Elvis Presley modified music—and fame—eternally. He was one of many first true international superstars: a swaggering Southern boy with a hip-shaking grin and a voice that blurred racial strains within the Jim Crow South. Between 1954 and his demise in 1977, Elvis earned greater than a billion {dollars} via report gross sales, film contracts, Las Vegas residencies, and relentless touring. His music nonetheless sells tens of millions of albums a 12 months. His face continues to be on lunchboxes, t-shirts, and slot machines.
So, how did “The King of Rock and Roll” die with such a comparatively small fortune?
The reply lies with one man: Colonel Tom Parker. While Elvis made historical past, Parker made cash, principally for himself. Elvis’ story is a cautionary story about loyalty, blind belief, and the hidden prices of superstardom.
Early Life
Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. He grew up fairly poor. His father labored odd jobs and hung out in jail for writing fraudulent checks. Elvis was very near his mom, and the 2 of them have been typically left alone whereas Elvis’ father went off to search for his subsequent job. Elvis was first uncovered to music on the Assembly of God church that he attended along with his mother and father every week. He made his first public singing look when he was in first grade, as a part of a expertise present on the native truthful. He was subsequently given a guitar for his birthday. He realized to play reasonably nicely over the subsequent few years and was given a probability to carry out on his favourite native radio present when he was in sixth grade. After his household relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, he was discouraged from his curiosity in music by his highschool music instructor. In reality, music was the one class he failed throughout his teenage years.
While his instructor was telling him he had no future in music, he was spending most of his time down on Beale Street, absorbing all of the Blues that he might. He took to dressing just like the performers he noticed every night, together with rising out his sideburns and curling his hair utilizing Vaseline and rosewater. His senior 12 months, he carried out at a widespread native “minstrel” present. It made him an instantaneous sensation amongst his classmates. He was closely influenced by the African-American gospel teams of the time and listened to a number of native musicians, together with Arthur Crudup, B.B. King, and Rufus Thomas. Elvis knew he needed to pursue a profession in music, however he was uncertain of methods to begin.
Sun Records
In the summer time of 1953, he went into Sun Records, a Memphis-based recording studio and label that was identified for its roster of widespread African-American artists. He requested to purchase some studio time to report two songs for his mom. He appeared unwilling, or unable, to explain the kind of singer he was. When Sam Phillips, the pinnacle of Sun Records, requested the receptionist, Marion Keisker, for his identify, she wrote it, together with the be aware, “Good ballad singer. Hold”. With that, Elvis Presley discovered himself signed to Sun Records.
His first recordings for Sun have been unsuccessful. They could not appear to seek out the correct musical car for him. It wasn’t till late one evening, whereas he was goofing round within the studio with two different musicians, that they discovered the Elvis sound. While listening to Elvis Presley soar round and play “That’s All Right” by Arthur Crudup, Sam Phillips realized he had a goldmine on his fingers. He’d lengthy been searching for a white musician to carry the “black” sound that was Sun’s hallmark to a wider viewers. He realized he’d discovered him. Elvis’ cowl of “That’s All Right” proved to be a hit on the radio, and when folks started calling in, insisting that the singer was black, Elvis was interviewed and gave the identify of his highschool to show that he was white. In the segregated South, everybody knew which colleges have been for which race.
Over the course of the subsequent two years, Elvis would construct a substantial regional following. He traded in his $8 guitar for a $175 one and inked a cope with the present, “Louisiana Hayride”, to carry out each Saturday evening for a 12 months. It was round this time that Elvis was launched to music promoter Colonel Tom Parker. Parker was identified for being tenacious and fiercely protecting of his artists. As Elvis’ recognition expanded, Parker and Elvis’ supervisor, Bob Neal, started to barter ever extra profitable contracts for him.
Elvis Presley / Keystone/Getty Images
Rise To Stardom
In November of 1955, RCA Victor purchased Elvis’ contract from Sun Records for a then-unheard-of $40,000. In immediately’s {dollars}, that is the identical as round $500,000. It was an exceptional sum. Within a few months, Elvis was recording for RCA. Over the course of the subsequent 20 years, he would go on to launch 18 albums and have 32 #1 singles.
Elvis bought 600 million copies of his albums worldwide, and he gained three Grammy Awards, from 14 nominations. He obtained the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award when he was solely 36. Elvis additionally launched a reasonably profitable movie profession, which was interrupted by his two excursions of obligation within the army. His movies, such as “Love Me Tender, “Jailhouse Rock”, and “Viva Las Vegas”, were huge hits at the box office, and spawned popular soundtrack albums, as well. With so much going right, you’d figure Elvis Presley would be rolling in dough. He wasn’t, however, and it turns out that was all due to one man – Colonel Tom Parker.
(Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)
The Colonel’s Cut
As any actor or musician with a manager/agent knows, it’s customary for your rep to take anywhere from 10% to 20% of what you earn from a job that they find for you. If you are signed with an agent and a manager, you’ll be paying both their cuts before you get your paycheck.
Colonel Tom Parker acted as Presley’s promoter and, then, manager and promoter, for most of his career.
Parker managed his career with an iron fist. Multiple successful musicians, Hollywood film producers, and television executives approached Elvis about work. However, they had to get through Parker first. If Parker didn’t think the price was right, he turned them away.
Elvis was handpicked to star opposite Barbra Streisand in “A Star is Born”. Parker turned it down. Elvis was approached about appearing in “West Side Story”. Again, Parker turned the job down. Instead, he signed Elvis up for a series of formulaic low-budget movie musicals. Elvis sang the soundtracks for each film, and for nearly seven years, soundtrack albums were the only new music he released. On the surface, he seemed to be living the high life, and when he launched a return to live performance in 1968 with his award-winning special, “Elvis”, it was clear he was poised to make even more money.
He kept Elvis working constantly, especially after the 1968 comeback special. But the grueling schedule and growing isolation took a toll. By the mid-70s, Elvis was addicted to prescription drugs, overweight, and depressed. Despite his health, Parker kept booking tours.
Elvis’ Net Worth At Death
To much of the world’s utter shock, when Elvis died, he was only worth $5 million. And while that would be worth roughly $25 million after adjusting for inflation, it was shockingly low for someone who had generated over a billion dollars in revenue and was the most famous entertainer on the planet. How could THE KING not be worth hundreds of millions? Perhaps more?! Where’d it all go/ You’d have to ask Colonel Tom Parker.
Elvis Presley / Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Where’d All The Money Go?
Elvis rarely read his contracts. He hated paperwork of that type. At the same time, Parker had a habit of making the contracts whatever he needed them to be. At one point, he tried to get Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Elvis’ main songwriters at RCA, to signal a clean piece of paper with strains for his or her signatures on it. When requested, “What form of contract is that this?” He responded, “There’s no mistake, boy, simply signal it… we’ll fill it in later.” Leiber and Stoller chose to end their artistic relationship with Elvis at that point.
By the time Elvis launched his late 60s comeback, Parker was receiving 50% of all of his earnings from recordings, film work, and any Elvis-related merchandise. In the early 70s, he expanded his contract to include receiving 50% of all of Elvis’ live performances.
With the exception of three dates in Canada, Elvis never performed outside of the US. Parker insisted it was because the venues were too small or the pay was too small, but it may have had more to do with the fact that Parker was unable to leave the country due to rumors about Parker’s alleged involvement in a murder in his home country of the Netherlands years earlier.
When negotiating royalties for Elvis’ albums, Parker negotiated a flat-rate royalty of 50 cents per record for himself. It was a great deal for Parker, but a horrible one for Elvis. As record prices increased, Parker’s static cut made Elvis’ percentage of the royalties decrease.
Parker also agreed to a ridiculously low sum of money for the masters to all of Elvis’ recordings. He charged just $5.4 million to sell off songs that had earned over a billion. He then split the $5.4 million with Elvis – 50/50. As Elvis’ popularity resurged in the late 60s, Parker began to produce more and more Elvis-related merchandise. However, he didn’t share the stock in their manufacturing company, Boxcar Enterprises, equally with Elvis. Instead, he got 40% and Elvis got 15%. By the late 70s, he owned 56% of Boxcar, and Elvis’ estate owned only 22%.
Posthumous Reckoning
A trial was conducted in 1980 regarding the mismanagement of Elvis’ earnings. While Elvis clearly signed all of the various contracts Parker passed his way over their decades-long association, the question arose as to whether Parker ever had his client’s best interests at heart. Even after Elvis’ death, Parker was still receiving 50% of all sales related to the artist. This was a lot of money, since Elvis continued to have successful posthumous record sales. He remains one of music’s most popular artists. This meant that there was less and less coming to his estate and sole heir, Lisa Marie Presley. Blanchard E. Tual, an attorney, was appointed by Judge Joseph Evans to look more deeply into Elvis’ financials. Tual found a mess of mismanagement, backhand deals, and missed opportunities. Parker had advised Presley to turn down the opportunity to sign up with ASCAP or BMI. This meant that Elvis never received any royalties on any of the songs he’d co-written. Parker turned down multiple, massive European tours. Turns out he didn’t want anyone finding out that he wasn’t from the US. He was actually from the Netherlands. After Parker was sued for mismanagement, he countersued. Three years after the initial trial, a settlement was reached. The Presley estate paid Parker $2 million, and he was not allowed to receive any money from anything Presley-related for five years. He also had to give back any recordings, pictures, or other Elvis-related memorabilia, back to the Presley family.
Lisa Marie, Graceland, and Elvis’ Second Fortune
After Parker’s removal, the Presley estate—managed by Elvis’ ex-wife Priscilla on behalf of their daughter Lisa Marie—strategically turned Elvis into a posthumous brand. By the early 2000s, he topped the list of highest-paid dead celebrities. In 2005, Lisa Marie sold an 85% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises to Core Media Group for $115 million, retaining control of Graceland and other personal assets.
Graceland became a tourist mecca and a symbol of Elvis’ enduring legacy.
Lisa Marie, however, struggled with financial issues of her own, including failed investments and lawsuits. She died in 2023 at age 54, leaving behind her daughters, including actress Riley Keough, who is now reportedly managing the Presley estate. The family (primarily Riley) continues to own 100% of Elvis’ Graceland Mansion. Today, Graceland attracts over 600,000 visitors annually and remains one of the most profitable celebrity estates in the world.
Tom Parker was eventually evicted from his Las Vegas hotel room. His gambling debts were so high that he couldn’t afford to live there anymore, even with the $2 million he’d been granted by the court. At the time of Parker’s death in January 1997, he reportedly owed the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel $30 million. At his peak, he had been worth over $100 million (equal to hundreds of millions in today’s dollars). Turns out, his mismanagement of funds extended to his own bank account, as well.
The story of Elvis’ association with Colonel Tom Parker is a cautionary tale for all artists. If the person helping you get work is taking more of a cut than you, sever ties. If the person managing you is making decisions that seem to squash your career, rather than expanding it, drop them. Most importantly, if your manager or agent hands you a blank contract and says, “We’ll fill it in later”, for pity’s sake, do not signal it. Your artwork is your legacy. Make positive you receives a commission for it.
