We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. But hey, that's easy to say when you're on the outside looking in I guess. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. It is altogether fitting and proper that this be so, because as a redneck, as a hillbilly, as a white boy who sang like a nigger, Elvis Presley was never permitted to join the culture that has never permitted itself to be exemplified by what he made of it. A Review of "Elvis and Ginger" by Ginger Alden - Elvis History Blog But I've read that he let people go because cutting back on their salaries had become a matter of essential financial austerity. Lamar Fike: That's one of the most important things that history has . Fike's tales were a mainstay of the controversial 1981 book Elvis by Albert Goldman. But the most authentic 5 seconds of interview I have ever seen with one of the Presley camp is in "This is Elvis". The fascination, Linda Ray Pratt has written of Elvis, was the reality showing through the illusionthe illusion of wealth and the psyche of poverty; the illusion of success and the pinchof ridicule; the illusion of invincibility and the tragedy of frailty; the illusion of complete control and the reality of inner chaos Elvis had all the freedom the world can offer and could escape nothing. It is that pinch of ridiculethe ridicule in which a great part of America has always held Elvis Presleythat is the exploitative basis of Goldmans book. The "lure", according to Fike, worked next time around and Elvis and Wood became lovers. "He treated everybody equal. You must realise surely that Elvis lived through an era when legal drugs were considered the answer to everything, it was a full ten years after Elvis' death that the full dangers of a chemical/synthetic existence became apparent. He was the most underrated producer in music history . He was 66. Add photo. Such information is missing in Goldmans book not because it is dubious, but because it conflicts with Goldmans portrait of Elvis as an unregenerate Southern redneck who stopped just short of the Klan.. Lamar Fike, now a Nashville country-music agent and publisher, was one of Elvis' circle of friends known as "The Memphis Mafia." . Forget that Elviss first records were rejected by white DJs as too bluesy and by black DJs as too countryforget that to people who knew Southern music, Elviss version sounded new. From my point of view, the debate about Elvis, on the one hand, and the Memphis Mafia, on the other, has become wrongly polarised. "Memphis Mafia" Member Lamar Fike Passes Lamar Fike, an enduring member of Elvis Presley's so-called "Memphis Mafia," as well as a Music Row businessman, has died in Arlington, Texas.Mr. Cleveland, Bolivar County, Mississippi, USA. Man, I am getting scared: it seems that Elvis wants them all up there, ASAP..!?!? Larry L Fike (1934 - 2003) - Caldwell, TX - AncientFaces It is hard to know where to begin: the torrents of hate that drive this book are unrelieved. Now after reading this i realise Goldmans book is really just trash and was so glad to read Marion Kiesker completely repudiate Goldmans perversion of the famous line as it was a low moment for me when i read it in the book. Read More. Black people apparently did not notice the absence. Is it possible to say that Lamar took better care of himself because of these facts, that he outlived Elvis for so long? McCullough (Author), Harold F. Eggers (Author) 143 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $9.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback More and More of the "Elvis World" is leaving Us. Inspired by Goldmans example with the Tupelo minister, I picked up the phone and called Marion Keisker in Memphis. (LogOut/ Add to your scrapbook. The statement is simple and elegant. RIP, Lamar. This way, he can remain the nice guy while I am the nasty one! "When it comes to safety please listen to your parents. It's always sad when we lose another person so close to the heart of the story of Elvis; but ever since I read "Elvis and the Memphis Mafia" I cannot help but be resentful of anyone connected with it. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. He was 75. Larry L Fike . "He had a terrible temper. Maybe there was a revenge feeling from the book "Elvis What Happened". History is what we must painfully learn and struggle to remember. Within this remarkably philistine formulation, Goldman makes much of his puncturing of Myths (his capitalization), all of which were punctured long ago, which exist to be punctured because Goldman has labored to inflate them, or which are punctured only by fiat and mystification. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? Many people recently searched for . But when Elvis gave a woman a ring, it didn't mean a damn thing." I agree with what Tony and dgirl were trying to say here. If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, Keisker remembers Sam Phillips saying, I could make a billion dollars.[1], In Goldmans book what we are offered is very different. NIGGER was a 555-page attempt to prove that Albert Goldman was hipper than Lenny Bruce. The interviews with Fike were conducted over the course of four days in . Recently, it became known that before he died, Lamar had also spent several days with researchers L.E. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Make sure that the file is a photo. If Red West was the Judas of the Mafia (being much closer to Elvis before he betrayed him) what shall we then call Fike? The literature suggests Elvis was an unfaithful husband, once punched Charlie Hodge, and had a liaison with a girlfriend of Jerry Schilling (sources: "Elvis and Me"; "Elvis and the Memphis Mafia"; the Guralnick biographies). Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Sorry! Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Or, as Fike put it, "his buffer zone.". He was 75.Fike, who was suffering from non-Hodgkin's . And while Beale Black & Blue was published only recently, the information it contains has been available for years in Memphis to anyone willing to ask for itas has the information that Elvis, whatever his mother might have thought, spent time as a teenager in Memphiss black neighborhoods, having sex with black girls. The Memphis Mafia - What Happened to Them ? A lot of the guys in the Memphis Mafia abused drugs. You people that are bad mouthing all these guys that were close to Elvis really need to be ashamed of yourselves. We finally talked her back in.". I really think it's disrespectful and a bit twee to cast him as a naive, pitiable little boy incapable of making choices. Learn more about merges. It has now been over a week since the passing of one of Elvis' oldest friends. Lisa Marie Presley's Cause of Death Revealed. Mother of girl who died while hiking, warns of exploring alone Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Apart from alan fortas, They all lived too be a good age. 1.9k. Thanks, Lamar. Heres a fun piece by Alan Hanson. Fike was born in Cleveland, Miss., on Nov. 11, 1935. You know my name, But not my story. Does he make the cut? 'Elvis: Truth, Myth & Beyond' looks at the King For MONEY! He could sing em not necessarily like a Negro, but he didnt sing em altogether like a typical white musician. My thing was we just fought all the time. We are talking about a flawed human being cast into an uncharted superstar lifestyle with poor guidance and a penchant for unnecessary medication. I taken him to the Hotel Improvement Club with me, he told Margaret McKee and Fred Chisenall, authors of Beale Black & Blue, and he would watch the colored singers, understand me, and then he got to doing it the same way as them. Everyone who writes about popular music, he said, knows that before Sam Phillips, the proprietor of Sun Records, recorded Elvis Presley in 1954, he used to go around saying, If I could find a white boy who sang like a nigger'. Elvis played over a thousand concerts in the last 7 years of his life, while Lamar did what exactly? Elvis Gold Piano Elvis Piano at Graceland. His music had no human source, which is why it was not real musicit was just another commodity, and it was learned as a commodity. Cause of death Unknown. Please reset your password. One could detail the homophobic, ethnic, and racist slurs, the exaggerations, and the undocumentable assertions and conversations that mar even these sections of the book. Nevernever. Lamar Fike has Died at 75 | Elvis News - Elvis Presley Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Last October he was taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties. SO WHAT Ben Fike Obituary. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Lamar passed away very peacefully, Friday, January 21. Failed to delete memorial. Learn more about managing a memorial . Yes he played too many but what about Bruce & McCartney? You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Try again later. Try again later. Lamar talks about Elvis' mother and the sad tragedy of her death. Lamar Fike (1995): "Ginger didn't give a rat's ass about him. Lamar Fike also worked for Hill and Range music publishers and brought several major songs to Elvis' sessions . Finding strong reason to believe that Bob Lee Smith, Elviss maternal grandfather, may have married a first cousin, Goldman gravely informs his readers that genetics may explain why the children of Bob Lees brothers and sisters turned out well, whereas Bob and [his wife] Doll produced children who exhibited an abnormally high incidence of addiction to drugs and alcohol, emotional disorders and premature death. Goldman turns his tricks well. Did even Elvis knew Steve wanted to meet him? If you want to help support the channel: http://www.paypal.me/kslingoCashapp $kyleslingoVenmo @Slinky8If you like what you see please hit the subscribe butto. He is preceded in death by his parents Henry and Rose Grodstein Lacker and his sister Anne Louise Lacker Grenadier. IN HIS PLACE All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. "He had a terrible temper. True, Elvis was not naive, but he was one of the first real multimedia superstars and therefore had little in the way of precedent (no Betty Ford clinics, modern agents, lifecoaches etc) to guide him. Also the timing when the book came out added to the confusion too. To see the Elvis House in Waco click here: https://www.theelvishouse.comTo see Richard Crofts Channel The Elvis Workshop click here: https://www.youtube.com/.