Elvis accomplished so much in his life. As an entertainer, he reached the status of legend, cementing himself in pop culture as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. However, he was also many other things beyond this, and a big part of his life was being a man with strong faith. His faith was so strong, in fact, that he truly believed he possessed mystical powers. Trying to showcase those powers to his entourage, he nearly caused them to suffer from heat stroke.
He almost gave them heatstroke trying to move a cloud
Elvis and his entourage were driving through Palm Springs one bright, hot, sunny day, when he decided to stop the car and show off some of his so-called mystical powers. Prior to stopping, he was talking to his group about metaphysics and decided that the best way to get his point across was to give them an example. He was going to move a cloud with his mind.
One of his bodyguards, Dave Hebler, explained the experience in the book, Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “Suddenly Elvis yells out, ‘Stop the car. I want to show you what I mean, Dave. Now see that cloud? I will show you what my powers really are. Now I want you all to watch. All of you, look at that cloud,'” Hebler explained. “Well, we all look at the damn little cloud up there like a bunch of goats. Elvis is staring a hole through the damn thing. Well, the perspiration is dripping off us. Not a sound in the car, just a whole lot of dummies dying of heat stroke looking up at the cloud.”
It was clear Elvis had no intention of moving until he showcased his powers and sitting under the sun like that, Hebler was sure he was going to pass out from heat stroke. He was so hot, he was praying that Elvis actually did possess the power to move the cloud so that they could get moving too.”Well, after about ten minutes, thank God, the [expletive] thing dissipated a little,” Hebler said. “I mean, if you watch a single cloud, anyway after ten minutes, it will move or dissipate to some degree. I saved the day by noticing it first, and, because I didn’t want to die of dehydration, I said, ‘Gee, Elvis, you’re right. Look, it’s moving away.'”
That seemed to satisfy the King. “That was just the right thing to say,” Hebler explained. “Old Elvis gave me one of those sly little smiles that told me he had done it again. ‘I know, I moved it,’ he says.”
Other members of his entourage were bigger believers
While Hebler was a skeptic of Elvis’ powers, there were others who truly believed he was capable of doing what seemed impossible. One of those people was another one of his bodyguards, Red West. West recalled a different instance where he was driving in the car with Elvis, along with the King’s barber, Larry Geller, when they stopped so Elvis could showcase his powers.
Elvis was telling them how he wanted to achieve something great outside of show business. “Anyway, suddenly just to show me what he is talking about, he says, ‘Hold on, Red, stop the trailer. Look up there, see what I mean?’ Anyway, I look up,” West said. “There is a giant cloud formation above us, and I don’t know whether it was autosuggestion or what, but this cloud formation is formed in the shape of two very definite likenesses of two heads. One was Elvis Presley and one was Joseph Stalin.”
While this seemed like an incredible feat, Elvis was visibly shaken up by what they saw in the clouds. Specifically, the face of Stalin seemed jarring to the King. However, the cloud eventually changed shape, forming the face of Jesus, which moved Elvis considerably. Even West said that what he experienced that day shook him.
Elvis made one last show of his powers on the day he died
Even though he was met with skeptics, Elvis was a firm believer in his mystical abilities all the way until his death in 1977. In fact, on the day that he died, August 16, he made one last showcase of his powers. Accompanied by his cousin, Billy Smith, Elvis walked toward the racquetball building he had at his Graceland property. It was raining at the time, causing Smith to complain about the weather.
In response, Elvis simply said, “Ain’t no problem,” promising to his cousin he’ll “take care of it.” At that moment, Elvis lifted his hands toward the sky and the rain just stopped. While Smith was likely amazed by the action, Elvis told his cousin that anything was possible with just a little faith.
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We may never know if Elvis truly did have mystical powers, but he did make incredible things happen throughout his lifetime.