#elvis and june

[hooked-on-elvis]

"Nobody, but nobody, combs their hair as much as you do!"

— June Juanico to Elvis, in 1956.

Late August 1956

When he was working on the movie [Love Me Tender], Elvis had very little free time on his hands. His phone calls were coming every three to four days instead of every day, and always full of apologies for his busy schedule and for not having enough hours in the day.

Elvis phoned June while he was in Hollywood, by late August 1956, and talked to her about meeting his co-stars for the movie. At certain point, he mentioned the actor William Campbell, who plays Brett Reno, the second oldest of the Reno brothers.

“Have you ever heard of an actor named William Campbell?” He paused, waiting for a yes or no, then continued. “A nice-looking guy with wavy black hair. He plays in lots of Westerns.” “I think so, but I’m not sure,” I answered, knowing good and well the only Campbell I was familiar with was the chicken noodle soup variety. “Well, he plays my brother in the movie. Anyway, they wanted him to wear a hat in one scene and he refused. He was afraid it would mess up his hair. This guy can’t pass a mirror without stopping to inspect himself. He combs his hair more than I do.” “Now, Elvis, I don’t see how that could be possible. Nobody, but nobody, combs their hair as much as you do!”

Excerpt: "Elvis: In The Twilight of Memory" by June Juanico (1997) — Chapter 26: Western Union

Elvis' perfectly combed hair ♥ In fact, Elvis often carried a comb in his shirt's pocket in the 50's, as the last three pictures, taken by photographer Jay B. Levinton between August 10-12, 1956, reveal. Reading about this topic, stories involving Elvis overly combing his hair in the 50s, makes me think about the lyrics to Connie Steven's song "Sixteen Reasons": "The way you comb your hair... (...) That's just half of sixteen reasons why I (why I) love you."

[peaceloveelvis]

So I went and did a thing today... 🤭

I SWEAR, this is my LAST splurge before I go to Memphis in July! 😬

[headfullofpresley]

𝐓𝐚𝐦'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 #𝟏 📚

𝐄𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐬: 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨

Biloxi, Mississippi, 1955. When a friend of seventeen year old June Juanico invited her along to a concert by a popular young singer, she hesitated, but finally went. The singer, ofcourse, was Elvis Presley and when his eye caught June's, they both got all shook up. So began the most significant of his early relationships - a summer idyll of romance and playful fun that was to be a last stop of innocence on the path to self-destruction. In this clear-eyed, loving, and tender memoir, June gives us Elvis on the verge of mega-stardom, still a country kid with polite manners, a voice that melted hearts, and more sex appeal than anyone could handle.

Oh, to be young and in love... (and now we all let out a dreamy sigh)

If you're looking for a no-shit, no sugar coating, tell it how it is but sweet book about Elvis, this one is definitely it. Because that's exactly the type of person June Juanico is; she's sweet but she doesn't take shit from anyone and tells it how it is. Even to Elvis.

The book is written in almost a diary kind of style, which is accurate because she kept a diary in that time and wrote her moments with Elvis down. It's a love story and a sweet one at that- June does a really good job of taking you right into the '50s. The book only has about 300 pages and 40 chapters, so it's an easy and quick read. And a very fun one!

June dedicates her book to Elvis fans everywhere and Gladys Love Presley, "the greatest fan he ever had".

(A quote of The Prophet, which was given to Elvis by June.)

Peter Guralnick wrote the introduction for this book and he wrote: "There have been lots of books written about Elvis Presley, ofcourse, with probably as many personal memoirs among them as have attached to any other cultural figure or entertainer in history. Some have been spurious, a number seem to have been written out of little more than personal rancor, motivation has ranged from love to money to self-adumbration (never has one man had so many chief advisers). Virtually none have actually been put together by their narrators. That is one of the things that makes June Juanico's book different; it is not simply that she has written a book that is filled with feeling and insight, that conveys an experience with truth and without rancor, about a real, not-mythic Elvis Presley. She has also written (and rewritten) every word herself and in the process produced an account that is as touching in its unadorned honesty as it is refreshing in its feisty and unself-censored voice.

June Juanico's book carries conviction in its very simplicity, but don't be misled by that simplicity. There's a writer, too. And we are getting the benefit not just of her experiences but of her insights as well."

Naturally, the book starts with a prologue- in this case, it's June and her friend Pat driving to New Orleans. June has her mind set on one thing and that is to end things with Elvis. Even Pat cannot persuade her to change her mind- she's engaged to be married to Fabian Taranto and she's going to leave Elvis in the past.

But... more on that later.

The story starts with June telling us a little about her life and her childhood. Her father, who carried Spanish and Native American heritage, was a handsome athlete in high school, where he met June's mother. They got married when her mother was sixteen and after five years, welcomed a boy into the family. Two years later, June came.

Her father wasn't a very fun drunk and when her mother caught him cheating, she threw him out. Even though June wasn't the oldest, she was the only female in the household next to her mother who had to work to provide for her family so June was in charge of cooking and cleaning. That's all she really writes about her childhood and then we move on to 1955, where Elvis comes in the picture.

June was invited to an Elvis show by Glenda, a close friend. June had plans with the guy she was dating at the time so she didn't want to go at first but she eventually agreed.

Their eyes meet a few times from the stage and when Elvis takes a break, he stops June when she comes out of the ladies' room. She's trying to play hard to get, but who is she kidding? When he asks her to show her around town after the show, she agrees. And it's cutest thing ever.

(I highlighted so many things and put so many tabs in this book and I can't share all of them in one post - damn you tumblr! - but they're just the cutest!)

They were out until 6 o'clock in the morning, talking and talking. After that, Elvis called her house, her brother picked up and well... June and Elvis didn't see each other again until 1956 when she went on a trip to Memphis with a few girlfriends (she wanted to go to Florida instead, I'm sure she's glad that didn't happen👀).

The girls hang around Audubon Drive, sooo Elvis and June reunite again. They spend time together and naturally, fall in love. He's open about his feelings with her and she calls him out on his bullshit - because you know, a guy is a guy and they use lines to get what they want. But not Elvis- he means what he says and it doesn't take June long to meet the parents. Vernon doesn't talk much, but Gladys adores June and this is one of my favorite things about the book. Whenever June was over at the house in Memphis, Gladys treated her like a daughter of her own and I really feel like Gladys wanted them to marry and have babies. June was the perfect girl in Gladys' eyes; she could cook, she could clean and she was a nice, normal girl. June called her "Lovie" and Gladys called her "little Satnin"... Oh, my heart. MY HEARTTTT. 😫

(June with the '56 Cadillac Eldorado they picked up in Houston and drove back to Memphis together. Photo taken by Elvis in June's driveway in Biloxi.)

ANYWAYS, the urge to describe every chapter of this book? Big. Very big. But I won't- I'm not that crazy and I won't spill everything. Takes the fun of reading it yourself away.

Elvis blurts out the L word quick. After four days, to be exact. And so does June. They're in love, that kind of young love where you don't want to spend a minute away from each other but June has to go back to Biloxi and they're forced to spend a little time apart. Not very long though because Elvis finds his way to Biloxi and they're together again, along with their friends.

Their group exists out of June, Elvis, Red, Junior, Gene, Arthur Hooten and June's friends Pat and Buddy who quickly become Elvis' friends too. They go deepsea fishing (joined by Vernon and Gladys and a few others), take a trip to New Orleans with just Vernon and Gladys and ugh, they just take every minute they can get together. Which, when it comes to Elvis and June, was almost every minute of the day when they had the chance. Their little dates are the sweetest thing to read about and their little group of friends seem so fun to hang out with (minus June and Pat accidentally walking in on Red having sex with a random girl, woops). The way this is written, it really feels you're there and it gets better when they join Elvis on the Florida tour. They watch the show from the side of the stage, hang backstage, at motels, go on drives, go horseback riding.

Just fun, carefree stuff. And that's exactly how this book and their romance feels- fun and carefree. There's no real heavy stuff written here like in some other Elvis books. And yes, June and Elvis had their little "fights" or an argument now and then, but it never lasted long and June was like "fuck you!". Well, not in those exact words, but she didn't put up with any shit and said whenever something bothered her. Elvis' jealous side is shown in this book too, as well as how fast his mood could turn around- June doesn't seem like the type of person who would be completely "submissive" to him, or any other man, and she never was.

Personally, I love that kind of dynamic in a relationship.

June doesn't describe much about them being intimate other than a make out session that almost went too far in the car and in the pool and Gladys knocking on the door when Elvis was about to... enter.. June, but that's it and that's enough for this story. If she would've described their entire sex life, I think it would've taken away from the sweetness and almost innocent like feel of this book. It's perfectly fine without it.

When the tour was over, June went to visit Elvis in Memphis again with Pat- he was supposed to transfer money to her for the flight, but the money never came and she found out the next day it was because Elvis had that fight at the gas station. Woops! The next day, they were off to Memphis though and June and Nick Adams met. June did not like Nick at all and as The Colonel's spy, he tried to get inbetween her and Elvis a few times, asking her and Pat all kinds of weird ass questions but luckily neither of them fell for it. Elvis wrote it off as nothing when she told him about it and June stayed somewhat.. civilized toward Nick, but she sure made it known she didn't like the sucker at all.

(Nick wore "Hollywood Teeth", a curved thin strip of teeth that slip over your own, as did Elvis. He couldn't eat with them and June would hold onto them sometimes; this is what she decided to do with them during a family dinner and I screamed reading this. June is such a vibe.)

When Elvis had to leave to New York for the Ed Sullivan show, he wanted June to join him but she didn't want to (she still had a worried mother back in Biloxi and couldn't just up and leave to NY). Then Elvis tried to get her to stay behind in Memphis with his parents, but things ended in an argument, with her saying she'd be back when Nick left and Elvis telling her fine, whatevurrrr. Naturally, their argument didn't last long- they apologized to each other, exchanged their 'I love you's' and spend their last bit of time together. This time, it would be their last time together as a couple.

(June and Elvis with Vernon and Gladys on a deepsea fishing trip.)

Elvis and June's phone calls were getting less frequent. He didn't call for her birthday and when she saw a picture of him and a showgirl from Vegas he brought home, let's just say she wasn't very happy. And then another photo surfaced of Elvis and a showgirl and then a few days after Christmas (which he spend with another girl), he called. The conversation was rushed, him wishing her a Happy New Year and I think by then, June had made her decision.

She writes: "I didn't mind sharing Elvis with his fans; that part was easy. I just couldn't share him with other loves. I couldn't spend my life waiting in the wings - and I wouldn't! I had to be not just his number one, but his one and only."

(Telegram sent by Elvis to June, March 18, 1957.)

When June received Elvis' telegram, she was already engaged to Fabian Taranto. She did make the trip to New Orleans though and Elvis' parade was soon rained on when she told the news about her engagement. The next day papers headlined "Elvis buys Graceland!" and she couldn't help but wonder if that was the surprise Elvis was talking about when she got on that train in NOLA, only to jump off minutes later and leave Elvis Presley in the past.

But come on, nobody puts Elvis Presley in the past. (Nobody puts Baby in the corner - ok, kidding)

Pat and June fight, like.. fight fight. They have to be pulled apart by Fabian. Pat takes Elvis' side and thinks June is making a mistake by letting him go and I think it's because Pat didn't wanted the fun to end. Her group of dear friends she always had so much fun with was breaking apart and growing up and there was nothing she could do about it. Pat still visits Graceland at that time and hangs out with the guys and she notices Elvis still has a copy of The Prophet, believing it's still the one June gave him.

When Gladys passed away, June was in the hospital giving birth to her first and only son. Pat and June make up again and their friendship lasted a lifetime. In 1962, June gives birth to a daughter. In 1963, June visits Memphis for a bowling tournament she was in and decides to visit Graceland - they recognize her and let her in, but then she leaves so she can surprise Elvis at the theater he's at.

They hug and they talk and Elvis invites her over to Graceland the next day. She's excited but the next day she hears Elvis is having "personal problems" and wouldn't be able to see her and her bowling team, sending his regards.

But! The universe works in funny little ways. And sometimes real terrible ways- a hurricane devastates the entire coastline of Mississippi in 1969 and Fabian stays behind in Biloxi Bay, while June and her children move in with Fabian's brother, Wally, in Vegas. Who is also friends with... you guessed it, Elvis!

Wally worked at the International and they attended an Elvis show together. I guess Wally was excited about his sister in law being Elvis' ex-girlfriend, because as soon as they got home, he immediately phoned backstage at the International and paged Joe.

Elvis and June talked over the phone. They talk about the hurricane, a little about the past, their children, and June tells him about Buddy's battle with cancer and his passing. It frustrates Elvis, who says: "Damn! Damn! Why is it the good die young, June? Why? Damn! I sure hate hearing that about good old Buddy. I really liked old Buddy,"

Why is it the good die young?

This line tugs at my heartstrings every time I read it. It's a question I am sure we all ask so often and a question that frustrates us and makes us sad, especially when it comes to Elvis.

She asks him what he does to unwind after a show and he tells her he reads. He reads a book someone very special once gave to him, he's read it at least a million times and keeps a copy on him at all times. It's his unwinder. He's talking about The Prophet.

Their phone call ends with telling each other to take care of themselves and them exchanging "I love you's". This time, truly for the last time.

Pat being a flight attendant, the girls don't see each other very often but on the 4th of July in 1977, a party is thrown in her honor. Pat expresses worry about Elvis to June, saying that there was something about Gladys and him being the same age, Elvis not being in the best health and pressing how he was with his premonitions of death. Pat wants to visit Memphis with June to check on him and see if there is a way they can help- they try to plan a trip to Memphis but June is worried Fabian wouldn't be too happy with the news.

She suggests that they'll go to Elvis' show in Biloxi a few months later, but by then it's too late. The concert was planned for September 1977, a month after his passing.

And that's how this book ends. In my opinion, it's a rather.. abrupt end. I expected more from the ending. June talks highly about Elvis and the way she feels about him and about all their moments together, but on the last page, there's a lack of... emotion? I don't doubt that June loves Elvis and that he was her first love, which is the reason why I was like... huh? The end? GIRLY JUANICO, PLS. But that could just be me.

I absolutely adore this book and it's one of my favorites. Like I stated before, it's a very fun and quick read. It's light, there's no extremely heavy topics imo, and I think June intended it to be this way, hence the reason for the ending I think. It's mostly about two young people in love and having as much fun with each other as they can. It's beautiful and heartwarming and June did a really good job at taking you straight into 1956 along with her, Elvis and their friends- it made me want to be there! There is so so SO much more in this book than what I've described, so if you have not read it, I totally recommend to get your hands on this one. It's a gem. A sweet, teeth rottin' gem.

Definitely a 9/10 for me! 💗

(June and Fabian.)

All opinions on this book are mine. If yours are different, that's totally okay too. Want to discuss? Leave a comment or slide into my inbox! I'd love to hear your opinion on this book if you've read it, or if you are planning on reading it. 💌

[heart-of-ep]

A friend and I are planning on reading "Elvis: In The Twlight of Memory" next after we finish The Last Train to Memphis, but I just realized there isn't an ebook for it. 🙃

Thankfully her book isn't too expensive, but still $40 for a paperback. 😭 If anyone has a scan of the book that they'd be willing to share, pls message me! 🙏

[peaceloveelvis]

I love their relationship so much! It feels like a real life version of The Notebook 🥰

“That stick is a boom on top of the boat, and it looked like a giant microphone. He was just standing up there and he saw this big thing, he went behind it and started pretending he was singing to this tall microphone and it wasn’t, it was just the boom on the boat, it was funny. Elvis was funny.”   — June Juanico

[an-americcan-trilogy]

Elvis & Co fishing, 1950s. 🎣 ♡

[dearaustinbutler]

It has been 2 years since Elvis came out

[hooked-on-elvis]

"No, you didn't say this!" - kind of moment. 😂

— Elvis library [Excerpts]

Just an easy-laughter, silly moment. One of my favorite parts of June Juanico's book.

— Excerpt from June Juanico's book 'Elvis: In The Twilight of Memory,' Chapter 2 This happened during Elvis and June's first date in June, 1955, in Biloxi, Mississippi. ♥

♥

[peaceloveelvis]

IT'S HERE!!! I'm mentally preparing myself for so many emotions now! 😁😭🥵

[headfullofpresley]

how adorable is this cover.. 😫

[ashtag6887]

I just adore June.

Her love for Elvis was so pure and genuine. 🖤

“June you don’t have to be afraid of me”

June juanico- he turned around, held me at arms length and looked me in the eyes

“June you don’t have to be afraid of me I’m not going to hurt you I promise”.

“I’m not afraid of you Elvis”.

“Why are you trembling then?”.

“I guess I’m a little nervous that’s all”

He pulled me close and took my face in his hands.he kissed my forehead,each eye,my nose and finally my mouth. It was the most gentle and yet passionate kiss I had ever experienced in all my seventeen years.

[doll-elvis]

[austinslounge]

Happy "Elvis" Movie Day Butlerettes!! 😁

Gosh - It's hard to believe it's been 2 years already since this movie came out and changed my life! 😃🥰

[presleypictures]

The way she put his head back down sksksks. Relationship goals fr.

Commentary by Eddie Bellman from Elvis and June: A Love Story:

“I also took film of June, when Elvis was lying on the floor. She was picking blackheads off him.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.. But you know, we all have them at one time or the other.”

[vintagepresley]

If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.

[throwbackgaylor]

june 18, 2019 | five years ago

taylor spoke to elvis duran on why she decided to be more political, a sentiment echoed in ‘tolerate it’

“I don’t just tolerate the way you are; I celebrate the way you are” / “I know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it”