Graphic Elvis Presley biographer Paul Belard published a long overdue book, 'Marion Keisker: The Woman Who First Recorded Elvis Presley'.
Publicity stated: At the Jaycee ceremony in January 1971, honoring Elvis Presley as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation, Elvis saw Marion Keisker in the audience. As he approached with Priscilla, he said, “This is the woman I’ve been telling you about. She’s the one who made all this possible. Without her, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Marion was Sam Phillips’ assistant when he established the Memphis Recording Service, and later Sun Records. She is best remembered as the first person to record Elvis in July 1953, then encouraging Sam Phillips (numerous times) to record him "commercially", therefore playing a pivotal role in Elvis’ ascent towards the pinnacle of his career.
Throughout interviews given, Marion discloses the workings of Sun Records, the sessions and Elvis’ moods during those first days of his career. There is a trove of little known or unknown anecdotes many fans will delight in. This book is a fitting and well-deserved tribute to Marion.
On the FECC Forum the author posted: The framework for this book is based on interviews given by Marion Keisker, some conducted by Jerry Hopkins for his book “Elvis”, others on different occasions, most of them available on YouTube.
She was there at the very beginning. Besides being the first person to record Elvis, she was close to him during the formative years he was at Sun. She tells wonderful anecdotes, such as Elvis resting his dirty hand on a wall of the studio and this impression becoming a kind of a shrine. She says, “The girls used to come in and put their hands on it, and kiss it and everything.” Interesting also is her impact on “I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine.” Elvis attempted the song, but it was missing a verse nobody knew. Marion wrote one on the spot, but, of course, she was not credited as a song writer for reasons explained in the book.
Two facts she reported fascinated me. The first is that Elvis always came into a session never having anything prepared. He didn’t have any of his own material. He never had anything worked up. Marion says, “Every session was a matter of starting different things, trying different tunes, deciding that this one might go and “Let’s do it again.” Or saying, “No. I don’t think we are gonna make it with that one. Let’s forget about that one.” We knew his potential, but every record was sweated out with hours of “Do it again,” and “Hold onto that little thing you did there,” and “Let’s see if we can...” Every session came so hard. We always cut a lot of stuff because Elvis was unique from all the other Sun artists in that he never wrote his own songs. We had to create them all on the spot, or we had to take one that one of the artists had written, you know, or something that some of our other people at the studio, in our stable, so to speak. Yes, Elvis never came to a session ready. Even after he was famous, this is one of the things that had bearing on our selling him. He never rehearsed like Johnny Cash, and the others who would rehearse after concerts on the road. When they had something that they thought was presentable, then they would come to Sam and Sam would refine it. With Elvis, it took too much time we did not have when other singers came in.”
The amount of work involved in recording Elvis, therefore, was one of the reasons Sam decided to let him go, a factor unknown to me.
The second fact is even more mind-blowing. When Sam sold Elvis to RCA, he handed over some of the songs they had been working on. Sam didn’t think they were good enough. They were never intended to be released. In fact, Marion said she would have destroyed those tapes. This is one of her recollections that left me dumbfounded. According to her, “Blue Moon”, and presumably “I Love You Because”, “Harbor Lights”, “Tomorrow Night”, “Just Because”, and others, would never have seen the light of day had Elvis stayed at Sun. Not to have missed gems like the haunting “Blue Moon” and the stunning “Trying To Get To You” make me almost glad that Parker came into the picture and pulled Elvis from Sun Records. And I do not even want to think about all the songs that Sam recorded over in order to save expensive tapes.
So, these are just a few excerpts from a book which is full of little-known facts about Elvis’ early years.
The book is available from >>> Amazon (associate link).
You can also buy your signed copy directly from the author. You can >>> contact him here by mail.
Golden Boy Elvis
The German Golden Boy Elvis fan club published its first digital magazine for 2025.
For more information on the magazine visit the publisher's website at: >>> www.goldenboyelvis.de or contact them by mail at service@golden-boy-elvis.de.
Remembering Lisa Marie
Today would have been Lisa Marie Presley's 57th birthday. Priscilla Presley posted: "You're Always On My Mind 💗". Graceland posted: "Happy Birthday, Lisa Marie Presley. Today, we are remembering and celebrating your life. 💗"
(Source: Nigel patterson / Amazon / Volker Christensen / Graceland / Priscilla Presley/ FECC)