Sammy Cahn and Elvis Presley

Elvis Aron Presley, known as The King of Rock and Roll, was born to Vernon Elvis Presley (1916 - 1979) and Gladys Love Smith (1912 - 1958). He was their only surviving child. His twin, Jesse Garon Presley, died stillborn 35 minutes before Elvis. Elvis Presley was a United States Army veteran, having been drafted at the peak of his career in 1958 (See Elvis Presley Drafted! for details). While he was stationed in Germany, he met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, the stepdaughter of Air Force Officer Paul Beaulieu. Eventually, Priscilla moved in with Elvis and they married. In 1968, Priscilla had Elvis's only child, daughter Lisa Marie Presley. The birth became a media sensation, as was everything that the King of Rock and Roll did. Elvis Presley's musical career was the stuff of legend and too long to discuss in this brief introduction. See Elvis Aaron Presley: Obituary but his downfall was the excess weight he added to his frame and his use of drugs to keep awake and to go to sleep. The abuse of his body eventually led to cardiac arrest in August of 1977. His music, however, lives on and still inspires ardent fans.

Sammy was singing at Rainbow and Stars in NYC. In the beautiful Rainbow Room and a man began heckling him. There were waiters and a Host but they did nothing! So I walked over to the man and told him to leave and he did. At the end of the set Sammy Cahn gave a speech about me. He thought he was going to have a heart attack, and the men did nothing to stop the guy. He invited me to join him at his table and he sent me presents including an autographed songbook. He was such a nice man. Best of all, he gave me great advice as a lyricist and I took him seriously. I met him again a few more times and he always came over to me to start a conversation.