Hi guys, and welcome back to another
installment of Secret Graceland, number 43. Today we will be looking at some photos of
Elvis, his family and friends at Graceland, all from the 1960s, the only full decade
Elvis spent there. If you haven’t yet seen the 1950s video I did, check that out.
We’re going to take a look at each photo, then that spot today. Comparing then and
now is one of my favorite things ever and I scoured my files and selected these
photos that stuck out to me. Let’s jump in. We’re starting our tour right outside the
famous gates. Here is a nice color look in the very early days, of Elvis’s first
cousins, Billy and Bobby Smith. They are standing where it was still dirt in front of
a new brick wall. Here is that spot today. Turning just a bit to the right, here is
the boys’ dad, Elvis’s Uncle Travis Smith, Gladys Presley’s brother. Again this whole
area was just dirt. And that spot now. If this doesn’t look familiar it’s because it’s
a view fans only saw between 1957 and 1970. This was the original guard shack on the property. Like
we talked about in the last then and now episode, Graceland, Then & Now: 1950’s, Elvis gave his
friend Gary Pepper’s’s dad Sterling a job as a gate guard. Sterling died in this guard shack
in the summer of 1970 of a heart attack. The wooden one guard shack was replaced with
the brick one we see today around 1970. Elvis is careening by on his golf cart. That
was right here, right next to the stone wall. Let’s go up to the front of the mansion and
take a look at a few photos taken out here. We don’t see this today. Taken in August
1965, this is the breezeway connecting the Music Room to the Trophy Building. The Trophy
Building was built that year so originally, this is how that middle part looked
that connected the two spaces, that’s the corner of the house on the left, the
edge that is the Music Room. It had this aluminum or metal siding and green top. Some of this
is still there. Let’s see this spot now. It’s a more permanent structure with a real roof,
but some of that metal siding is still there, we can see beyond the tree. There’s the Trophy
Building of the right, that tan brick building. Another great photo from August 1965 of the
front of the house. You can even see that green breezeway roof in the background next
to the Music Room. The house looks virtually the same today. Here we see the lion,
the wrought iron bench and a red gazing ball inside the decorative vase. Today, it’s
exactly the same. The decorative vase holds plants today but these are Elvis’s actual
benches you can sit on and take a picture. Going inside the house, you might’ve seen
this photo of Priscilla from the late 1960s. I think Elvis took this one actually. This
is from the same day of the footage of her slowly walking down the main staircase. See
the door behind her and the blue curtain? She is standing at the staircase landing,
probably just about to descend the stairs. Next, let’s go into the living and look at two
incredible peeks into 1963, in two photos shared with us fans by collector Fred Whobrey. Here is a
gorgeous look at a day in the life at Graceland in the living room, isn’t this amazing?… it looks so
similar today. And another from the opposite end of the room that we get to see on the tour. There
is plenty to notice here so I created a separate video all about this one photo when it recently
surfaced online, you can check it out in the link here at the top and in the description
box below. And here is that view today. Also taken is this room is this famous
photo of Elvis pictured playing his bass, seated on the couch in this shot by the
Commercial Appeal. It is one of my all time favorites of Elvis at Graceland and of
the house itself. This crystal clear photo is a stunning look into life at Graceland
in 1965. And that same exact spot today. We’re bouncing around on the timeline but we’re
going in order of the tour path. So next on the tour is the Music Room beyond the Living Room.
In 1960, a fraternity called the TKE presented an award to Elvis and he hosted his guests in
Graceland’s Music Room. I created a video all about this event, you can watch it up here in
this link or in the description box below. In this photo, a couple of the fraternity brothers
are standing around Elvis and he’s kneeling down, signing things for them. You’ll probably recognize
the TV behind him and that’s how we can see where they are. Just a few years later in 1963, this
awesome photo was taken and shared with us by Fred Whobrey. This photo is from the same angle
as the photo we just saw. The TV has been taken out of the room and stored away, and this piano
is now moved in that spot. But some of the other furniture might be familiar, like the gold couch
on the left and the gold and white coffee table. Then here is that very room today, with many
of the timeless pieces of the 1950s and 60s. Let’s take our tour down the hall to Elvis’s
grandma Minnie Mae’s former bedroom. This was taken by Jimmy Velvet. That’s Gary
Pepper, Elvis’s fan and friend and Elvis’s grandma in her chair. They are
sitting inside this downstairs bedroom, that we see on the tour. Fast forward a couple
years to the late 60’s and baby Lisa came along. Here she is sitting on her great grandmother’s
bed, cracking up. See the headboard and lamp in the background? Here’s another where they
propped her up on the pillows. She’s here, in this bedroom, on this very bed, that
has been reupholstered but is the same one. Next up is another incredible photo from
inside the dining room circa 1963. This is another Fred Whobrey share from the corner of
the dining room that us fans don’t get to walk in. When this first surfaced a couple years
ago, we got a look at totally new angles and furniture that we’d never seen before.
So of course I made a video all about this and another “new” dining room photo,
you can check out in the link here at the top and in the description box below.
And here is somewhat of that view today. Another photo from 1963 that has
been floating around out there for some time is this one taken from the
back of the dining room of Priscilla halfway into the kitchen. This time we
are in color and we can see all the way through to the Music Room. Then here
is this exact view today…beautiful. Our tour is now going into to kitchen
to look at some newly surfaced, fascinating looks at the kitchen in the 1960s.
Fred Whobrey shared these next two gems with us a couple of years ago. Here’s Dee Presley,
Vernon Presley’s second wife, at the forefront, 18 year old Priscilla in the back, seated inside
the kitchen eating breakfast. Now here is that same spot now. It’s not the same counter top,
appliances or cupboards, Elvis did remodeling soon after but this is where that photo was taken.
Next, a photo of Vernon having his breakfast. Yes, this is Graceland. At this point, 1963, the
kitchen was the end of the house. The jungle room didn’t exist yet. Those windows overlooked
the backyard. And that door behind him went into the hall. Vernon was sitting at the threshold
of the kitchen doorway today, where Priscilla and Lisa are standing in this photo from 2012.
That door behind him went into this hallway. If you want to learn more about what
can be seen in these two photos and how the kitchen layout was before the jungle room
was added, guess who made a video on it? Yep, yours truly. It can be found in the link here
at the top and in the description box below. Now we’re going to explore the basement in
the 1960s. Here’s a photo from the mirrored staircase down to the basement in the early 60s.
I don’t know who that man is but there’s 18 year old Priscilla peeking in from the doorway.
This is another from the amazing collection of Fred Whobrey. You probably have a photo
from this staircase on the tour, here’s mine. Today, when we reach the basement TV room, it
has a distinct blue and yellow theme that was remodeled in 1974. But what did it look like
before that? Here is the basement back in the 1960s. This is where Elvis had the gold records
he had acquired and just one TV at this point. It’s a very nice, cozy space. See that 10 speaker
squares on the bottom left? Now here is that view today. A lot has moved around and the colors are
totally different but those 10 squares remain. In March 1960, Elvis met with a DJ and fan club
president in the basement TV room, future TCB den, and took a few pictures. These give us some of the
very few glimpses this far back into this space and how it was decorated before the big changes of
the 1970s. Take a look at the art on the left of this man, that’s the projector screen. Now here
is that space now, and what we recognize from the tour. So much has changed but that art on the
projector screen stayed the same all these years. We are now taking our tour up to the
jungle room, but since it’s the 1960s, the family refers to it as the den. In
1967, Elvis threw Priscilla a surprise 22nd birthday party right here in this room in
1967. There was video taken at that birthday and we’ll be looking at a couple stills
from it. If you want an in depth analysis, I go into a lot more detail in a Secret Graceland
titled ‘ Birthday Party in the Jungle Room, in the link here at the top and in the description
box below. In that home movie, it pans around the room at Minnie Mae sitting here on this red
chair. There’s a green glass behind her as well as some other tell tale features that show
where this was taken. Now here is where that was, Grandma was sitting on a chair where this furry
bench is today. In a different part of the room, Joe Esposito is waiting for a slice of birthday
cake. Behind him is a stone wall with a wooden statue perched high up. Now here is what
that portion of the room looks like today. While we’re still in the same area, this
is a few years earlier. Elvis and Vernon are standing in a screened in porch and none of
it is recognizable. Not the structure or even the furniture. After 1965, this space was built
into the den or jungle room that we know today. Skipping around in time again, here
is Priscilla and friends dressed up for a formal event. During the
time she lived at Graceland, the den had red carpet and red floral curtains.
See that door with windows behind them? They are all standing in front of this back door here,
that has been brown since the jungle theme. In 1968, the Presleys made an addition to their
family and there are some great photos to show her off. This photo was taken in their home of the
three seated on the couch with wood paneling in the background. Notice how there’s an angle
of paneling the goes up to the side all the way on the right side above the bar stools? The
family was sitting in the middle of the den, or jungle room as we know it, with
the staircase in the background. Let’s go off to the side under the carport.
Gorgeous photo of the pink Cadillac parked under the carport. To me its a museum artifact
so its kinda funny to see it parked here, back then it was just a regular car. Beyond this
we can see that screened in porch and the garage still had doors, even though it was already
renovated into the annex apartment…. Here is my photo of that spot from a few months ago going
on a UVIP tour, I just wanted to remember what it looked like, I didn’t realize I was recreating
several photos from many decades prior…. In March 1960, Elvis came
back from the Army and gave a press conference at Graceland just
before they headed inside the office, this photo was taken outside his dad’s
office. Elvis was standing right here. Next, we’re going inside the Trophy Building
to look at some special photos. This is what the Trophy Building was originally made for,
Elvis’s new hobby of slot cars and to house this enormous track. This is taken from the
back of what is now the main exhibit space, facing the swimming pool. For years, this was
the only photo I’d ever seen of the room from back then. Recently, I came across this gem
on Billy Stanley’s Facebook. I don’t know who it belongs to but I want to give credit to
where it came from. This is an incredible view of the space and shows just how mastic this
track was. See that door in the back left? Here is a smidge of how this space looks like
today. Elvis got over slot cars pretty quickly and this room evolved over time, today it
houses artifacts in climate controlled cases. In May of 1967 Elvis and Priscilla held their
second wedding reception in this very space. Here is a photo from that party…this was for all their
friend and family that couldn’t make the actually wedding in Las Vegas. But we actually walk right
past this spot that they’re standing when we walk the tour path. That spot is right here where this
TV is displayed on this little platform today. Another photo I wanted to discuss that was
taken in here is this amazing photo of Elvis, Priscilla and Gary Pepper from the couple’s second
wedding reception held in this very room. If you don’t know who Gary Pepper is, he was a huge
Elvis fan who became a friend invited into the inner circle. He also happened to have cerebral
palsy. I’ve created a handful of videos all about Gary and Elvis and am working on a few more.
Anyway, see the horse decor above them and the strip of wallpaper to the right of that? Here’s
a photo of the room in the mid 70s. To the left, there’s the couch with the horse above it and
a strip of wallpaper. Also, see to the right of the couch, a post sticks out of the wall and
has something black running down it. Today, this is that wall inside the Trophy Building. It
looks totally different. But see that post that sticks out of the wall in the middle? Although
there is now a case built into the wall to the left of it, that is where that gold couch was
where Elvis posed with Gary all those years ago. On the tour, once we exit the trophy building we
head to the Racquetball Building but since that wasn’t built yet in the 1960s, let’s head over
to the pool. Speaking of the trophy building, this is what that whole space looked like
before it was even built. This is the early 60s and one of the clearest of this area to
understand it better. This was taken by Jimmy Velvet and published in his book, ‘Inside
the Dream.’ There’s the pool right in front, the upper patio area was where the Trophy
Building was built right on top of. See that white part of the house with the pointed roof and
double doors? That’s the Music Room. Back then, Elvis could come down to the pool through
there. So on the pool level, see that half brick wall straight ahead and the white wrought
iron above it? That is where Grandma Minnie Mae, Dee Presley and some other friends are
hanging out in this photo. I love this one, it’s one of my favorites from the 60s. That brick
still exists, and now that area looks like this. Getting an even better look at the
entire space from the early 1960s, this amazing shot was shared by collector Fred
Whobrey. This young lady is standing in the future Meditation Garden next to the original fountain
back when this was just a simple garden. It’s interesting how back then it was mostly grass
with walkways and here is that same view today. In 1966, Elvis, Priscilla and their friends Jerry
Schilling and Sandy Kawelo posed for some photos in the Meditation Garden. There are four stained
glass windows in the brick wall surrounding the garden and the friends stood in front of the
one on the far right, with a white circle at the bottom that kind go looks like an eye.
Here is where they were all standing. Lastly, they were all also picture near the front
of the garden, in a more casual shot. Jerry and Sandy are distracted, Elvis and Priscilla
are looking ahead. Elvis is standing in front of one of the four decorative metal pots built
into the wrought iron surrounding the fountain. And that is it. Thank you for watching,
and I’ll see you in the next one. (Music)
