didn't want Elvis out of his sight and that it has got to do with him not having a passport.

Elvis was bright enough to realize that there was oppertunity for him to perform outside the USA.

However: Elvis was loyal to the man who had brought him what he wanted: fame and fortune. And Elvis and even more Vernon had one big fear: that it would all come to an end some day and they had to go back being poor... Parker knew this and therefore had Elvis and especially Vernon by the balls.

Parker (alomost) screwed up Elvis' career in the 60's by doing so many movies. Then Elvis took charge and made the Comeback Special happen. Parker then got himself on track again by bringing Elvis back to Vegas, back on tour, the movies TTWII and On Tour and then go for the Aloha Special. That is a pretty good build up and there is no wrong in that planning. However: Parker should have realized that there had to come something good after the Aloha Special: a world tour, Elvis' big wish. Instead Parker sended him straight back to Vegas, a place where Elvis was growing rapidly unhappy. I think that Elvis got very demotivated because of this and flew out of control in september 1973.

Then in 1975 Elvis was asked to star in the movie with Barbara Streisand. When Parker let that deal go by I feel that was the final blow to Elvis' motivation. From then on the candle slowly started to go out.

Elvis should have kicked Parkers ass and Parker should have done a good move after the Aloha Special. So I guess they are both to blame for the fact that Elvis never went on a world tour. I do feel though that such a tour would have kept Elvis in a better shape for longer time...

Gillybee · #262684

thenexte wrote:
Gillybee wrote:
thenexte wrote:I think one of the more practical reasons that Elvis never went on a World tour had little to do with the Colonel but all with the fact that there would have been no way in the world that Elvis & his entourage would have been able to smuggle the amount of pills and guns they were constantly travelling with through any international airport!
At what point did the pills and guns become a liability? Was it an insurmountable problem as early as '69/70?
As early as '69/'70, are you kidding? Check out some of the home movies of Elvis travelling to Hollywood for his movie shoots across the country in the mid-60's in his bus along with his entourage, that's really where the whole pill-popping thing started to get crazy, as Elvis started to get bored out of his mind. I would say if anything returning back to live performances *accelerated* Elvis' need for uppers and downers dramatically. People didn't realize the impact of the drugs in his system that early on, although some accounts by outsiders actually do, e.g. when visiting the White House he was observed to be heavily under medication (and that was December 1970!). This spontaneous visit was probably one of the rare glimpses the outside world get into his private life where he was *not* protected by his entourage and let down his guard.

Did you ever read the accounts of the Memphis Mafia how they would systematically clean up the hotel suites Elvis was staying in after a show and dispose of the syringes? Did you ever realize why there are so many later erratic Vegas shows with Elvis rambling from the stage but hardly ever so on tour, to the point where Hilton management had to cut down the season to two weeks? Was that because people didn't want to see him? No, it was because he would get so high in Vegas with Feelgood doctors right around the corner, that he was turning into an embarassment! Shielding the drugs from the outside world was a primary function of his entourage, it's all too well documented today and there's no need to live in denial about the facts. Colonel Parker was hardly the reason these World tours never came about.

Actually I'm not in denial at all. And yes, I have read those accounts by the Memphis Mafia you're describing, but aren't you largely talking about events post '73? The reason I posed my question was because I was under the impression (mistakenly perhaps), that Elvis' drug use eased off when he resumed live performances in '69. I was also under the impression that his obsession with guns developed from the assassination threat in 1970, when the boredom had begun to set in again. Therefore, prior to August 1970, the issue of pills and guns would surely not have been such a liability, and a perfect time for the Colonel to have taken Elvis overseas (after a nationwide tour of course). Yes?

For Elvis CD Collectors

Parker and the World Tour

Parker and the World Tour

parker and