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Dish Magazine Interview



WILD, WOUNDED & SO INTRIGUING

Find Out More as Lisa Marie Presley Goes Musical

by Samantha Ross

LISA AS A LITTLE GIRL

I heard Broken Footsteps
Was that you limping
Well, I wish that I had spent just a little more time with you

-Nobody Noticed It

"You want to know who I am, and what I am, it's in here," says Lisa Marie Presley defiantly, speaking about her first CD project, To Whom It May Concern. "This is how either fucked up I am, or crazy or deranged or stupid or whatever you want to call it. This is me, and it's from me, and that's the only reason I did it."

She's the one-Elvis Presley's only child. She was born a Princess, daughter of the King, and at age 9 became sole heir to a huge musical legacy and an enormous fortune. She's spent her life in the hot seat, scrutinized, tabloid-ized, alone-with no one else to share the heat and the camera's constant glare. Shy by nature, and reclusive by choice, she's kept her thoughts to herself- until now. Now she's come out and told her story-in song and in sometimes defiant, yet honest words that ring true.

"I went to the hospital the day Lisa was born, and Elvis gave her to me to hold," says family friend George Klein. I told him I was afraid I'd drop her, she was so small, but he laughed and said 'You're not going to drop her' which I didn't, fortunately." George and Elvis met in an 8th grade music class, to which Elvis would bring his guitar and sing. "In our senior year of high school, he won a talent contest, so I knew he had some talent," George says now. "I was a groomsman when Elvis married Priscilla, and Elvis was my Best Man when I got married. When Elvis died, the family asked me to be a pallbearer."

"I remember Lisa as a little girl" he continues, "riding around in that golf cart. But my best memory of her as a little girl was....one of the guys at Graceland was involved in 'Planet of the Apes' and he had one of those ape masks from the movie. I had a black leather coat that I put on backwards, and put on the monkey mask and came in the back door to play a joke on Lisa. She was probably about 4 or 5. I called it 'Igor the Monster' and she just loved it, so I did it a few times through the years. About 2 years ago, I was an MC at a show in Memphis and she came backstage to say hello. While she was there she said 'Tell me the truth, were you Igor?' which I thought was very funny after all these years.

By all accounts, Lisa Marie appears to have lived a circumscribed life for the first 5 years of her life- within the protecting walls of Graceland. There were horses on the 6 acre property, peacocks, motorcycles, her mother Priscilla... and of course, her famous father and his omni-present group of male friends, now known as the Memphis Mafia, who kept him company during long, sleepless nights. Lisa Marie was indulged, over-indulged perhaps, by her doting Dad, who showered her with gifts, rented amusement parks to amuse just her, and recorded songs for her alone. The discipline in her life was left to Priscilla.

Lisa Marie, and Priscilla as well, rarely left Graceland. Says Memphis tour guide, and owner of American Dream Safari, Tad Pierson, "Everybody I meet has an Elvis story; met him at a gas station, saw him at a stop light; went to school with him, but I've never heard a story about Priscilla or Lisa Marie and Priscilla went to high school here."

Says Cindy Hazen, author (with husband Mike Freemen) of The Best of Elvis and Memphis, Elvis Style and current owner of Elvis' first home on Audobon Drive says, "Lisa Marie talks very candidly about her childhood and how she was very rebellious. Elvis slept until 4 in the afternoon and she could basically do whatever she wanted. She always had fans calling to her through the fence, and someone I know told me that years ago they were a fan standing at the gates of Graceland and she flipped them the finger, and she was 8 or 9 years old."

"I was awful," Lisa Marie told Rolling Stone, "People would give me cameras to go and take pictures, and I'd take money, and I'd say I was going to take a picture of my Dad, and then I'd throw the camera somewhere. The fans were always in the trees in the woods and getting me to come over to the fence, and I would do stuff and throw things. It was weird, because sometimes I'd be playing and I'd hear basically a call to arms- 'Someone's jumped the fence' and they were always jumping the fence, and I was definitely afraid; whether they were coming after me."

Recently, when Priscilla visited Lisa Marie in the studio where she was recording her record, Priscilla said, "I'm getting this flashback of you when you were three or four. You wouldn't play with anybody. You wouldn't go out. You would just sit in your room with a little record player and all your '45's stacked up." Lisa Marie remembers it too, "My Dad would catch me. He'd put me up on the coffee table in front of everybody and make me sing".

DEATH

Someone turned the lights out there in Memphis
That's where my family's buried and gone
Last time I was there I noticed a space left
Next to them there in Memphis In the damn back lawn


-Lights Out


"Three wishes: If I had three wishes, I would wish I could drive a Volkswagen, I wish I had a hundred Astropops, I wish my mother and father don't die" -Lisa Marie Presley as a child

At the age of 5, the first bomb dropped on Lisa Marie's life- Elvis and Priscilla divorced. Lisa Marie was whisked away to live in Los Angeles, although she frequently visited her Memphis home. She describes her life at that time at Graceland like this, "4 am sleep, or go to bed before 5. Get up at 2-3 pm in the afternoon. That was only when I was with him. When I was with Mom, she'd flip me around to a very rigorous, normal average childhood schedule."

Lisa Marie says that one day when she was 7 or 8, she told her father, "I don't want you to die." "Don't worry about me," she remembers he told her, "I'm not going anywhere." "If I was watching TV in my room, he would come to my room and sort-of stumble to my doorway, and start to fall, and I'd go catch him," she told Diane Sawyer. "You know, things like that. And he'd try to pull himself out of it if he saw me. Things like that."

In spite of those reassuring words, the second bomb dropped anyway-her larger-than-life father died suddenly in an upstairs bathroom. Lisa was in the house, visiting from California. "I just had a feeling," she says now. "He wasn't doing well. All I know is that I had it, and it happened. I was obsessed with death at a very early age."

Lisa Marie, left alone in the frightening hubbub, called her friend, Elvis' former girlfriend, Linda Thompson, and asked her to come, which she did. Priscilla also came.

In an interview with Larry King, Priscilla describes the events of that day as follows:

PRESLEY: His father (Vernon), right, was in such a state of shock. I mean, I can still hear him to this day, you know, wailing. It was - he honestly couldn't handle anything. Everyone was in disarray, the whole household.

KING: How about your daughter?

PRESLEY: My daughter? Surprisingly enough, I don't think she really knew the impact nor did she really know what had happened.... And it was very difficult for her to believe. I remember that she was - she took a golf cart that she would ride around Graceland in and she was out with her friend. And I thought that was a little odd, but then again, remembering the age. And I actually preferred her to be out than in the house because it was very depressing.

Says Cindy Hazen, "She's had a lot to overcome. Losing a parent at 9 would be very difficult for anyone, famous or not." Lisa Marie remembers time with him as magical days, "You know, with him, it was his heart that was permeating... It was like this man loves me."

Priscilla seconds that emotion, "Absolutely. I - you know, he was so much a part of my life that, you know, Elvis, you know, once - once you bonded with him, I mean, there was no - there was no going back. He was just a great guy."

Says Cindy Hazen, "She (Lisa) kept his (Elvis' travel bag with his toothbrush, hair dye, very personal.effects. She keeps a peacock and Elvis had peacocks at Graceland."

"Graceland is like a time capsule. Nothing has changed. Nothing's been touched. It's kind of a sad thing. A life that existed there at one time in history, there was so much life, but, um, it's still home to me, very much when I'm there." sighs Lisa Marie.

MUSIC DEBUT

This can't be happening
Not so fast, I'm so mean
I can't stay indifferent
Because I know the outcome


-Indifferent

The resemblance between Lisa Marie and Elvis is stunning- same face, same surly snarl, same moves, "Honestly, yes - I've seen it. It's not something I'm trying to do, but I have gone like, Oh my... and now Lisa is starting a music career... and though surely not intentional, is literally following in his footsteps.

On the day it came out, Cindy Hazen bought To Whom It May Concern at Pop Tunes, the Memphis Record Store that sold Elvis' first record first, a 45 featuring That's All Right Mama. David Letterman reminded us that Lisa Marie's first appearance on his show was taking place on the same stage in the Ed Sullivan Theater where Elvis wiggled his way to fame 46 years ago.

She has been writing songs, and sporadically working on developing a recording career for some years now. (She was managed by Jerry Schilling at one time, who reportedly got her a recording contract, but no album was ever released; Alanis Morissette's producer Glen Ballard did a record with her on Java Records when it was part of Capitol; she was reportedly turned down by her Dad's label RCA and according to George Klein, Myrna Smith-Schilling of The Sweet Inspirations was the first one to take her into the studio. And Myrna told him she could sing really "Good" It was "Like an audition-type-thing".

It might be accurate to suggest that a real turning point for her career was her sensational appearance at a 1997 Tribute Concert marking the 20th Anniversary of Elvis's death ("my father's 20th Death Anniversary" as she calls it). There she presented a duet video of herself singing Don't Cry Daddy with her father, produced by David Foster who had recently completed a similar project for Natalie Cole and her father, Nat King Cole.

Cindy Hazen was in the audience that night, "They did a special presentation of Don't Cry Daddy combining that potent song and the footage of her and her father. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house."

George Klein was also there, "Well, it was a very electrifying night. Not only because Lisa was going to sing, but we didn't know that until the last minute, but because the way the show was produced and presented. Have you ever seen that show?

"Well, it's very, very unique... It's an intermix of Elvis on video on a big screen, like a drive-in movie screen and the live musicians on stage. Well, that night, I emceed half of the show, and I introduced Priscilla and then she brought out Lisa. She said Lisa had a surprise for the fans. We didn't know exactly what it was going to be. We kind of, sort of, had an inkling, because I was an emcee. And then they lowered that screen, and it just blew everybody away. It just gave you goose bumps. It gave you chills to see her singing with her father. It was really a moment I will never forget, and I thought it was fantastic.

"Well, it was fantastic because number one- nobody had ever seen her sing. Number two, there she was singing with her father, which, that had never happened in the history of Elvis. And it was just kind of historic. And everybody loved it because everybody just loves Lisa to death. They just love her. And here she was singing with her father, and all those Elvis fans loved him, obviously. And you had their two favorites right there on the screen, and it was an electrifying moment.

"Why does everybody love her?" we asked George. "Well, because she's Elvis' daughter!"

"Is there any more than that?" Dish asked George.

Thoughtfully, he replied. "Well, see, she was very reclusive up until she came out with this album. And she was guarded. She wasn't, you know, out there in the public's eye. She was married to Danny Keogh, then to Michael, then Nicholas, but it was hard to get to Lisa. She was very, she wasn't out in the public's eye all of the time. So when she came out to sing with Elvis, it just blew everybody away. They loved it."

Says Priscilla, "You know, Lisa, for the longest time, did not sing. And I had no idea she even had a voice. It's a little bit of a Memphis style, yes. A little bit. I mean, I really feel she has her own style. I don't think she's going for any one style or trying to be a, you know, have a - I think she's - she can really sing anything but she's really created her own style."

The influential LA Times music critic Robert Hilburn agrees, "Presley's gutsy, blues-edged voice has a distinctive flair", he wrote in his column. "Presley, who shares her father's striking, pouty good looks, shows ample charisma and presence, and other key songs on her upcoming album also have a strong, introspective edge."

It's well known that this album took a long time to make, perhaps four or five years; so much so that at one point she told producer Eric Rosse "I'm sick of these songs". But with the help of a devoted manager and Capitol Records label head Andrew Slater (who also produced the single "Lights Out") the songs were reworked to her satisfaction. "I respond to people when they've honest," she says. "I don't respond to bullshit, and I don't want to put bullshit out there. The album is me raw and who I am."

And about the inevitable comparison's to Elvis? "The comparison" she says, "'THAT' I'm trying to be an artist, not Elvis Presley's child. And I'm not going to run from it too."

"What do you think Elvis would have thought of Lisa Marie if he had lived", Dish asked George Klein. "I think he would have been extremely proud of her putting out this CD. I think he probably would have been involved in it somehow. I just think he would have been extremely proud of his daughter putting out a CD, and finding out she could sing as good as she does."

Lisa Marie has stated that she really doesn't care how the cd does, she did it for other reasons. As she toled Rolling Stone, "At this point it's ok whatever happens with it. I don't give a flying crap about hits. I mean, I do, of course, but as long as people know it's not BS, it's me, my spirit, my heart, my head. You bare your ass for everybody and go, 'What do you think? It's scary, but it's me."

MARRIAGES, REBELLION, ETC

I had a good feeling when I woke up
But I missed it 'cause I was sleeping
Did you know I broke up my family
Oh the guilt it's really killing me


-Excuse Me

The latest tabloid headlines have announced that Lisa Marie Presley is again engaged to be married, to... Danny Keogh, her ex, and father of her two children, Danielle, 14 and Ben, 11. As of this writing, she's vehemently denied it-but could it be true? After all, she married him when she was 20 and they share pretty much everything, two children, Scientology, Music (he is a co-writer on some of her songs, and participated in the recording of her CD)....and Danny lives (in the guesthouse) on her property.

Lisa Marie always speaks highly of him, "Danny's my best friend in the world and we write all the time", she says. "And he's a huge part of why I'm singing and writing, so I wasn't going to have him not be a part of this record. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be writing or singing."

"See," she told Diane Sawyer, "that's the only thing that has stayed intact in my whole life. He does, right now, live in a guesthouse on the property with me. And if I'm not home, or traveling, or something, he's with the children, so that's good. Um, it's a very odd situation. But no matter what either of us go through, our children know who their Mom and Dad is. And they know that very strongly. We keep that unit very in order, regardless of how crazy we are."

When asked how Danny feels about her, she says, "He finds me very entertaining, oddly enough. I'm his entertainment, I guess."

Tad Pierson has a theory about why Lisa Marie ever left Danny. The jist of it is- "She divorced Danny over the Presley name-she thought Michael Jackson could handle it." Whether that theory is true or not, she does say, "I made the mistake of saying I was not happy in my marriage-and the courting started. And I left probably quicker than I would have, and that was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my whole life."

Larry King suggested that, "one of the attractions to someone like Jackson is that Jackson had been somewhat of a Presley. I mean, a pinnacle of attention and focus." Priscilla expressed, "Concern. Concern. I think - I think any mother would be concerned. You know, obviously, if my daughter's happy, you know, then I don't have any problem. But she's very strong-willed."

Says Lisa Marie, "You know, I'm sure it's connected in some way to the grandness and the bigness of an earlier loss in my life. Some sort of representation of this grand, powerful... thing in my life that went away. That's what he was to me as a child-this huge, electrifyingly powerful, grand, beautiful presence. It's like a lost duckling, walking around looking for that."

So how did Michael Jackson enter the picture in the first place? According to Lisa Marie,in Rolling Stone, he attempted to meet her when she was 18, but she was unwilling at the time because she thought he was a "freak". But years later, when they finally did meet, they slowly bonded, through phone calls, flowers, candlelight dinners, "I just want to say he's not stupid, he didn't get where he was because he's stupid. It's unfortunate that not a lot of people know who he really is. He doesn't let anybody see it. And he has some idea about how he should represent himself in the public, that he thinks works for him, which is the sort-of meek victim, meek-quiet thing that he does, which is not like how he really is. So, he doesn't let a lot of people see that. When he wants to lock into you, or intrigue you, or capture you, or, you know, whatever he wants to do with you, he can do it. He is very capable of doing that. He was very quick to, the first time I met him, sit me down and go, 'listen, I'm not gay, I know you think this and I know you think that. And he started cursing, and he started being a real person. And I thought 'wow'. So I get caught up in that. I'm pulled in right away. I'm like, 'wow, you've so misunderstood'. Oh my God, you've this guy. I fell into this whole you-poor-sweet-misunderstood thing, I'm going to save you. I fell into his act. I fell in love with him. I did."

Apparently, the marriage, which had a romantic and sexual beginning, rapidly deteriorated. He disappeared for weeks at a time, "There would be periods of time where I had no idea where he was- only by the press," she has said, and even worse, used her to prove he was a man who loved a women, perhaps to protect himself from pending child-abuse charges, or to save his reputation. Lisa Marie ended it, but suffered depression and severe ill health for some time afterward. In spite of it all, she has spoken with Jackson recently by phone, to offer her support, in the light of the widely watched Bashir documentary.

"I told you, see now, I'm not attracted to mediocrity or normalcy or things like that. I think certain things are attractive. I'm weird. I don't know. I'm wacked," she has said.

"You know what it is?" she told Diane Sawyer. "It's that I get attracted to artists. I'm attracted to artists. I like when someone is shaking it up, when they're different. I don't know why, and I'll never know why. But it's just what I get attracted to."

In April, 2001 she attended a NARAS event at Elvis Presley's Memphis, with then rock and roll fiance in tow, John Oszajka. Says American Dream Safari's Tad Pierson who was there that day, "You know what they say about Graceland, it's smaller than you thought it would be. Same with her, she's petite and smaller than I thought she would be."

He continues, "they were presenting an award to Elvis and she showed up to accept it. I was standing in the crowd and I got up close to the podium. There was a young girl standing in the crowd next to me and I thought she was kind of interesting- she had this Indian skirt on, kind of a long skirted Indian sari and maybe like a cowboy shirt with the tails tied and she was showing midriff and she had kind of a cornrow or dreadlocks hairdo. I was not really not paying that much attention. I thought, 'here's kind of a good looking chick but the look isn't working, kind of wacky eclecticism, not really pleasing and then the announcer said, 'Here to receive the award is Lisa Marie' and it was her!"

Shortly after John bit the dust, Lisa Marie began dating Nicholas Cage. The tempestuous nature of that relationship has been widely publicized, and perhaps, behind the scenes, is still on-going in some way. So what happened? "When it was great, it was great. It was really good, you know. When it was horrible, it was just - we've so dramatic, the two of us, it just couldn't, we just couldn't stay contained."

"There's a sort-of a rebel spirit, wild orchid-ness to both of us. I really respect him, his work. I think he's great. He's amazing. But we honestly were joking thinking, we are the new millennium version of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, at this point. I mean, we are going to knock each other off barstools."

So how does Nick Cage feel about it? As he told Barbara Walters recently, "So, where I came out on it was, yeah, it's sad and I miss her everyday. Sometimes I wish we couldn't have rushed the marriage and sometimes I regret rushing the divorce, but it just seemed like it wasn't going to change."

According to Cindy Hazen, her husband Mike Freeman was there when Lisa Marie brought Nicholas Cage to the Heartbreak Hotel, one of Elvis Presley Enterprises properties. "She's not comfortable with an audience. When she was here to dedicate Presley Place, Lisa brought Nick to the hotel-they came with a limo when the lobby was very full with people waiting for the shuttle bus Mike drives. As soon as people recognized her they rushed towards her and she was very uncomfortable, so they cleared the lobby. She didn't really want to be disturbed or noticed, but then again, they did arrive in a limo at a peak time and came through the front door when the lobby was full of people."

Family and Charity

Little Man and a lady
So handsome and pretty
Sometimes don't listen to your mamma no
And don't do as I do


-So Lovely

"You'll go to great lengths to prove a point. And nobody could stop you from doing it," said Diane Sawyer. "Hell no. Nobody can stop me from doing anything, which is the really sad part. Unless, you know, it's my children, but they don't always know what I’m about to get into," responded Lisa Marie.

So what do you think so far, readers? That Lisa Marie Presley is a spoiled brat, tempestuous, uncontrollable, wild, or like she says of herself, "Well, I'll say it loud and say it proud, I am completely insane." Based on what you read about her in the paper, you might agree, but upon closer scrutiny, I wouldn't be so quick to believe her.

Let's ignore the dirty words, the failed marriages, the wealth and the notoriety completely for just a moment-what is left? Accomplishments, many accomplishments, and important ones at that. Lisa Marie Presley has her first album on the stands, containing songs entirely written by her; as part of a 3-album deal, she has two more to write, produce and release in the years ahead. She has two children whom she loves, protects and cares for, about whom we know very little.As she told Go Memphis Michael Lollar, Danielle and Ben both seem destined for music careers too."She says, I see it, definitely. I see a deep ear for it and a drive toward it on both ends. It's similar to what I had as a child, not wanting to play with my friends and listening to records all the time. I see it in their blood"

People admire and adore her from afar; some because she's the daughter of the king, and some for her mysteriousness, and intensity. She's also the sole owner and Chairman of Elvis Presley Enterprises, which owns Graceland, the Heartbreak Hotel, and more, and also oversees her father's legacy, musical and otherwise. Lisa Marie reportedly inherited $157 million when Elvis died, and Elvis Presley Enterprises reportedly earned a cool $37 million last year alone, before the release of the hugely successful compilation CD 'Elvis Presley 30 #1 Hits'. She is also a loyal member of the Church of Scientology, about which there is always so much speculation.

"Church isn't going to tell me what to do with my relationships or my life. That's not what they've there for. In fact, I walked in there, I don't know, two months ago and said; You haven't seen me in four months, now look what happens. I just got a divorce again. They haven't seen me, so here we go. They put me back together. Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall, and then there they are with the glue," she has said.

Just a few months ago, a there was a surprising sight to some- Lisa Marie Presley on Capital Hill, testifying before Congress. But those who are surprised probably don't know that she is the International Spokesperson For Children's Rights, for the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). Her cause is to encourage the Government Reform Committee to help stop "the legal psychotopic drugging of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD). As she said, “I have spoken to children who have been forced to take a cocaine-like stimulant (Ritalin) to control their behavior; I have shared their sense of sheer desperation. I have not seen one happy and well-adjusted child as a result of these drugs. Children have been wrenched from their family's care simply because their parents favored an alternative, drug-free approach to addressing educational and behavioral problems." Some members of Congress listened, and expressed full agreement.

No big deal, you might say, but what about Presley Place? Presley Place is run by the Metropolitan Inter Faith Association (MIFA and has been made possible by a donation from the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation. Presley Place makes a difference in the lives of homeless families, in a nurturing environment where residents can learn the skills and get the eduction they need to be independent and productive members of society. Since it opened in July 2001 Presley Place has been home to to more than 13 adults and 32 children who were forced from their homes and by fire, eviction or domestic violence, and who otherwise would have no place to go.

And wait, we've still not done. Lisa Marie is very involved with children and literacy. Along with friend, Memphian Isaac Hayes, Lisa opened the Literacy, Eduction and Ability Program (LEAP).LEAP is a free program for children and people of all ages in Memphis, where they actually learn how to learn. Hundreds of graduates of this program have become literate and able to improve conditions in their lives. Lisa Marie has hosted a Christmas Party at LEAP headquarters where she gives out gifts to under-privileged children for the past five years!

"So inside how old are you?" Diane Sawyer asked? "Twelve" (both giggle) "That was quick, wasn't it?"

"I really admire her because I know what she is doing is very difficult for her, it's very gutsy when to put yourself out in front of an audience when you're not an attention seeker," says Cindy Hazen.

"She's what Elvis could never be-she's a hard-ass, a warrior. She doesn't like being fucked over, and she'll stand up for the underdog," says Ocea, Dishmag "Wellness" columnist.

George Klein concludes, "I would say that she's really a good person. A good-hearted person. That she's been through a whole lot, and you have to respect what she's been through. I would say that she's very talented, surprisingly talented. I think she's beautiful. I think she reminds me so much of Elvis, the way she looks and her mannerisms. And that it's wonderful to have her here because she does remind me of Elvis a lot. She has his movements and mannerisms. Just something about her that reminds me of Elvis, you know? And um, I think she's very charitable. She does a lot of charities. She's very involved in humanity, and I respect her for that. I just respect her all the way around."

"I'm extremely proud, considering what she went through in her childhood, the roadblocks that she's gone around, and the speed bumps in the road that she's gone over. She's endured and she's survived. And I like her perseverance. And I think she's going to be all right."

"It's strange being out in public like this". Lisa says. "My guess", she says wryly, is that I'll do this for a while and then turn into a recluse again at some point."