‘There comes a point when it’s too much, you know. And it’s non-stop. There’s no let up.’ ibid. Trixi Sullivan de Linick, PA to Mike Jefferey
The Jimi Hendrix Experience breaks up. ibid.
Unlike other artists of his generation, Jimi didn’t write protest songs. ibid.
The studios are in Mob-controlled territory, so he [Jeffery] goes to them for a loan. ibid.
He [Jimi] was kidnapped by the Mob … With Jimi refusing to go on the road, relations between him and Jeffery are at rock bottom. ibid.
Their contract expires in three months’ time on December 1st 1970. In debt to the Mob, the IRS and the record company, Jeffery really can’t afford for Jimi to leave him. ibid.
Monika’s fantasies about her relationship with Jimi are of much less concern than her many discrepancies in her various accounts of his last hours. In the years following Jimi’s death, these differences begin to trouble Kathy Etchingham. ibid.
‘Did Jimi have a proper Inquest? It just didn’t add up. The whole story was bizarre … It’s what I’d do for any friend.’ ibid. Kathy
Monika’s apartment was never forensically analysed. The only clue that remains is the condition Jimi was found in. ibid.
This shows that Jimi died very soon after the wine entered his body. It had no time to be absorbed into his blood stream. Who would do that to Jimi, and why? Rumours that have been persistent since his death point to one suspect: his manager, Mike Jeffery. ibid. Tappy
‘Mike was quite clever: his got Jimi to sign an insurance policy for him also. Jimi Hendrix was worth two million to Jeffery dead … It was kill or be killed.’ ibid. Tappy
‘If Jimi died, Mike Jeffery gets the lot … in the ballpark of around $30,000,000.’ ibid. investigator
Much of Jimi’s last day was spent at the receiving end of Monika’s jealousy. ibid.
‘These tablets were exceptionally strong … And each one was a double dose … He must have drunk red wine at the party.’ ibid. Kathy
Jimi may have died around 5 a.m. when Monika was trying to track down his doctor. ibid.
‘She panicked. Young girl, world’s most famous musician, dead.’ ibid. Kathy
At 11.18 a.m. they finally call the ambulance. Then they leave the apartment. Although he died long before that, at 12.45 Jimi is officially pronounced dead. ibid.
‘She [Monika] was an obsessed fan. A stalker.’ ibid. Kathy
When no-one question’s Monika’s wildly different statements about the circumstances of Jimi’s death, she boldly begins to rewrite history. ibid.
‘I knew she was a complete fraud.’ ibid. Kathy
Kathy’s request to reopen the Inquest into his death is denied. It is not thought to be in the public interest. ibid.
Monika takes her own life. Her body is found in her fuel-filled car in her garage. ibid.
‘Remarkable. She chooses to take her life rather than give evidence or speak about what happened that night in a court under oath.’ ibid. Kathy
‘Before Elvis there was nothing.’ Elvis: The Man that Rocked the World, Lennon, Channel 5 2020
He was the man who started it all and nearly 45 years after he left us he’s still the one true king of rock-n-roll. Much more than an uncontrollable pelvis and smouldering good looks he became an icon of the 20th century. And tonight we’re going to count down the Top 30 moments that made up his amazing life. ibid.
January 8th 1935: Elvis Aaron Presley entered the world. ibid.
Memphis was then home to one of the biggest jazz and blues music scenes in the US. ibid.
Elvis had the family he had always yearned for, but for Priscilla the dream was turning sour. ibid.
Ed Sullivan had earlier refused to have Elvis on his show but as he was now the biggest star in the country he had no choice. ibid.
All Shook Up was to be the first of his twenty-one top stops, even more than a young group from Liverpool. ibid.
After the huge success of the Comeback Special there was only one place for Elvis to go – Vegas. ibid.
By the summer of 1955 Elvis’s extraordinary success in the American south was starting to attract national attention. One man in particular could see Elvis’s money-making potential. Elvis: The Man Who Shook Up the World, Channel 5 2020
‘Colonel Parker was this kind of blustery, cigar-chewing, massively overweight, sweaty, untidy, ill-mannered larger than life character.’ ibid. Bethan Roberts, author Graceland
The energetic way Elvis sings and dances in this appearance was shocking to a fifties’ audience. ibid.
The backlash during 1956 was said to be difficult for Elvis’s mother, Gladys, too. ibid.
The Americas of Elvis’s teenage years was also changing fast. The economy was growing, and for the first time young people had money in their pocket. They were going out watching films, and above all, listening to music. ibid.
Elvis’s version of That’s All Right helped to set him on course for global stardom. ibid.
As Elvis is increasingly pulled away from her [mother’s] world, Gladys’s life starts to unravel. ibid.
Elvis officially entered the army on March 24th 1958. Colonel Parker had arranged for news crews from around the world to be on hand to record this extraordinary event. ibid.
On 31st July 1969 a nervous Elvis Presley stepped out on to the stage at the International Hotel in Las Vegas after an eight-year absence from performance. The show was a triumph: the culmination of a long hard journey for Elvis to show the world who he really was as an artist. Elvis: Rebirth of the King, BBC 2020
But the triumph was brief and the end was not pretty. The grind of over 600 Vegas shows in 8 years eventually killed the king. For many this cartoon image of Elvis is the one that endures. ibid.
In 1956 Elvis Presley shook up the world. Tall, dark and preternaturally handsome, this dirt-poor southern boy scandalised segregated America when he performed Hound Dog on NBC’s Milton Berle Show. ibid.
In 1956 Love Me Tender was one of the highest grossing movies in the world. What could possibly go wrong? ibid.
Elvis determined that his future would be as a balladeer aimed at a mature audience, but it was a direction that set him on a collision course with the Colonel. ibid.
Elvis is a searcher. It’s a part of him that never left. Elvis: The Searcher I, Priscilla, HBO 2018
’68 he was a nervous wreck. Nervous because he didn’t know if his audience was going to accept him. People had not seen him perform in so long. ibid.
Elvis was born in a shotgun house. The poorest of the poor lived in those houses. His twin brother did not survive birth. ibid. Professor Bill Ferris
Elvis was like Huck Finn exploring. At night he would slip in to the black churches and listen to gospel music and to sermons. ibid.
Elvis, he longed to be a great gospel singer. ibid. Tom Petty
What happened in Memphis at that time was a convergence of forces: the convergence of radio, DJs and artists. ibid. Ferris
But the basic set up when it was just Elvis, Scotty, Bill and a beautiful echo tape delay, it was all you needed. With that voice you could do anything. ibid. Robbie Robertson, musician
And I knew I could help him exploit his talents all over the world. ibid. Colonel Tom Parker
Elvis was able to bring a value to the presentation of black music. ibid. David Porter, Stax Records
Elvis’s first television appearances were earth-shattering. He sang at a moment in the history of the south in the early 50s when his music was truly a revolutionary sound. ibid.
He was basically a good-natured southern kid but he was on a mission to deliver this music. ibid. Ferris
He goes into the army which is where he gets the pep pills for the first time, the Methedrine, to stay up on watch. ibid. Petty
So he was gonna follow what Tom Parker said. He’d been right so far. ibid. Prescilla
The 68 Special really showed Elvis’s career in its entirety. They took Elvis’s original songs and made them more modern. Elvis: The Searcher II, dude
The Sinatra Show – it was a very conservative move at the time. He was just trying to find his place after coming out of the army. He basically had to believe in himself and that’s what Elvis did. ibid. Springsteen
He had to make three movies a year. So these soundtrack albums became a big part of the contractual obligation to release music for RCA. ibid. Jackson
The movies were very harmful to his image. ibid. Petty
The Colonel was not taking him to the place he needed to be. ibid. Priscilla
Las Vegas: It worked great in the beginning – just got to be same old stuff. ibid. Ronnie Tutt, drummer
1971: 157 concerts; 1972: 165 concerts. ibid. captions