Elvis could have had more time. In the mid 1970s, when exhaustion had settled deep into his bones and his health was clearly slipping, the pressure never eased. There is a line often attributed to Tom Parker that still stings when remembered: “The only thing that matters is that man gets up on the stage tonight and sings.” It captured a mindset that valued the next show over the man giving everything he had to make it happen.
Elvis could have had more time. In the mid 1970s, when exhaustion had settled deep into his bones and his health was clearly slipping, the pressure never eased. There is…