Did Elvis Ever Really Know True Love? Dixie Locke
 Dixie & Elvis Elvis met Dixie at the First Assembly of God church in Memphis in January of
1954 where he attended services primarily to hear the Blackwood Brothers sing
gospel.
“I thought he was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen. He was a
very shy person, but when he started singing he put so much into putting the
music across that he kind of lost himself. He threw himself into it completely,”
she says.
Dixie purposely set out to meet Elvis by speaking loudly in
church to her girlfriends about plans to go roller-skating the next weekend. She
hoped Elvis would hear and possibly show up. He did. She says he was dressed in
some sort of bolero outfit with a short black bullfighter’s jacket, ruffled
shirt and black pegged pants with a pink stripe down the leg. Although he had
skates on, she became aware soon enough that he couldn’t actually skate.
She finally went over and introduced herself and instead of getting any more
skating in, she spent the evening drinking cokes and listening to Elvis talk.
She says it seemed like he’d been waiting his whole life for someone to talk to
as he spoke of his dreams and hopes, his plans for his future.
When Dixie
took Elvis home to meet her parents, they were less then impressed with the
older boy who dressed funny and had greasy long hair. Her uncle even offered her
$2 for Elvis to get a hair cut. However, Elvis’s manners and respectful nature
won them over and it was not long after that, Elvis took Dixie home to meet his
parents.
Gladys was ever suspicious of everybody but after a grueling
evening of answering her questions about her family, her schooling and anything
else Gladys wanted to know, Dixie received a stamp of approval from Mrs.
Presley, much to Elvis’s relief.
Dixie and Elvis went everywhere together
but never too far from home. They’d sit on the front porch, go for rides, go the
movies or for walks. They talked about marriage and even came close to running
off one day to get married but common sense prevailed. Dixie was still very
young, not yet 16 and in school. Her mother would be heartbroken if she was to
do such a thing.
The first time they were separated was in July of 1954
when Dixie’s parents were leaving for vacation in Florida. It was the day after
the Blackwood Brothers plane crash tragedy that rocked Memphis on June 30, 1954
and both Dixie and Elvis were among thousands of people who were divested by the
loss of two of the brothers of the quartet. Dixie didn’t want to leave Elvis and
Elvis certainly didn’t want her to go but go she did. They promised to write and
that nothing would change while she was gone. They had their whole lives ahead
of them when she got back.
Meanwhile, Elvis was called into Sun Studios
by Sam Phillips to try to work something out with guitarist Scotty Moore and
bassist Bill Black. They worked it out all right and before long, Elvis’s That’s
All Right Mama was being played by DJ Dewey Philips and the rest, as they say,
is history.
After Dixie came back from Florida, things were never the
same although they appeared to be the same for awhile. Dixie accompanied Elvis
on his truck route for the electric company he drove for and she went with him
to the radio station where Dewy Phillips would put on his crazy man act in front
of the microphone. On rehearsal nights, she’d sit with the wives of Scotty and
Bill who were older women in their 20′s. She couldn’t go to watch Elvis perform
at the clubs because she was underage and they served alcohol but as soon as the
performance was over, Elvis would come over to her house to pick her up and take
her out.
As time went on, Elvis spent more and more time on the road
performing and accumulating his circle of friends that would later be referred
to as the Memphis Mafia. In the spring and summer of 1955, Dixie and Elvis broke
up several times and always over Elvis’s jealousy or distrust of what she was
doing while he was on the road. Ironic isn’t it knowing what we know about what
Elvis did on the road? But what was good for goose was not good for gander and
Elvis was suspicious, possessive and jealous. What was Dixie supposed to do
while he’s gone for weeks at a time? Stay home and watch TV alone?
By the
fall of 1955 it was officially over between Dixie and Elvis. Gladys was
heartbroken about the break up as she had her plans all invested into Dixie
being the mother of her grandchildren. Just as soon as her boy got this being
famous stuff out of his system, he was going to buy a furniture store or
something, marry Dixie and have a bunch of kids. But it was not to be.
“It was kind of a natural thing. His career was going in one direction, and I
didn’t feel that I could be a part of it. His career kind of consumed him there,
and there wasn’t much time for anything else.”
Conclusion: Dixie
definitely loved Elvis but not Elvis the performer, the entertainer, the world
famous icon he was to become. She loved the shy, oddly dressed boy who took her
out for milkshakes and made her laugh. Elvis couldn’t help but change after
being on the road and discovering a world outside of their little neighborhood
in Memphis. As he became more worldly, he saw Dixie as the innocent, good
Christian girl she was and in all good conscience, could not subject her to the
lifestyle he was beginning to enjoy. Keep in mind Dixie was only 15 and 16
during the time she dated Elvis and he was considerably older at 19 and 20.
Elvis probably loved Dixie in his own way but not enough to sacrifice anything
to keep her, especially his career. |
