The Worst News… “Elvis died this morning” By Kathy Westmoreland
Kathy Westmoreland…. It was raining in Los Angeles when I took Elvis Presley’s plane to join his next concert. There were about ten musicians and two from the Sweet Inspirations when I got there. And as usual, we would stop once more in Las Vegas to pick up more band members before heading to Portland, Maine, to join up with the rest of the company.
The people I can recall being on the Holiday Airline-chartered Electrojet that day were Marty Harrell, bass trombone; Pat Houston, trumpet; Myrna Smith and Estelle Brown of the Sweet Inspirations singing group; James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Ronnie Tutt, and Glen D. Hardin, all musicians; and Jacky Kahane, comedian. Also on board were two men from Colonel Parker’s office; I believe they were Tom Diskin and Ed Bonja.
Much of the excitement of being on tour again was gone. After all, I had been singing with Elvis for seven years and we had traveled thousands and thousands of miles, crossing the country hundreds of times, but it was always nice to meet again. We were all certainly Elvis Presley tour veterans and had all been through a lot together.
Since everyone knew I had a close relationship with Elvis and he would call me whenever he felt like it, day or night, it was understandable that someone on board the plane would ask me:
“How is Elvis?”
Everyone knew he was sick, that every public appearance drove him to exhaustion. I didn’t want to say too much, I didn’t want to alarm everyone, but I was really surprised that we were going to do a show in Portland, Maine. Due to Elvis’s worsening health and the way he spoke to me the last time we were together a month earlier, I thought Elvis’s touring days were over.
I don’t remember now, but my sister said I told her the night before, “Don’t be surprised if I come home in a day.” “Why?” she asked. “Because I don’t think we’ll be touring anymore, not the way Elvis feels,” I told her.
However, Elvis said we were going to play a concert in Portland and that’s what we set out to do. The plane kept whizzing by, and since I had gotten up so early, I curled up in my seat and went to sleep. The next thing I remember was waking up to find we were landing. I couldn’t believe we had already arrived in Portland, but we hadn’t.
“…the pilot was told to land in Pueblo, Colorado, and that we should call for further orders,” but I was asleep and only woke up when the plane’s wheels hit the ground. We made a rough landing in a strong wind and everyone got off the plane to get some fresh air and stretch.
Marty Harrell had gone to call Memphis, but he didn’t know why. If I had been told that we had orders to recall Memphis, I would have known immediately that this was some kind of crisis.
We all strolled around the plane, waiting for a report on why we were delayed. Marty left the airport terminal and walked up the steps to the plane.
“…gather around, I have something to tell you,” he said. We all moved slowly toward Marty, and then he said in a soft, clear voice, “…Elvis died this morning. We must return to Las Vegas and Los Angeles immediately.”
It was a simple statement that brought groans from some and incredulous looks from others. I felt numb and very exhausted. After all those years together, Elvis was gone from my life, and although I had known for months that the end was near, it had now happened. In fact, it took years before I could truly cry over the greatest pain of my life.
My friend, my fun and unpredictable Elvis was dead. Even now it is difficult to realize.
Information provided by Elvis Shop Argentina. https://www.facebook.com/elvis.shop.argentina
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