Lisa Marie talks about her Father Elvis Presley

Lisa Marie talks about her Father Elvis Presley

Elvis and his family got their own start in public housing in Memphis before moving to the suburbs, then

to Graceland. Graceland was, at first, a walled refuge from the crush of fame and, now, a shrine.

Presley’s rise to fame was not just a classic rags-to-riches story, but a continuing saga that many believe has turned him into the biggest celebrity of all time. It is a story that Lisa Marie said is part of a disappearing tradition.

“What do our youth today even know? We’re not a culture that cultivates tradition. Some people may think Madonna started music,” she says.

“I think that honestly we have no morals or integrity anymore. The more you screw up and make mistakes in public the more you’re a celebrity. I think things are so crazy now that anyone can appreciate how it used to be.”

For her dad, that meant being rewarded for hard work and talent. “It was the real deal then. He worked hard. He was somebody who was hungry. He broke molds and worked to get what he got.”

Part of the equation was an indecipherable element of star power or charisma that Lisa Marie felt, but didn’t understand. “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell said no one has come along with “even 50 percent” of Elvis’ charisma.

Lisa Marie said she used to sit in the kitchen at Graceland and know when her dad was coming down the steps because of a “presence” he radiated. She could tell whether he was at home when she drove through the front gates of Graceland because she felt that presence.

Knowing about and living with that charisma didn’t help her understand it. “I don’t think he understood it either. I don’t know whether he even knew what it was, but I think it was probably too much for him to handle. I have never met anybody like that — ever.”