Description: Elvis always loved firearms, a fascination most kids have playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. It started very early in his life. He was in the ROTC, the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in high school. In 1956, he was given a .410 gauge Winchester shotgun for skeet shooting by a friend in Biloxi. While in the Army, he earned Sharpshooter badges for the .45 caliber pistol and M1 rifle, as well as a Marksman badge for the M
2 carbine. Add to this the fact that he was from the South, where guns are an integral part of the culture.
In the early years at Graceland, he was known to keep a Colt .45 automatic for protection. There, he set up a shooting gallery there for target practice. He regularly carried a gun (or guns) throughout the rest of his life, and encouraged the members of his entourage to arm themselves. From 1964, his official appointment as a Shelby County Deputy Sheriff made it legal for Elvis to carry arms. By the late 1960s, he was often armed even while on stage.
His interest became an obsession in the early 1970s. During this period, he stepped up his purchasing of guns, sometimes buying dozens at a time. He kept some and gave others to friends and even strangers.
This mania may be traced to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968; the Manson murders which happened not far from his home in Los Angeles in 1969; and the death threats he received in Las Vegas in 1970. The latter really got to him.
Joe Carr from the FECC fan site noted: “It’s no coincidence that he stopped riding horses around this time on the Graceland lawn and never again did he walk through the audience in Vegas, while his obsession with firearms grew even bigger. Nor did he meet fans at the gate of his homes as he did in the late 1960s.”
Many people, wealthy and otherwise, have gun collections, particularly ex-military. It is by no means “weird”. Elvis was rich enough to satisfy his every whim. He also felt he needed protection.
This book only deals with a fraction of the 300 or so of the firearms and weapons which he collected or bought as presents, quite a few of which have sold at auction since he passed away.
Pre-order it at >>> Memphis Mansion.
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And once again there’s plenty of superb footage that remind us of his greatness as a live performer. Chicago ’72 really captures the electricity and excitement of Elvis on stage - with a sensational karate demonstration to boot. The fantastic Baltimore footage is some of the best from the November ’71 tour, and it now comes with newly added, superior sound. You will love this!!
Liner notes were written by Trevor Cajiao, editor of the ‘Elvis – The Man And His Music’ magazine.
Christmas
The Waxtime In Color record label released 'Elvis' Christmas Album' on white colored vinyl.
Music On Vinyl reissued the 1974 'Good Times' on 180 Gr. vinyl, housed in a gate-fold cover.
(Source: Memphis Mansion / Facebook)
