Elvis Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla, has revealed the rock 'n' roll icon's deepest fears, which he shared with her weeks before he died at age 42 from a heart attack. At the time, Elvis was struggling with an addiction to prescription barbiturates and his career had taken a dip. Looking at his life, The King was afraid that he would no longer be relevant, Priscilla said in a recent interview, per the U.K.'s Express.
"I remember Elvis saying that he didn't really know if he gave up singing, if he did want to retire, he felt that people would forget him," she recalled. "Shows you where he was. It shows you where he emotionally was and ... where in his career he thought he was."
Elvis had expressed the same fears to his backing singer and former girlfriend, Kathy Westmoreland. He was worried that he had "never done anything lasting."
Shortly after his death in 1977 at Graceland, Priscilla was told that, despite his great success, Elvis' greatest fears would likely come true.
"I was told Elvis passed and that, you know, will be forgotten in the next couple of years ... life goes on," she said. "Thank God I didn't listen to any of those people."
Priscilla added that Elvis sharing his fears was something unexpected because he "didn't express a whole lot" and "didn't wanna show you how insecure he was."
Now she wishes he could see the impact he had on musical history.
"It brings a smile to my face, because … if he only knew," she said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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