Elvis Presley's Girlfriend Named His Favorite Book

Music

Elvis Presley had a steady girlfriend for several years following his split with Priscilla Presley. Elvis' girlfriend said the King of Rock 'n' Roll loved a book of fables.

Published on February 4, 2024

She didn’t receive much media attention, but Elvis Presley had a steady girlfriend for several years following his split with Priscilla Presley. Elvis’ girlfriend said the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll loved a particular book. Priscilla’s memoir confirms this detail. Priscilla also gave fans more insight into the singer’s surprisingly highbrow taste in literature.

Elvis Presley’s favorite book had some timeless advice about love and marriage

Linda Thompson was Elvis’ girlfriend from 1972 to 1976. In her 2016 book A Little Thing Called Life, Thompson recalled something the “All Shook Up” singer said to her. “‘I’ve broken my fidelity record for all time,’ he said. ‘I’ve never been this faithful to anyone for this long in my entire life.'”

“I was certain he’d been completely faithful to me for the first year, at least, as he’d set up our life together so that he was never out of my sight, unless he was behind a closed door in the bathroom,” Thompson added. “‘But honey, I think we need to have a little breathing room for a few days,’ he said. ‘Like our favorite book, The Prophet, says about marriage, ‘Let there be spaces in your togetherness, stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart.’ ‘Sweetheart, you know by now how much I love you and you should feel absolutely secure in that. That is not going to change. I love you.'” 

A look at the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s favorite book and its impact

The Prophet is a book of fables by Kahlil Gibran. It’s filled with wisdom and it has the aesthetics of a religious text even though it does not promote any religion. Perhaps the book’s universality is part of why it remains so popular. 

It’s a big deal that Elvis cited The Prophet as his favorite book. According to Thompson, he was well-read. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll certainly had a lot of possible favorite books to choose from and he chose The Prophet. The book has had a big legacy outside of Elvis’ endorsement of it. Aside from it’s continuous fame, the book inspired an animated film of the same title in 2014. Inspiring film adaptations is the true sign of a book’s popularity in the modern world.

Priscilla Presley discussed some of the other mystical books Elvis Presley loved

Priscilla’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me gives fans a different view of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll than Thompson’s book. For starters, it focuses on an earlier period of the “Blue Hawaii” singer‘s life. However, Priscilla still notes Elvis’ fixation on The Prophet.

In Priscilla’s recollection, Elvis read all of Gibran’s work but found The Prophet especially inspiring. Other spiritual books he liked included the Bible, Vera Stanley Adler’s The Initiation of the World, Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, and Joseph Sieber Benner’s The Impersonal Life. He also admired Paramahansa Yogananda, the Hindu mystic who wrote Autobiography of a Yogi. 

The Prophet inspired Elvis and it continues to inspire others.

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