The Elvis Workshop - Colonel Parker, villain or misunderstood?
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2024
- I found a few more FTD CD’s in the wild. I also discuss the relationship between Elvis & Colonel Parker. I have three Colonel Parker autographs to talk about as well. Is Colonel the villain in the story, or misunderstood? I go over pros and cons of the Colonel to state the case.
Great video!!! Even in the worst Colonel bashing stories, the Colonel takes 50% of Elvis's money. From 1956 onwards, the US government was taking 90%+ of Elvis's money. Who was the real villain?
No one ever details how the IRS got 90%+ and the Colonel took 25% - 50% as it all adds up to more than 100%. No one wants to reveal the percentages of gross which Elvis paid to others may have protected millions of dollars from taxes which went to others as pay, such as the band and the back-up singers and the Memphis Mafia and the Colonel. No one wants to take the chance of revealing the Colonel, for all his talk about never taking tax deductions, had outsmarted the IRS as that would make the Colonel a folk hero, like Robin Hood.
Why did Elvis trust Colonel? When the Colonel and Elvis first got together, Sam Phillips owed Elvis $5000 and Elvis figured he would never see that money because Sam just didn't have it and it looked like he never would. Elvis signed a contract with the Colonel stating Elvis would pay the Colonel $2500 for a year of service, but Elvis never paid the Colonel a $1 out of his own pocket and the Colonel delivered the unpaid $5000 fairly quickly and had Elvis earning more per performance than ever before. Who wouldn't trust this guy after that???
Were some of the movies and movie songs mistakes? No. Were they poor artistry? Yes. But both the Colonel and Elvis measured success by dollars. Elvis was the highest paid actor in Hollywood and Elvis was the star of every movie he was in, even the first one in which he upstaged everyone with the title of the film being renamed to emphasis "Elvis is in this movie".
Did the Colonel keep Elvis from touring globally? Probably. The Colonel knew there was no money in touring outside the US as there were no venues capable of holding enough fans to make the shows worth the expense. Why did the Beatles and Led Zepplin come to America? To make big money. Elvis was already here.
The Colonel was a master of marketing, going so far as to force RCA into using otherwise wasted space on LP and 45 covers to advertise additional Elvis product.
Elvis loved the Colonel. The Colonel loved Elvis. It is hard for a lot of fans to admit either. Did Elvis complain about the Colonel? Of course. Everyone complains about their boss, even Elvis, who had no boss and had to substitute the Colonel. Did the Colonel get irritated with Elvis? Of course. Everyone who spent a lot of time with Elvis eventually got irritated by him as Elvis was a force of nature which never ceased. But they all loved him. And Elvis loved them all.
Excellent comment! Top shelf!
It’s very easy to pick the low hanging fruit and just bash the Colonel, but it’s nice to see people be better than that and smarter than that. There’s a bigger picture here than any of us will ever see. You make excellent points, best comment of the day so far! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
When all is said and done I think the Colonel said it best on the Ted Koppel interview....."if anyone knows so much about the entertainment business why don't they show us how it's done!"....I think that sums it up perfectly!....whether you like it or not...that's the way it was!
Well said! I tried to be fair to both sides, positive and negatives. I also didn’t cover everything and there are lots of things we weren’t privy to and have no idea about. It’s interesting to talk about it. Changes nothing, but still worth the discussion.
Thanks for the comment, thanks for watching.
❤ I'm enjoyed the show. I'd like to take pictures of the colonel.
❤😂 I think it all worked out the way it was supposed to
I wish Elvis had been given an opportunity to tour outside of the United States. He got to Canada early in the game, which was great. I believe he would have been embraced overseas. This would have been a forward step instead of keeping him locked into the movies for so many years. We will never know.
Interesting that this video came up. My daughter messaged me last night with questions about Parker last night. I forwarded her this. As for my thoughts, I have kept CP in the villain role the majority of my life. The past few years I have opened my thoughts about him up a little and have become more willing to listen to opposing views from people who are pro colonel. That being said, in my view, he’s still the villain.
That’s a great comment & exactly what I was going for! If I change your opinion, great, if I don’t - great as well. He’s a controversial character no matter what! Thanks for the hardback and thanks for watching!
He’s about of a baddy…but did some good too!
Parker was a low-level hustler who landed the biggest star in history and was totally out of his league. He hurt Elvis as an artist and held him back. Elvis’ achievements were despite Parker and could have been even greater.
I mostly agree with this. Elvis got complacent though and lost his drive to be creative. He stalled out a lot from his own doing. Both were responsible for how things went in the end.
I could easily rant and rave about the Colonel Richard but sadly it doesn’t change the story and how we lost Elvis far too early. Let’s just enjoy what we have and celebrate Elvis’s incredible legacy. Thanks for the video.
Completely agree. It’s still a fascinating topic for discussion. Thanks for watching.
He was good for Elvis until about 62-63; after that Elvis needed new management. With the exception of Aloha, Elvis' main highlights after '63 were achieved in spite of the Colonel.
Let’s talk about the remaining villain , the one who obviously paid very close attention and took notes :: Priscilla 😡 she took up where the Col left off.. and living off it 50 years later
Spot on! Totally agree. She thrives on greed. She’s a narcissist. She’s not a good person.
There's nothing about Parker that makes him a sympathetic character. In the beginning, he did a lot to get Elvis national attention, but it's wrong to call him a manager, because he wasn't - he was a promoter, and that's what he knew how to do. His blueprint was what he learned in carnivals, and if anyone thinks that no one else could have done it better, they're just plain naive. Once Elvis got out of the army, he needed a real manager/agent, like those famous Hollywood agencies with big star clients who do important movies and win awards. They also would have gotten him better recording deals, and would have cared about what their client actually wanted to achieve, instead of treating him like a side show. A lot of what you mentioned on tour is done by road managers, and they get paid for their services and probably do it a lot better than Parker did. Also he had people working for him, it's not as if he did it all himself, but in the end, he liked to control as much as possible, but that doesn't make him the best at those jobs.
Excellent comment & nothing to dispute on my part. I think it’s good to be open minded, but in the end what happened is what happened. The oath Elvis took could have been a lot different without Parker around. Especially post Army. There are a lot of what if’s!
Thanks for watching.
Hi Rick, I recently bought the new book by Marshall Terrill & Greg McDonald called Elvis And The Colonel based on a couple of videos I saw Spa Guy do. I'm pretty open-minded and Spa Guy is obviously pretty strong in his mind about Colonel Parker. He states no Parker, no Elvis. I don't know if you've read the Blanchard Tual report to the court back in the day. There were actually two reports, the first was quite extensive with 33 exhibits however, he was struggling to get some information from Parker. So the court, once the Judge had read it, gave Tual greater powers to look further hence Tual did a 2nd, updated report that allowed Parker to address some of the things in the first report but also new information was added that Parker had to provide. Tual uncovered so many side deals and the fact that Elvis was getting such a small percentage out of Boxcar and All Star that it was quite ridiculous and way below what he should have been receiving according to 3 other well-known entertainment lawyers Tual took advice from. So where Parker WAS getting 50% after 1967, he was also getting a salary from Boxcar and All Star which it's highly likely neither Vernon nor Elvis knew anything about. None of the company minutes are signed by either. Then you can talk about the RCA deals, Elvis was getting way under what other artists were getting per record, and never was there an audit conducted of what was sold. So while Parker was smart, used his ingenuity, and came up with deals where Elvis didn't have to do anything, his practices were not transparent. The thing I then grapple with is, as you say. Elvis was not an easy client. Neither Elvis nor his daddy were terribly interested in the details of the deals and never bothered to check what industry standards were, all they appear to have been interested in was ensuring money kept coming in so that Elvis could spend it. The way his daddy managed his taxes and lack of any investment for the future gives a real insight into how much Elvis should have been worth when he passed.
Excellent comment! This is precisely why I made this video! Thank you for the details you provided. With that being said, Elvis looks like he was absolutely taken advantage of financially. No surprise at all. He should have cared more, or had a team that had his best interests in mind that could check Parker.
Thanks for watching & thanks for the awesome comment.
Great finds Rick.
I was just asking my mom yesterday if he was really as bad as he was made out to be, this was helpful thanks
Thanks for watching. Hopefully it gave you some good insight, or gave you the desire to dig even deeper to find out more. Thanks for watching.
Without Parker, no Aloha. Visually in my opinion his best performance ever filmed. There’s something magical and unreachable about that whole concert regardless of the set list.
A massive career achievement for sure! I tried to mention as much as I could without running too long. Unfortunately Aloha didn’t make it, but it wasn’t intentionally cut.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for explaining both sides. Great video as always Richard ❤️
Appreciate it. I didn’t want to just bash Colonel. It’s not fair to the facts.
Thanks for watching!
Sam Phillips let elvis go for the sake of his career, by 1960 Parker should of done the same.
Luv the show.
Parker was good for elvis
As you mentioned he managed everything and did make lot of money for elvis
Maybe it was better he had only would take care of business and would ask somebody in his team to handle the creative side
Yes, that would have led to massive changes in how things ended up going down.
What else can be said about this, history has happened and is over, change is no longer possible.
This is true, but it’s also okay to discuss it. Positive and negative. It’s all a part of the Elvis story.
@@TheElvisWorkshop People have been discussing and talking about it for more than 50 years, after so many years I personally have no interest in it anymore
Well, you don’t have to watch. Elvis has been discussed since 1954….& he’s still worth talking about. If you actually watched the video you’ll see that I didn’t just bash Colonel. I also tried to show a different side of the business to hopefully help people think of things they never really thought of when it comes to managing a career of an entertainer. I made a balanced video talking about the good and the bad. I also discussed autographs and FTD CD’s…oh & a fun club patch. It’s called content. I’ve already had great feedback from the video, which was the goal. So I did what I set out to do. I’m good with it. If you took the time to watch the video it may change your opinion on what you think it was. If not, that’s okay too.
Hey Richard, I enjoy your videos a lot. I've been an Elvs fan since 1975 when I was 12 years old! I am not a fan of the Colonel either, but I totally agree with you. Of course, he made some very bad decisions on the artistic side, but he was not the artistic end of the duo, plus he was only human too, I do think that he had his own best financial interests in mind., and indirectly Elvis's. His organisation of the tours in the 70's was an extremely well oiled machine. And Elvis was his own man and if he didn't fire the Colonel in the end, it's on him too. Great video!
Thanks! Great comment. I appreciate you watching.
Parker was the perfect manager for Elvis. He brought Elvis to RCA, brought him on television, brought him to Hollywood, brought him live on stage again in 1969. He made Elvis very, very rich. And yes Parker was very rich too. And that he threw his money away in Vegas was his own decision. Same as Elvis could do with his own money whatever he liked. Elvis his addiction has absolutely nothing to do with Parker. That was Elvis his choice. I have info (By Tod Slaugther) that Elvis himself wanted to do all those live shows. And you know why ? Because Elvis needed the money big time because he did spend it like water. Obviousily Elvis was satisfied with Parker because he never fired him. Besides Elvis himself signed every contract by Parker. When Elvis needed money in 75, Parker arranged the Pontiac december 31, 1975 concert to help Elvis to get cash. 750.000 dollars. Parker knew that Elvis was an addict and he was worried about that. Of course because what could Parker earn on a dead Elvis ? Nothing ! Parker made Elvis very famous and very rich. At the end I think that Elvis didn't want to do a world tour anymore because of his addiction. When he really wanted that, it would had happened. With or without Parker. And we should not forget that Elvis was not an easy person to handle.
Great comment Ton. I do cover a lot of what you mentioned in the video. Not all, I didn’t want the video to go on forever. I don’t disagree with what you said at all. Elvis benefited greatly from his relationship with Parker and at the same time could be a very difficult client to deal with. I wanted to make a video being fair to both sides of the argument.
Thanks for watching and the comment.
@@TheElvisWorkshop Of course Parker made mistakes, we all do, don't we. But too many fans keep blaming Parker for Elvis his early death and I just disagree. Elvis had a very difficult, complex character. My opinion is he died young because of his addiction that was bigger than fans will believe.
@@tonbruins7335 absolutely. Elvis was a grown man that made his own decisions.
Certainly not misunderstood......Vilain to the bone!
I’ll be right here!
❤❤❤❤❤
I don’t dislike the Colonel, but I think there should have been a parting of the ways after 73, may I ask you do you buy stuff from the pawn shop, the show has been shown here in the UK for at least the last fifteen years
I’ve been in there a few times, but their prices are super inflated due to the TV show, so no, I don’t buy from them. They grossly overcharge for items. I have a few hot spots that I routinely hit that serve me well.
Hi Rich , I heard that Elvis had just 1 million dollar when he passed away , is that correct ?
I think is small amount of money for a the King of rock and roll
Could u explain for me please ?
I don’t know what he had in liquid assets at the time of his passing, but he spent money wildly & didn’t invest properly. He had recently purchased the Lisa Marie airplane, then spent a lot of money in upgrades to it. Living the lifestyle he molded for himself was expensive. He also spent a lot on jewelry, cars, clothes, etc. He looked at money as if it was disposable. All he had to do was have Larker book a two week tour and he’d be flush with cash again. He didn’t think big when it came to money. He knew the key to make the money he needed in the moment & when he needed more he knew what to do.
@@TheElvisWorkshop @joaoamaral7323 He did only have around $1mil when he passed away. As Rick said, he spent it as fast as he made it and knew how to get more. This was all on Elvis and had nothing to do with Parker. This is one reason why Elvis toured so often, it really wasn't Parker pushing this as many believe. Had Elvis been more savvy, he would have followed his character in Jailhouse Rocks model and employed a competent financial advisor, to help control his money. Instead he used his father in this role, no0thing against Vernon, but he wasn't exactly the most qualified person. One big mistake Elvis made was to not buy the adjoining 100 acres surrounding Graceland at the time he purchased the property. This would have given either a larger 'playground' for him and the ability to have developed it and made money from it. There were other opportunities missed because the right advise wasn't available.
@@TheElvisWorkshop rich ty for the repond , I’d like to ask u another question if don’t mind
Why didn’t the coronel arrange a tv show of the king after
the satélite show in 1973 till his last sh in 1977 that was brocasted after his passing , what is the reason for that ?
Ty
@@joaoamaral7323 I think they were just complacent. It was a big and very costly production to do Aloha. There was easy money to just tour. There’s a term called “fat, dumb & happy” sometimes people get that way. Happy with what they have & don’t reach for the stars. A lot of things were short sighted back then. Not a lot of forward or bigger thinking.
Hopefully that answers your question.
Some interesting points made in this video Richard ! You tried to give a different perspective on Parker !
I completely agree that when Elvis got back in march 1960 / Elvis should have reassessed his career! And not left it in Parkers hands !
So many missed opportunities after 1960 ! Really pisses me off at times 🙄😀🎙!
We all know those opportunities! Elvis had so much talent/ Parker didnt know how to channel that talent!
Any how ....I didnt like Parker !
Great video you produced here !
Cheers Richard 🎙🎶🥂
Thanks so much! I have another one coming soon! Thanks for watching.
Parker, a good promoter. A bad manager
Sums it up nicely.
Not a complete villain to me, at least in everything he did for Elvis. But sure he was a great promoter but a bad manager. I don't think he really understood his artist or choosed the best for him. He just looked for easy money and nothing more.
Why do you think they never toured overseas. Because he had the staff and he didn’t have to go himself.
I think the venues were too small at the time. Most venues in that era only had a 2000-3000 seat capacity making it not really cost effective.
@@TheElvisWorkshop I can agree with that assessment but oh boy does he get a lot of heat for not letting him and therefore people blame him for sending Elvis to a early grave.
@@matthewtolbert7928 a lot of blame goes around, especially to Colonel, but in the end Elvis put himself in an early grave. He was a grown adult. If he was overworked on the road he could have stuck up for himself and changed it. At the end in Vegas he was no longer doing four week engagements. The tours were shorter. Elvis had a lot of off time to rest. He over medicated himself. He did a lot of damage to himself. Blaming others for his demons is wrong in my opinion. Elvis did it to himself. Sure, outside influences of stress and workload pushed him to do things, but in the end he had to be responsible for what he did to his own body.
@@TheElvisWorkshop well said
My opinion is Parker was Great for Elvis Till around 1963 , Then it got stale and slowly went down Hill and wasted Elvis's talent .
100% agree.
A big debate for sure but i never cared for him especially where he derailed Elvis' career in the mid 60s....he was not with the times...i think Elvis should have taken stock and tried someone else....it is what it is we can't change history....we saw the Colonel throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars at the roulette tables in Vegas and Tahoe.😮...made us cringe when we had travelled from Canada with barely enough money even to see Elvis......have you ever done a show on Tom Diskin..he was a sweet guy...paid for my ticket in Vegas once when i got booted out of the showroom because i didnt tip😅 i was there in the gang when he met his wife in 1970....great show Rick....i still don't care for the Colonel....😅
Great stories, thanks for sharing!! I never met Mr. Diskin, but I’ve never heard one bad word about him. Thanks for watching!
@@TheElvisWorkshop regarding paying for my show in Sept 70...Tom Diskin paid for my show in the balcony...(the seats on the main floor were full by then) He said Elvis wouldn't put up with that!!! (Re me getting ejected from the right side of the stage by 3 goons) aholes always wanted those big tips 🤣 luckily i saw and taped all 8 shows i saw that season!!! Somehow I was with another girl from San Fransisco for that show where i got the boot!...i had a good friend who had money for tips from Victoria BC....I was just a poor loggers wife 😂 (i taped all 30 shows i saw from 69 to 76) 95% are on bootlegs now to share with the fans!!! 😉🇨🇦
WOW! Well I’d like to personally thank you for sharing your shows with fellow fans. Had I had the opportunity to tape shows I would’ve done the exact same thing! I applaud you for not keeping them to yourself!
Thanks again for sharing your memories and for watching my silly videos! I just do it for the fun of it. My reward is comments like yours. So just know, it’s appreciated!
Elvis was at sun Record with Sam Phillips was go good come work Colonel Parker, was go good Elvis young day Elvis get old day thing start go wrong Colonel Parker let Elvis do what he warted to do think life would be bet Elvis
13:40
I think Parker got a lot right and a lot wrong. Maybe focused on the best money deals too much after 1962 until 1968 when Elvis had a good 3 years being artistic again and then the concerts became the easy money for Parker again for too long.
I think they all got stagnant. Elvis lost his artist edge. He didn’t have the desire to create anymore. The concert tours were easy money and he’d lost interest in recording new material.
Sure the Colonel is such an easy target. The people just seem to forget Elvis was extremely loyal to him, and we really don’t know what went on in the relationship between them, as a team, like a married couple.
Sure we go through on our moments where we love to hate on him, especially me, but he also did lots of great things for the mystique and by the way, if you really do the research, he did not take 50% of all of Elvis’ earnings. That is just a complete myth. 😊
And for the people that go on, and say, why didn’t the colonel make another Elvis? It’s a simple as this, he already had one. 😉
All great points. I discuss a lot in the video positive and negative.
@@TheElvisWorkshop Absolutely 💯 brother and I agree with a lot of what you say in this video and you had the nerve to do that as well, I commend you !!
He did lots of great side deals for Elvis that people don’t even realize.
The 1971 Boxset, “ The Other Sides” was a complete side deal with completely no effort or time on Elvis’s part, ( no recording, no promo) yet he got half $1 million just for re-selling us previously released records !!! C’mon, How do you argue with that success? 😊
Early Colonel…good for Elvis. 60s movie years colonel…I think he and Elvis liked the movie money…late 60s and 70s colonel…bad for Elvis and basically ruined his artistic creativity with his ability to limit the songs he could record and his ability to tour worldwide.
I agree with this. Good for Elvis early on, not so much once they were coasting along. Elvis also lost his desire to be creative later in his life to the detriment of all of us.
To those who always say…that it was The Colonel's fault……..
Elvis was a singer and an entertainer. Elvis didn't know or want to know about the business side of Show business. All the stars from the 1950's and the 1960's, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, The Beach Boys, Donovan, Fabian, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Charlie Rich, Johnny Cash and on and on and on sure wished they would have had a Colonel Tom Parker. By the time the 1970's rolled around, all of those that I just mentioned, all of them were doing golden oldies package shows. They were lucky if they drew more than 1,000 people. Elvis on the other hand was selling out Madison Square Garden with 80,000 people. A huge success with Aloha From Hawaii, 62,500 at The Pontiac Silverdome and his last show at Market Square Arena, 18,000 fans. Even with Elvis in decline, The Colonel was still helping Elvis rope in the big crowds, Yes…if Elvis hadn't had The Colonel there, who KNEW how to promote, Elvis would have been with the others doing the golden oldie revue shows. Like it not, that's the way the cookie crumbles. Whether you hate The Colonel or not, Facts don't care about your feelings. And 1 other thing…MANY other artists wanted The Colonel to manage them before and after Elvis died….The Colonel wouldn't do it. He stayed loyal to Elvis. One young singer in the early 1980's wanted The Colonel to manage him…The Colonel said no…that singer was Michael Jackson. The Colonel hooked Michael up with a man by the name of Frank Dileo. Frank used the blueprint that he learned from The Colonel, and used it with Michael. Frank Dileo even tried to act like The Colonel…with the cigar and all the trimmings. You can look all of this up. Google can be your friend!!! And as far as the rumor of The Colonel working Elvis to death to pay off his debts…HOGWASH. Elvis had to keep touring to pay for all the cars, jewelry, and homes he would buy for strangers….as well as the planes and other toys. When there is more money going out than there is coming in…you better do something to stop the bleeding or you will be in the poor house. So Elvis would tell The Colonel…set up another tour. Elvis didn't know how to manage his money. Plain and simple. I love Elvis just as much as anyone, but there are times when one must take off the rose colored glasses. Elvis was a 42 year old man who made his own decisions. A man can't keep blaming someone else (The Colonel) for everything that went wrong in Elvis' life. There comes a point in ones life you've got to take stock of your own doings.
Totally agree. Thanks for the comment and for watching. I tried to be fair and balanced. I didn’t want to just beat up on the Colonel. That’s low hanging fruit. It’s also not fair to him. There was good and bad. It should all be looked at. Colonel did great things for Elvis. It’s easy to look back at the errors, but the massive accomplishments should be acknowledged as well.
Don’t think he did all that you said he did He was the star if not for Elvis He worked so hard cournal worked him got death😊
There are documents that say otherwise. It’s never been said that Colonel didn’t work hard behind the scenes. He most certainly did. It’s okay to dislike him, but he did a lot and had a huge workload. That’s never been called into question.