Rick Stanley Ministries
P.O. Box 1447, Niceville FL 32588
850-897-4997
He grew up as step-brother to the King of Rock n' Roll, Elvis Presley, and his fast-lane lifestyle spiraled out of control upon Elvis' death. In the middle of these problems, Rick's life was dramatically changed and he will tell how your life can be changed also!
Donnie Sumner, Jeff Grindle and Rick Stanley
Biographical notes:
Rick Stanley is one of America’s most respected and anointed Evangelists today. In 1960, Rick and his two brothers were living in Virginia when his mother, Dee Stanley, married Elvis’ widowed father, Vernon Presley, and took them to live at Graceland. Rick was 6 years old. Elvis was 25. As Rick grew older he traveled with Elvis as his personal assistant and bodyguard. The lifestyle eventually led to a dependence on alcohol and narcotics. When Elvis died in August, 1977, Rick thought his life was over since it had been centered on his big brother from the age of 6. Through the consistent prayer of a high school friend, Robyn Moye, Rick gave what was left of his life to Jesus Christ. He was miraculously delivered from his alcohol and drug dependencies. Sensing God calling him into the ministry, Rick attended Criswell College in Dallas, TX on a full scholarship provided to him by Dr. W. A. Criswell after hearing Rick’s story. He went to do his graduate studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. Rick also went on to marry that high school friend and he and Robyn have two daughters, Brittany and Bethany. Rick has appeared on "Good Morning America", "Regis and Kathie Lee", "20/20", "Larry King Live" and many other television programs. He has also spoken at Billy Graham crusades.
Rick Stanley has written a book entitled, "The Touch of Two Kings".
St. Charles Herald-Guide published an interview with Rick Stanley, as told to Guide reporter Allen Lottinger, Jr. Wednesday, April 1, 1998 before another visit to West St. Charles Baptist Church. Below is that interview reprinted with permission.
The King's brother comes to Boutte
Rick Stanley, step-brother of Elvis Presley, is in town to preach the Word.
Herald-Guide: How are you related to Elvis?
Rick Stanley: Stepbrother. My mom married his dad. Elvis' mom died Aug. 14, 1958, at 47 years old. My mom and dad were divorced in 1959 and my mom remarried Elvis' dad, Vernon, when I was six.
HG: What were some of your experiences touring with Elvis?
RS: Well, it was a lot of fun. Since Elvis was 19 years older than me, I happened to grow up listening to the Beatles, the Stones and Led Zeppelin. Elvis started another era of rock and roll. I started travelling with Elvis when I was 17 and I saw what everybody was talking about. Up to then I had only seen movies about the 50s. I began to see that this guy, Elvis, really was a big deal and a great entertainer. He was a wonderful person to be around. He taught me things that I can incorporate into my life right now like spending time talking to people. Elvis talked to his fans. He was nice to them. We never ran from the media or photographers. His philosophy was that we should thank God that they want to take his picture. For every teenager who grows up liking rock and roll and then getting to be in it, it was a dream come true.
HG: Was it on the tours that you first got into drugs?
RS: I first got into it when I was real young, about 15 or 16. Drugs just became more accessible when I was on the road because the band, not so much Elvis, had all of the drugs and that's who I hung around with. It just came with the entertainment industry.
HG: What type of person was Elvis?
RS: I think that the story that really characterizes this man is one that took place during his childhood in Tupelo, Miss. When Elvis was in the second grade he had a buddy in school with whom he used to exchange Christmas gifts. This friend told me that one Christmas Elvis didn't have the money to buy something so Elvis took one of his own trucks, wrapped it up and gave it to his buddy. That's the person I knew, someone who gave and gave. People want to know why he gave such extravagant gifts when he was older. It was because he remembered what it was like not to have. He was the highest paid entertainer in the 60's. He was in the position to give these gifts, and he loved doing it. You would be standing there and he'd say, "See that new car, go ahead and get it," just so he could see the look on your face.
HG: How did Elvis first get involved with the St. Jude Hospital for Children in Memphis?
RS: What happened was that he had heard of Memphis' desire to build a children's hospital. He wasn't only the King of Rock and Roll. He was also the King of Memphis. Anything going on in Memphis he knew about. He had bought President Eisenhower's 40-foot yacht, but he only took it on one cruise up and down the Mississippi. So he gave the yacht up to start the fund for the hospital. The boat was worth over $100,000 in 1959.
HG: What was the Memphis Mafia?
RS: It was a closely knit group of about ten or twelve of us. We all got that term put on us because we were part of one of the biggest phenomena in entertainment. You see, Elvis was so childlike that when he saw a movie that he liked, he would actually take on the characteristics of the actor. In the mid 60's he was watching the Rat Pack - Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop - and guys like that. Back then, the look was the black suits with black hats. So Elvis decides that we were going to Vegas in two black limos. When the limos pull up in front of the hotel we all got out and Elvis was the last guy to get out, like the Don or the head honcho, and the comment was made that we looked like the mafia. So the term Memphis Mafia came from some journalists who said that the guys in black were from Memphis. The truth concerning Elvis Presley will never be fully told because there is a blind allegiance to him by those who were close to him. Okay, he chased the girls and he partied, let's just leave it at that because when you were with Elvis, you lived like Elvis. Whatever he had, you had. So there was a closely knit group of guys. Two of which were Red and Sonny West, the toughest men I've ever met. When we would go somewhere we'd make a V with Red and Sonny at the point and Elvis in the middle and we moved through a crowd, man. We also got kicked out of hotels like other rock groups but we were doing more pranks rather than throwing televisions out of the window. We would take the fire hydrant and turn it on each other when someone would step out of their hotel room. It was a bunch of Southern boys who were big kids.
HG: Describe your conversion experience.
RS: I didn't anticipate it nor was I looking for it. It's something that God did. I didn't know that God could handle me. I always thought of God as being there and I even believed that Jesus is the Son of God because I had grown up in church and heard that all my life. So I didn't question that, but the idea that the Son of God could care enough to allow His spirit to inhabit me. It's like when someone would go see Elvis Presley, there would be a spirit of excitement. With Jesus Christ, we call it the Holy Spirit. He gripped my heart two months after Elvis died. It was the weirdest thing because all of a sudden I felt this real conviction in my heart and I realized that I had made a mess out of my life. I looked in the mirror one day and I thought I was going to get ill. I was so sick of myself and sin and the estrangement from God. So Robyn, now my wife, asked me to go to church, and I went. When I prayed and asked God to fulfill me and heal me, it happened. The best description that I can give it is warm waves of liquid. I was immersed in joy. Joy is the wine that God gives to the hearts of those that strive. I suddenly had meaning in all this chaos. It was like I had been looking through the end of a coke bottle for almost 24 years and suddenly things just became clear. That type of experience doesn't happen to everyone, but I have a theory. God knows that He will really have to make a strong impression on people who have assaulted their senses with drugs or alcohol so he gives them a high that will follow them the rest of their lives, and I believe that.
HG: So you went on to get your high school diploma, your degree and your master's at seminary?
RS: Yes, the interesting thing about my master's was that I didn't go to seminary to learn how to communicate. I knew how to do that. I grew up watching the master. I watched him walk on stage and just suck the air out of the room and take the floor. I went to seminary for credibility. You let the average person say that they had an encounter with Christ, no questions. But me, people tend to be skeptical. So when I came to know Christ I went and got a high school diploma, went to college and then seminary. Going to school with people that I could not relate to was tough. I could not relate to these people. Give me an artist or a musician, somebody who is creative. That's the type of crowd that I was brought up around. Not the cookie cutter stuff, you're supposed to do this, you're supposed to do that. I don't fit that mold. I can't so I'm not going to try. I did it when I first came to the Lord but I said, "This isn't me, man." One of the great honors since I graduated was that I was given the opportunity to speak at the Baptist Seminary in New Orleans. That's a big deal for me because that's when your peers and professors are looking at you and saying, "You know, that guy's been doing this for almost 20 years. He's paid his price." The great thing that's happening right now in the Baptist denomination is that we're getting relevant. Now as we approach the new millennium the young guns, guys my age, who are committed to the church, are really making a difference. See my hero is not Billy Graham, who I love and I've worked with in crusades. My hero is Mother Theresa. I'm not here to try to convert Catholics, that's a big mistake because I know a lot of Catholics who have a strong relationship to the Lord and a lot of Baptists who don't know the Lord. So when I come to an area with a lot of Catholic influence I tell them to go back to the Catholic Church and love the Lord. It's not my thing to tell them they are wrong if they are not Baptist. I am more into enhancing the kingdom than building up a particular denomination. That's the pure motive.
HG: Was Elvis a religious man?
RS: Very. He taught me the importance of what I call asking life's big questions. The big question that went through Elvis' mind throughout his entire career was, "Why me?" He couldn't figure out how come God chose him. Right after Elvis passed away I went to see my step-father and he said, "Now son, people are going to be critical of you and your ministry because you are related to Elvis, but don't let them deter you because Elvis wanted to preach more than anything in the world." That's why Elvis sang the gospel songs as well as rock. It was his way. I understand it now, with characters like Marilyn Manson, but I didn't like how ministers turned on Elvis. There is a huge difference between "Hound Dog" and some of the more depraved stuff coming out today. Elvis was already concerned about The Beatles. He liked them and thought that they were very talented, but when they started the Magical Mystery Tour hallucinogenic stuff he thought that they were wrong to use their platform in that way. If you're going to take somebody anywhere, take them up. Don't drag them down. Elvis was that type of man.
HG: Final question. Is Elvis still alive?
RS: Oh yeah. He's just in another realm. He just stepped into eternity. There is no death, the day that we die is actually the first day of our eternity. They took the physical frame, the body, and they planted it in the mausoleum but his spirit stepped into the presence of God. His ability to entertain and his ability to make people happy and bring joy will always be with us. That sounds about borderline mystic but that's the way I am. I don't have God in a box and I don't tell people that I can explain it all. The Bible says real clearly about six times in the New Testament that it's a mystery.
Note: Any typos are mine :-) Web page designer