Elvis, What Happened?

Priscilla and Elvis were divorced in October 1973. Six days later, Elvis checked into a hospital in Memphis for eighteen days, reportedly for the flu but probably to detoxify from Demerol, a painkiller. This was the first of his hospital visits, but not the last.

Elvis's behavior became more erratic. He flew to Washington, D.C., demanding from President Richard Nixon a Federal Bureau of Narcotics badge. Elvis started to collect honorary police badges from many areas in the country.

Elvis also began to say terribly abusive things to his musicians onstage. Musicians quit, even though Elvis often made up for his cruel taunts by buying expensive gifts. Three longtime members of the Memphis Mafia, Red and Sonny West and Dave Hebler, left Elvis and began to write a tell-all book about him with journalist Robert Dunleavy, titled Elvis, What Happened?

Also, Elvis was involved in several lawsuits that forced him to reexamine his finances for the first time in years because he had to make public his earnings. Court documents revealed that, although Elvis had earned $7.25 million in 1974, mostly from touring, he had netted $1.5 million after taxes and expenses and had spent $700,000 on personal rather than business costs.