Plot
Raised mostly by his doting mother Gladys, Elvis Presley spends his childhood in the slums of Tupelo, Mississippi, finding solace in music and comic books. After moving with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee, he is ridiculed by his peers due to his fascination with the African-American music of Beale Street. Colonel Tom Parker, at the time a carnival huckster, manages country singer Hank Snow but realizes Elvis' crossover potential when he hears "That's All Right," initially assuming that the artist is black. That night, after witnessing his intense sex appeal at a "Louisiana Hayride" performance, Parker invites Elvis to accompany him on a tour and convinces Elvis to let him take control of his career, which begins Elvis' meteoric ascent: he moves from Sun Records to RCA Records, his father Vernon is appointed as business manager of Elvis Presley Enterprises, and the family is lifted out of poverty.
The regional public is polarized on Elvis. Feeling that his music will corrupt white children and stoke racial hostility, segregationist Southern Democrat Mississippi Senator James Eastland calls Parker to an informal hearing and probes his mysterious past. When Elvis flouts the authorities' warnings and performs suggestive dance moves at a concert, he faces legal trouble. Parker persuades the government to draft Elvis into the Army instead of penalizing him. Elvis returns from basic training only to be devastated by his mother's death from drinking. During his military service in West Germany, he meets 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, the daughter of an Air Force pilot. After his discharge, he embarks on a film career and later marries Priscilla.
As the popular culture of the 1960s passes Elvis by, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 devastate him. Although he wants to become more politically outspoken in his music, Parker has booked a family-friendly Christmas television special where he will only perform frivolous feel-good songs. Elvis works with Steve Binder to re-imagine the special, and his performance, including the closing song "If I Can Dream," which incorporates not only a review of his past songs but also political commentary. Corporate sponsors threaten litigation, enraging Parker; however, the show is highly successful.
Afterward, Elvis headlines at the largest showroom in Las Vegas in the International Hotel, and resumes concert tours. Parker's control of Elvis' life tightens as he refuses his request for a world tour. Motivated by gambling debts, Parker manipulates Elvis into signing a contract for a five-year Las Vegas casino residency. Elvis' problematic behavior and prescription drug addiction overtake him, and a despondent Priscilla divorces him, taking their daughter Lisa Marie with her. After discovering that Parker cannot leave the country because he is a stateless illegal immigrant, Elvis attempts to fire him. Parker subsequently informs Vernon that the family owes him an $8,549,761.09 debt accumulated since 1955 and convinces Elvis of their symbiotic relationship; though they became distant afterward, Parker continues as his manager. Increasingly exhausted after a continuously rigorous schedule of shows, Elvis expresses to Priscilla his fear of being forgotten after death, as he believes he has achieved nothing worthwhile.
On 21 June 1977, in Rapid City, South Dakota, an obese, pale, and weak Elvis sings "Unchained Melody" to thunderous applause. He dies shortly thereafter, on 16 August 1977. Parker claims what really killed Elvis was neither his heart attack nor drug-related suicide as some believe, but rather his love for his fans.
A postscript states that Parker's financial abuse of Elvis was exposed in a series of lawsuits beginning a few years after Elvis' death. Parker tried to claim immunity as a citizen of no country, but eventually settled out in court and ending his ties with the Presley estate. Parker then spent his final years in ill health wandering through Las Vegas' casinos pouring his wealth into the slot machines. Elvis remained the best-selling solo artist of all time. His influence on music and culture lives on.
