Because Mr Presley studied karate and learned from Mr Ed Parker, who was a champion in Japan, I want to give this to Mr Presley as a token of my appreciation. I was an officer in the Japanese military during World War II and I want to apologise to you and to Mr Presley for us fighting you guys. Struggling with his English, the soldier said: “I brought this to give to Mr Presley. That morning The King, who was a night owl, was upstairs at Graceland and already in his pyjamas as was getting ready to go to bed.ĭick recalls how he got a call from his security team member Harold Lloyd on the gates, saying there was a guy in uniform who wanted to see the Head of Security.ĭick thought it would be one of his police officer friends but it turned out to be an elderly Japanese veteran in his military uniform and carrying a samurai sword. 106).Dick Grob was Elvis’ Head of Security in late 1976 or early 1977 when this happened. Melissa’s Basement with Steve Cropper debuts Tuesday 1/17 at 7 pm ET on VOLUME (Ch. ![]() Wish I hadn’t have been right.”Ĭropper shares the full story and performs a few snippets of Otis Redding’s These Arms of Mine, In The Midnight Hour, Knock on Wood and I’ve Got Dreams to Remember as well as Rufus Thomas’ Walking the Dog alongside Etheridge in his episode of Melissa’s Basement. And I said, ‘Don’t hit it again,’ and he hit it again and broke his hand in three places. That’s like hitting solid marble.”Īfter the first failed attempt, Cropper tried to step in: “So, I’m waving him off. “And I’m an old farm boy from Missouri - what do I know - but I was in woodshop, and I know that a knot in a cross-grain board, you ain’t going to go through it. ![]() “I was in the kitchen one night when Elvis was putting on a little show for the guys and breaking boards and all,” Cropper recalled. Things got interesting one night when Presley, who famously practiced martial arts, decided to demonstrate some of his karate moves for a small audience. And the next thing you know, we’d be out at Elvis’ house. “So we tagged along because we had a band, The Mar-Keys, which, you know, played all of the correct dance music, and they would bring our seniors to our dances on the weekends. “They’d get invited to go Elvis’ house, to Graceland, go to the movies, go to the roller rink,” he explained. ![]() ![]() While it didn’t involve music, it was still as epic as The King’s too-racy-for-TV swinging hips.Īs he tells it, some of Presley’s young bodyguards were dating girls at Cropper’s high school and he, being a friend of these girls, would be invited along on outings with Elvis and his crew. Naturally, the dream collaboration for the Memphis native was none other than The King, Elvis Presley.Īlthough that wish never came true, growing up that close to Graceland had its perks! During an interview with Melissa Etheridge for Melissa’s Basement, Cropper recalled a dramatic incident at Presley’s house. The new biopic Elvis covers the early career of Elvis Presley and his enormous influence on American culture. The icon indicates free access to the linked research on JSTOR. The beginning of Sam and Dave’s Soul Man, the ornamental guitar fills in Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay and the powerful bent notes of Booker T.’s Green Onions all feature his handiwork.Īs a session guitarist at Stax Records and a member of The Blues Brothers has collaborated with countless musical luminaries including Neil Young, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Jeff Beck and John Lennon. Elvis Presley is shown during a karate workout, as seen in the film This Is Elvis, 1981. Guitarist Steve Cropper has made his mark on some of rock’s greatest songs.
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