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Elvis, What Happened?

Priscilla And Elvis Split



Priscilla hated the Memphis Mafia and Elvis's touring all the time. Priscilla thought Elvis spoiled Lisa Marie by letting the child do whatever she wanted. Most important, Priscilla was very concerned about Elvis's drug use. Early in 1972, Priscilla left Elvis, taking Lisa Marie with her to California.



Elvis did not understand why Priscilla had left. He was especially hurt because she had left him for a karate instructor to whom he had introduced her. It is doubtful whether Elvis ever recovered from this blow. It was the main event that set him on a downward spiral. He and Priscilla still remained friends, though. Priscilla went on to become an actress, appearing most notably in the Naked Gun movies.

Elvis in the ‘70s: An Overview

It is amazing to think that Elvis shared the 1970s music scene with David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, Bob Marley's popularization of reggae music, rock supergroups such as Led Zeppelin, and, toward the end of his career, even with the Ramones, the New York Dolls, and the Sex Pistols. Between 1969 and 1977, Elvis performed 1,126 concerts, in addition to performing in Las Vegas for eight weeks each year. Elvis performed in Las Vegas in 1970 and broke all attendance records for concerts at the International Hotel. Elvis toured America throughout the seventies, breaking box-office records wherever he appeared, including a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1972. Of the fourteen Grammy Award nominations that Elvis received during his career, he won four; three of them were awarded to him during the seventies.

Elvis kept working. He had filmed two performance documentaries, Elvis: That's the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour. He also toured continually. All of this work couldn't hide the fact that Elvis Presley was terribly depressed. The material that he chose to sing was loaded with sad ballads about lost love.

Additional topics

Musician BiographiesElvis PresleyElvis, What Happened? - “if I Can Dream”, Back In The Studio, Las Vegas Concert, Strange Days, Priscilla And Elvis Split