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Location:
Ottawa, Canada.
Interviewer: Gord Atkinson
Elvis, is this the first time you've been to Canada?
Yes, it's my first trip to Canada.
Though it's too soon for any impressions, do you have any?
No. Yes. Well, I do. I was in Toronto last night (Maple Leaf
Gardens concert) and I was very much surprised by how wonderful the
people are. How friendly, you know, in this part of the country.
They have certainly been waiting for you for a long, long time.
I have been wanting to come up here. In fact, when I started looking
at the tour, I said: "By all means. I want to go to Canada." About a
year ago, I tried to get them to book a tour up here but I wasn't
well enough known. A year and a half ago, everybody didn't know me
well enough.
Sounds almost unbelievable.
So they figured I wouldn't make enough money.
No doubt about that now. Elvis, you've certainly even topped the
popularity Frank Sinatra had in his heyday. This may seem like a
foolish question for a Presley fan to ask - it seems like an obvious
answer - but have you, yourself, given any thought to what it is
about you that has made you the phenomenal show business personality
that you are?
I sure have, only I don't like to figure it out because I'm
afraid if I find out what it is, I might lose it. So I just keep
guessing myself.
You just recently built a home?
Well, I didn't build it, I just bought it. It's an estate
(Graceland). It's about ten miles from where I live now (Audubon
Drive). We had to have a larger place because I have accumulated so
much junk in the last two years, I just don't know where to put it.
Will you be living with your parents?
Yes.
You are an only child, aren't you?
Yes, sir.
Do you have a girlfriend, may I ask?
I don't have special girl. I mean, when I'm home I date a few
different girls in Memphis, but I don't have a particular one.
Have you given any thought to the fact that some day you might
meet a certain someone and decide that you'd like to get married?
I probably will.
Do you think this would hurt your popularity?
It probably will. I have no plans for marriage soon. I haven't
met anybody yet.
What about your singing style? Would you say that you are an
outgrowth of country music, or the pop field? Or a combination of
both?
I guess I kind of like 'em both - more rock and roll than anything
else. Rock and roll is actually, you see, what put me over.
There are many people waiting to talk to you and I want to thank
you so much. I have something here to present to you. It's a scroll
from our program, called Campus Corner. It is a show that is
presented each Saturday. It's a teenage show, if you can imagine. We
had a popularity poll, with the boys and girls on the station
voting. And for the past year and a half you have been number one.
Oh, that's great. Thank you very much.
Elvis, I wonder if you'd like to say something to all those fans
right now?
I would like to tell them how I deeply appreciate this. I guess
I've gotten more mail from Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal than any
other place. I've gotten more fan mail from right around this area
than I
have from anywhere in the United States.
That's wonderful.
I am not telling that to you [just] because I am here, but it is
very true. That is one of the reasons why I always wanted to come up
here, because I've gotten more letters from Canada than I can count.
That should make your fans here very happy. It has been a sincere
pleasure talking to you, Elvis Presley.
Thank you very much.
Source: Elvis - Word For Word book, by
Jerry Osborne. |
