In the 1950’s, Elvis spent time at girlfriend Barbara Hearn’s house in Memphis (Barbara’s mom poses outside). Later, it became a hotspot for FBI surveillance!

In the 1950’s, Elvis spent time at girlfriend Barbara Hearn’s house in Memphis (Barbara’s mom poses outside). Later, it became a hotspot for FBI surveillance!

Elvis (21) and Barbara (19) started dating in 1956. Elvis knew Barbara since he was a teenager as he use to give her rides home from work as she worked with his high school sweetheart Dixie Locke. The pair dated for about a year, but saw each other occasionally until the early 60s. Here is an interview excerpt where Barbara discusses Elvis and their relationship:

What did you like most of him? Barbara Hearn Smith: I liked his personality, his sense of fun, the excitement of being with someone unpredictable. You never knew what kind of activity he would embark on next. After the movies it was fun to hear his stories of Hollywood and the actors he met. He was a great story teller. He was sweet and tender and thoughtful. At times, he was short tempered and out of sorts. In many ways he was just like anyone else. In most ways, however, he was extraordinary in all the best ways.

How was his personality? Barbara Hearn Smith: I did not know Elvis well in his after Germany years, but I did know the young Elvis very well. He was fun to be with. Perhaps he wanted to experience the kind of fun that young people mostly take for granted, but because of financial difficulties he was never able to experience. He liked to tease and laugh and play jokes. He was really great fun to be around. His was a loving and caring personality. His mother was there and that made all the difference. From what I have heard and read, his personality changed a lot after her death. The lightness and carefree part of him suffered from the loss of his mother.

What kind of boyfriend Elvis was? Barbara Hearn Smith: Elvis was thoughtful and polite. The youth of today, unless they are serious history students, cannot imagine how life was for young people in the 1950s in America. He telephoned me every day. Girls at that time, for the most part, did not telephone their bovfriends unless it was a very serious matter. Families would have frown upon that and the boys’ families would have a though a young girl forward and not very ladylike. (A reputation once won was not to be thrown away lightly.) All my relatives liked him. Males and females were comfortable around him. When he and I were together he was everything one could wish for in a suitor.