ELVIS AND ANITA WOOD
By Rosa García Mora
Elvis called her “little girl” because Anita was a tiny woman. “…Girl, go make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, please…!” Elvis used to tell him, when they were home, at Graceland .
The year was 1957, Elvis was on top of the Universe. He was a man, a myth, that all women wanted to be with, but like in a fairy tale, Elvis fell in love with Anita Wood , a rising musical talent, who abandoned her own life and career to be with Elvis. , the one who was his first love.
Anita was a television actress and artist in the recording world. She was Elvis’ girlfriend, from when they met in 1957 until 1962. She is a woman who always adored Elvis and, even today, continues to show that affection and respect that she has never stopped feeling for him and this is what she shows us in his book “One Upon A Time: Elvis and Anita”, written by his own daughter.
Anita was and is a great woman. When she was with Elvis she signed a contract to work as an actress at Paramount , but in the end she left everything for Elvis, putting her relationship with him before his life and her career.
In this excerpt from an interview that was conducted with her, Anita tells us how she met Elvis:
“Well, I met Elvis in 1957. I was on “Top 10 Dance Party” on WHPQ radio and television in Memphis at that time. It was a popular dance show that they did every Saturday afternoon. The teenagers would come and dance and Wink Martindale and I would present the songs. Elvis watched that show a lot and one Saturday after the show, Lamar Fike called me on the phone. Elvis wanted a date to see me that night. But I already had a date with Jimmy Omar and I wasn’t going to break the date. Lamar was furious, I mean he just couldn’t believe it: “You’re not going to break a date to go with Elvis Presley ?” You are crazy?” I mean, you know… he really went crazy! And I said, “Well, I don’t think Elvis would like me to do that to him, if I went on a date with him and broke it to go with someone else.” “So, I’m sorry I can’t do that because I already have plans.”
In addition to funny anecdotes like this, in his book he also tells us how Elvis was taking off as an artist and had just bought Graceland and there Anita lived with Elvis almost all the time they spent together. They were very young and in love. She shared many things with him, many key moments that united her with Elvis’ family; like the news that he had been drafted into the army in ’58, or the personal devastation Elvis suffered with the sudden death of his mother. She also tells us all the efforts The Colonel took to protect her relationship and not make it public, or the pain and betrayal that made him realize that that fairy tale had to end.
A beautiful love story with a sad ending, but one that Anita, even today, treasures deep in her heart.
Article written and provided by Rosa García Mora https://www.facebook.com/rosa.garciamora.12
If you want to visit more articles about the life of Elvis Presley, enter the following Elvis Radio 24h link: https://elvisradio24h.com/tag/articles Thanks TCB
We remind you that you can also listen to Elvis Radio 24 hours on your mobile phone by downloading our free applications for Android in the Play Store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icreo.elvisradio24h1, and for iPhone in your Apple Store https://apps.apple.com/app/elvis-radio-24h/id6444257119. Thank you very much!!…
