Military Service and Mom's Death 58-60

"Don't", another Leiber and Stoller tune, became Presely's tenth number one pop hit a couple of weeks into the new year.    It had been only 21 months since "Heartbreak Hotel" had brought him to the top for the first time.    Recording sessions for the King Creole soundtrack were held in Hollywood mid-January.    Leiber and Stoller provided three songs and were again on hand, but it would be their final collaboration with Presley.    A studio session on February 1 marked another ending: it was the last occasion on which Black was to perform with Presley.    He died in 1965.    On March 24, Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army as a private, under the service number US 53 310 761, at Fort Chaffee near Fort Smith, Arkansas.    Captain Arlie Metheny, the information officer, was unprepared for the media attention the singer received on arrival at Fort Chaffee.    Hundreds of people descended on Presley as he stepped from the bus, and photographers accompanied him into the base.    Presley announced that he was looking forward to his military stint, saying he did not want to be treated any differently from anyone else: "The Army can do anything it wants with me."    Later, at Fort Hood, Texas, Lieutenant Colonel Marjorie Schulten gave the media carte blanche for one day, after
which she declared Presley off-limits to the press.

Parker visited occasionally with news of sales and to discuss strategy, and to obtain Presley's signature when necessary to proceed with arrangements.    Another visitor, Eddie Fadal, a businesman Presley had met when on tour in Texas, said the singer had become convinced his career was finished—"he firmly believed that."    During a two-week leave in early June, Presley cut five sides in Nashville.    He returned to training, but in early August his mother was diagnosed with hepatitis and her condition worsened. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her, arriving in Memphis on August 12.    Two days later, she died of heart failure, aged forty-six.    Presley was devastated.    Their relationship had remained extremely close—even into his adulthood, they would use baby talk with each other and Presley would address her with pet names.

Presley aboard USS General George M. Randall (AP-115) en route to Friedberg, Germany, September 29, 1958Presley completed basic training at Fort Hood on September 17, before being posted to Friedberg, Germany, with the 3rd Armored Division, where his service began on October 1.    Some months after his mother's death, Presley was introduced to amphetamines by a sergeant while on maneuvers.    He became "practically evangelical about their benefits"—not only for energy, but for "strength" and weight loss, as well—and many of his friends in the outfit joined him in indulging.    The Army also introduced Presley to karate, which he studied seriously, later including it in his live performances.    Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley's wish to be seen as an able, ordinary soldier, despite his fame, and to his generosity while in the service.    To supplement meager under-clothing supplies, Presley bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit.    He also donated his Army pay to charity, and purchased all the TV sets for personnel on the base at that time.

Currie Grant, a friend of Presley's in Army Special Services, spotted 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu at a club used by army personnel and their families.    He introduced her to the singer at Presley's home in Bad Nauheim on September 13, 1959.    They would eventually marry after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship.    Presley had not elected to join Special Services, which would have allowed him to avoid certain duties and maintain his public profile.    However,

Priscilla has said that he was eager to serve in the detachment, where he would have been able to give some musical performances and remain in touch with the general public.    In her autobiography, she states that it was Parker and RCA who convinced Presley he should serve his country as a regular soldier to gain respect from thepublic, despite the singer's worries that this might instead ruin his career.    He continued to receive massive media coverage, with much speculation echoing his concerns about his career. 

   However, RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes and Freddy Bienstock of Hill and Range had planned ahead with the February and June 1958 recording sessions.    Armed too with unreleased songs from earlier sessions, they aimed to supply a regular stream of releases during Presley's two-year hiatus.    The strategy was successful. Between his induction and discharge, Presley had ten top 40 hits, including "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck", the number one "Hard Headed Woman", and "One Night" in 1958, and "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" and the number one "A Big Hunk o' Love" in 1959.    RCA also managed to generate four albums compiling old material during this period, most successfully Elvis' Golden Records (1958), which hit number three on the LP chart.