Part 1

The Gospel Side of Elvis
by Joe Moscheo

Gospel music was a significant part of not only who Elvis became as a man, but as an artist as well. As Elvis mania continues to consume generation after generation throughout the world, fans still crave new insights into the person of Elvis Presley.

This book takes a look at his roots and the role of gospel in his foundational years, as well as the comfort, solace, and strength it offered him in the years of his meteoric rise in popularity.

The Gospel Side of Elvis is a rarely explored aspect of this American icon and one that reveals so much about the Elvis so many have yet to discover.

Chapter 1

Almost everybody has an "Elvis" story. Let me tell you mine.

Pick any of several nights in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Place yourself inside any of the huge auditoriums scattered across this country, those places capable of holding 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 screaming fans. The concert is over; the adrenaline rush of watching the fast-paced, dazzling performance is beginning to ebb. And then, the booming voice of the announcer fills the vast spaces inside the concert hall: "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building." It's a signal to the last lingerers and hangers-on that they might as well go on home, or to whatever other after-hours pursuits they've planned for this very special evening. Their idol, the one they came to see, to be mesmerized and transported by, isn't here anymore. Elvis has left the building.

Now imagine a different scene, a couple of hours earlier: You are sitting in a dressing room or a greenroom, the pre-performance nervous energy surging through your veins. You are about to go onstage in front of thousands of people, singing backup for one of the world's most recognizable and popular entertainers. At certain moments, you can't believe you're actually here, and you certainly can't comprehend the sequence of events landing you in this place, but you are oh, so glad to be experiencing this moment.

Someone walks up to you, taps you on the shoulder.

"You coming up to the suite, later?" he asks.

"Elvis wants to know."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Is everybody coming?"

You ask this question more from habit than anything else; you know that if the situation is typical, there will be perhaps dozens of musicians and friends gathered in Elvis' suite within an hour of the final curtain.

"Yeah, I think the Sweets are coming, and some of the guys in the TCB Band. Jim, Terry . . . you know. Why don't you come?"

"Absolutely. Tell Elvis I'll be there." The guy nods. "Okay, great. Do good out there, okay?" "Yeah, thanks."

He walks away. When he has gone, you allow yourself a tiny grimace, knowing you have just been invited-well, more like summoned, really-to attend a session that could last until the wee hours of the morning, or even past sunup. You know you must call your wife, who is waiting back in a hotel room with three small children, and explain to her, as you have done so many times before, "I'm sorry, honey, but Elvis feels like singing tonight. Don't wait up for me; I've got to go."

On many occasions, I was the backup singer in the scene you just read. I had the good fortune-I would even go so far as to call it the blessing-of touring and performing with Elvis as a member of The Imperials gospel quartet. We sang backup for Elvis in many of his most memorable performances and recordings. Because of this, I witnessed firsthand a side of Elvis Presley that may surprise you. The Elvis to whom I am referring was not the King of Rock and Roll, clad in a dazzling white jumpsuit and glittering with metal studs and stones of every color-though that charismatic performer was a part of the man I knew. It's not even the smiling, charming on-screen Elvis of The Trouble with Girls and G.I. Blues, though the native good looks and unassuming grin that made him so bankable at the box office reflected a genuine side of his character as well.

I want to introduce you to Elvis Presley, the lifelong devotee of gospel music. This was the music that lay closest to the heart and soul of this poor boy from Tupelo, Mississippi. Gospel music, both white Southern gospel and African American gospel, was the first music Elvis knew, and it was etched as indelibly on him as his fingerprints or the shape of his face. When he left the building, most nights, Elvis wanted nothing more than to go somewhere with a few friends and a piano, a place they could gather to sing and listen to the gospel music that nourished the heart and soul of this American musical and cultural icon.

That's the Elvis Presley I was privileged to know: the generous, humble man who could never quite get his mind around the fame and glitter which came his way; the friend who would do anything within his power to help you with a problem; the devoted son who never forgot the spiritual heritage instilled in him by a loving mother. That's the side of Elvis I'd like to introduce to you: the gospel side of Elvis.

A few years ago, I helped produce a two-part documentary, He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley. Due to the tremendous reception of that program, and in recognition of the thirtieth anniversary of Elvis' death in 2007, I began to think about ways to bring to a wider public this little-known side of a man I admire so much. There are so many stories, so many images, so many memories that could find a place in a story like this. Also, there are so many things already said and shown about Elvis. With everything written about Elvis Aaron Presley, some might wonder what could be left to say.

I offer two verses as a point of departure for this journey of discovery to which I'm inviting you. The first is from the Bible, possibly taught to Elvis by his mother, Gladys, who always made time for Bible instruction, both at home and in their church. The verse is this: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6, niv). Gladys Presley raised her son to be a churchgoing, Christian young man. Now, if all you think about is the glitz and showbiz and some of the craziness you've read about that came to symbolize Elvis' public career, this notion may seem far-fetched. But consider: The record on the turntable in his bedroom, possibly the last music Elvis Presley listened to before his untimely death, was an acetate recording of three of his favorite gospel songs, specially compiled by his lifelong friend and mentor, J. D. Sumner. Elvis never forgot his spiritual heritage. Somewhere, beyond all the dazzling lights and the flashy capes and the limousines and the throngs of screaming fans, his mind and heart returned again and again to the simple tenets taught to him at an early age by his mother. Gladys Presley trained him up, and I believe, in his heart of hearts, he never turned.

© 2007 by Joe Moscheo

About the Author

Joe Moscheo joined the Imperials, a gospel quartet that joined Elvis's show in Las Vegas as one of his back-up groups, in 1964. He spent four years with Elvis as a performer and friend. With the full support of Elvis Presley Enterprises, he produced the DVD He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of Elvis in 2001 and the recently released Elvis Lives: The 25th Anniversary Concert DVD. Joe Moscheo lives in Nashville, TN.