David E. Stanley was 4 years old when he met Elvis Presley and moved into Graceland. One of three stepsons of Elvis’s father Vernon Presley, Stanley relocated to the mansion after his mother Dee divorced his father to marry The King’s dad. Stanley’s life would be forever shaped by that moment—from the early days of Elvis’s welcoming ways to touring with the legend as his body guard and witnessing his tragic downfall and death.
“Fate put us there, not bloodlines,” explains the author during our conversation on my podcast Whine At 9. “He just welcomed us in as little brothers immediately the very first day.”
The youngsters woke up the day after their Graceland arrival to a backyard full of new toys—all ordered by Elvis. “I didn’t know who Elvis Presley was, but I knew who Santa Claus was—I just didn’t know he had sideburns. This was a guy who spoiled me day one. This was a guy that replaced my father. My father was swept out of my life. My father was a World War II, Korean War combat veteran—a military man through and through. And the only battle he ever lost was that for his boys. Suddenly he’s gone. Suddenly here’s Elvis. Suddenly Elvis takes over and became more of a father figure and mentor than anything else.”
Stanley shares his fond and tragic memories in his new book My Brother Elvis: The Final Years, but the author is not one to sugarcoat his own celebrity-driven experiences or behind-the-scenes stories. While he addresses the substance abuse issues that plagued Elvis during those last years before his death on August 16, 1977, Stanley also shares his own personal struggles with substance abuse and recovery. In many ways, Presley paved the way for Stanley’s recovery.
“Elvis’s death was my resurrection. His passing was my wakeup call to my road to redemption. I mean, when I walked into Elvis’s bathroom along with several other guys and they rolled him over and we cradled him in our arms and saw that sight of a guy that we loved and adored—and specifically me—it had a profound impact on my life. [I thought] ’I’m next.’ And I saw firsthand what drugs could do. I saw what abuse can do with medication. And I realized if I don’t clean it up pretty quick myself, I’m next.”
Stanley describes his famous stepbrother as an ultimate giver and believes that Presley would embrace the fact that Stanley has shared the intimate details and impact of drug abuse on their family. What does Stanley think Elvis would say about the book which he wrote many years ago but didn’t think the world was ready for until 2016? “Elvis would tap me on the shoulder. He would say, ‘Good job, son. Tell it like it is.…sometimes we learn from the mistakes, and if this mistake of mine can save one soul, one person, then so be it and move forward.’”
“I have no reservations about being strictly, totally honest about my life with Elvis Presley, about the loss of Elvis Presley, about the ups and downs of Elvis Presley,” Stanley says. “As a result of helping someone—that’s what matters to me. That’s why I did the book and put it out now. Because now’s the time to reach out.”
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