In the morning he had an enormous breakfast: a huge T-bone steak with all the trimmings. Then he challenged me to a game of pool. He'd had two pool tables at Graceland and was used to beating everyone. He took me back to the mansion to meet his father - his mother was dead by then. Major Beaulieu arrived with his daughter Priscilla and they disappeared upstairs.

Derek Johnson talked with Elvis in Ray Barracks, in late February 1960, just as he was about to leave Germany and head back to the US. Elvis told me, "I don't know if I shall manage to get to the top again. I only wish I did know. I hear that trends have changed, so it might be difficult for me. But I'll tell you this I'm gonna try hard. I haven't had a new record out for 10 months, and that's taking a big risk."  I pointed out that doubtless RCA had a pile of material up their sleeves in readiness for his return.  "Maybe so, but I've got some stuff too. A lot of my material in the past has consisted of songs submitted by amateur writers. And in the last couple of years I've collected quite a few tapes I'm interested in." Will it be difficult for Elvis to settle down in civvy street?  "Well, I guess it won't be too difficult to adjust myself from 108 dollars per month to about a million per year," he grinned. "But I suppose it won't be too easy readjusting to the entire life." Elvis said that he missed the entertainment business very much — even though he had enjoyed his Army service. And a little earlier the army confirmed what they thought of Sergeant Presley by awarding him a Certificate of Achievement. It cited Elvis for the initiative and level-headedness that he had shown as leader of a scout platoon and praised his continually  outstanding performance of duty - plus the personal example he always set to fellow soldiers. Said Captain Marn at the Ray Barracks, "He has set an exceptionally high standard which any other star name coming into the Army will find exceedingly difficult to follow." After all this praise it seemed appropriate to ask Elvis if he had considered re-enlisting. "No sir," he chuckled. I was most anxious to know if Elvis intended to go back onto the rigid rock'n'roll path. Didn't he perhaps consider that he was getting too old for a rocker? "Well, I don't know - that's the first time I've ever been asked that question. But I don't think so - I'm not an old man yet! I can tell you this - my attitude to rock hasn't changed one bit and it would be a mistake for me to change my style. The public will let me know in due course if they don't like it. I would like to develop my acting to some extent, though. You know, like Sinatra did when he suddenly came up with From Here To Eternity. I certainly couldn't pattern myself on Frank but I admire him very much and that's the sort of thing I'd like to do." What about Elvis's movements, which have come in for a great deal of criticism in the past?  "I know they shocked a lot of people, but they were all spontaneous, I just couldn't help the way I presented my songs - I guess it was just a part of me." And those celebrated sideburns?  "I'll let them grow again a little, but they won't be as long as they were. I reckon I got over that kick!" Elvis confirmed to me that he is definitely contemplating visiting Britain next year, as part of a lengthy tour of Europe. "It'll be completely new territory for me, and I'm really looking forward to it," he declared. Has he lost weight since he's been in the Army?  "Yes, about 10 pounds. I tip the scales at about 170 now." Any thoughts on getting married? "I don't know yet. I guess I'll wait until the bug bites - and it hasn't bitten yet." Has he sung at all while he's been in Germany?  "Only for the guys in my platoon." Is he taking any souvenirs back to America? "Two German guitars and a camera." And by now, Elvis Presley is back in America.

Some time later, Elvis phoned me at the NME and told me he'd be leaving camp in a couple of days' time and his plane would be stopping off at Prestwick to refuel. I went there to meet him. It was the first and only time Elvis ever set foot on British soil. He said he'd be back to play some UK dates, but when he got back to the US, the Colonel put the kibosh on that [Colonel Tom Parker never had a passport and Elvis never toured outside the USA].

A few years later, I went out to the US and stayed at Graceland on a personal visit - nothing to do with the NME; all my subsequent visits were by Elvis' personal invitation. He said he enjoyed my company. I asked him about the Rolling Stones. He said, "As much as I like the Beatles, these boys are much more in sync with today's market."

Priscilla - When The King Found His Queen

I first heard about Priscilla after I arrived to interview Elvis at Friedberg army base in Germany early in 1960. We chatted long into the night, during which I asked, "How's your love life, Elvis''. He chuckled and replied, "Well there's no shortage of offers from the German girls, but they're just ships that pass in the night. Right now I'm fascinated by this American teenager, Priscilla. She's over here because her dad's based not far from here".

He told me about their meeting. "She simply smiled, shook hands and said, ‘A pleasure to meet you Elvis,’ then remarked, ‘Mmm, such a pity that they cut off your sideburns.’ From that moment on, I was hooked, and she's been coming to visit for around two months now. She's only 14, but looks older and treats me like an ordinary guy. She can talk about almost anything. She's good at checkers and cards, too. It's just great to have someone of my own nationality who's so bright and a great friend."

The next day we drove over to Elvis' off-base house in Bad Nauheim. Priscilla arrived shortly afterwards. "Hi, old buddy," she laughed as Elvis gave her a kiss on the cheek and introduced me. Elvis was obviously smitten.

I met the couple again in 1963 and the next year I broached with Priscilla the rumours about Elvis' flings with his leading ladies. "Well you know what the press is," she said. "They can whip anything into a sensation. Movie stars have a lot of spare time on location, and they make friends with their co-stars, dinner dates, going swimming, maybe a little flirtation. But that doesn't mean they're into an affair. I know Elvis wouldn't cheat on me, because he loves me."

Some months later I visited Elvis on a film set in Los Angeles and sought his point of view. "It's common practice for co-stars in a picture to strike up a friendship," he assured me. "We're just good friends, like you and me." So I shot back with, "Yes, but we don't sleep together." He laughed, then changed the subject.

In late 1966 Elvis told me, "I confess that after a lengthy infatuation with Priscilla, I have now found true love with her. Parker has been on at me for some months to get married because it would be good for my image, and that’s been one of the few things I've ever agreed with him."

They married on May Day 1967 in Las Vegas, and after a honeymoon he organised a second reception in Palm Springs. Priscilla used her now wifely prowess to have a go at Parker for mishandling her husband's career. "If Elvis can't pick up the courage to tell Parker what he thinks of him, then I'm going to do it for him, here and now," she said to me. After she'd delivered her tirade, she told Elvis what she'd done. He looked a bit bemused, then slowly a grin spread across his face. He gave her a kiss and said, "Good gal, now it's my turn."

What precisely they told him isn't known, but not long after, Parker announced that Elvis would star in his first TV spectacular and, following Presley's instructions, he didn't book any live work for Elvis until 1969, so that the lovers could have plenty of time together.

The last time I saw Elvis was 15 months before his death. He and Priscilla had divorced in 1973. Elvis told me, "I've made such a mess of my life and it's largely down to my manager. Now Priscilla and my daughter have gone, Parker's still a louse and I'm a wreck. There's not much left in life for me now."

Then he made a startling revelation ... "There have been two or three occasions when I've considered taking an overdose, but I thought that was wrong, so I decided to let nature take its course."
Nature did just that on 16 August 1977.

Derek Johnson is the former news editor of New Musical Express

British Journalist Derek Johnson dies April 22 2009: Derek Johnson who worked on the British music publication NME from 1957-86, has passed away aged 81. Johnson began contributing to NME shortly after its launch in 1952 and joined the staff full-time in 1957, leaving his post as programming director at Radio Luxembourg to do so. He worked as Features Editor and News Editor, writing prolifically for all sections of the paper. In 1960 he flew to Germany to interview Elvis Presley. The two men became friends and he interviewed Presley on several further occasions, even staying, on the singer's invitation, at Graceland.

Johnson eventually left NME in 1986 to run his own news service. He was born on January 17, 1928 in London and died on April 22 2009 in Exeter.

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Spotlight by Piers Beagley.
-Copyright EIN - Updated August 2025.

Spotlight researched by Piers Beagley - EIN copyright 2005.
‘Meeting Elvis’ – from the excellent book, ‘Stoned’ by Andrew Loog Oldham.
‘Priscilla’ – from May 2005 Radio Times.

 

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