Lisa Marie Presley Memoir Recap/Discussion: Chapter 6 (Pt One)
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Previous recaps: Chapters 1 & 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5
Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir From Here to the Great Unknown was 85% done and spread across 16 tapes when she passed away in January 2023. The book consists of Lisa's recollections, daughter Riley Keough's assessments, memories and clarifications, as well as occasional input from Danny Keough, Lisa Marie’s first husband and best friend (and Riley's father).
This is the longest chapter of the book so two parts it is.
Chapter Six: Ten Years
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• Lisa on the audiobook says she smothers her children with love and she remembers asking daughter Harper if she felt loved and she was just making sure. Harper said she was doing a great job and they knew she loved them. Lisa adds, “y’never know.”
• Riley takes care to mention that her mother wasn't in a place where she could recount the fun times when she sat for her book interviews. She could only focus on the trauma. Thus, there is far less material for the ten years between her divorcing Michael Jackson in 1996 and marrying Michael Lockwood in 2006. During these ten years, she was surrounded by loyal friends and gave her kids a “magical life.” Riley recalls this being among Lisa Marie’s happiest years, and Riley said her mother told her all about it. So this chapter is mostly Riley's recollections of her mom's memories.
• Riley remembers when, as a child, the family lived in Florida, watching from the doorway while Lisa doted on her then-toddler brother Benjamin, trying to calm him. She sees this as the first understanding of the depth of her mother's maternal instincts. It was a strong instinct from her. Riley found the presence of Lisa's maternal fierceness terrifying, knowing how far Lisa would go to protect her children.
• Lisa told Riley that after Ben was born, Riley said, unhappy with the new addition, “I wish all the babies in the world will die.” Riley doesn't remember it, she only has fond memories of Ben. She also had an instinct of knowing Ben was the love of Lisa Marie’s life.
• Riley and her brother as adults would often talk about how magical their childhoods were. They had extraordinary parents who made sure they had happy childhoods.
• Each child had a nanny and Ben developed a South African accent from his nanny. A lot of people thought he was a girl because of his long hair. Ben loved being in nature and he was sweet, soft and gentle. He was an old soul.
• Like Elvis and his mother Gladys, and Lisa and Elvis, Benjamin and Lisa had a “I can't live without you” relationship. They basically shared a soul bond.
• Lisa says Benjamin was very similar to Elvis in every way and even looked like him. It scared Lisa. The two were very close, similar to Elvis and his mother. Lisa notes the generational cycle of Elvis and Gladys, and Elvis’ demons, and Lisa's demons and her son having the same issues. “I feel like he's more genetically me than Danny. Ben didn't stand a fucking chance.”
• Riley remembers an idyllic life in Clearwater in the outdoors and getting ice cream with her mom. Lisa loved to take the kids to the park and going on the swings. Lisa Marie loved r&b music and 90s rock. She loved driving in her black Mercedes and taking everyone out on jet skis- she loved to throw people off the jet skis like she did with the golf carts at Graceland, and did it to Priscilla. Riley remembers her mom singing self-consciously in the car and she didn't understand why Lisa Marie was scared about music [note: Lisa Marie in an interview credited Danny with encouraging her as a musician and songwriter, and she insisted he be on her debut record as a thank you for his support].
• When Lisa recovered, the family moved back to Hidden Hills, at the family home Danny found for them years earlier. The house has two guest houses in addition to the main house. They would live there until Riley was 21. Lisa liked that it was far away and no celebrities lived there. In addition to Danny, Lisa's assistant and her child lived with them. They ran around like Lisa did at Graceland with golf carts, climbing trees, drinking tea, eating fruit from trees and they had goats, horses, chickens and seven dogs. It became Lisa's version of Graceland.
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• After the MJ divorce, Lisa Marie started to have severe panic attacks. Some attacks got her hospitalized, and she moved the kids out of Los Angeles. She was paranoid, putting aluminum on the windows so she couldn't be photographed by paparazzi. Her gallbladder was removed, she had the mercury removed from her teeth but nothing helped because she was having a mental breakdown, not just a physical one.
• Just like Lisa used to listen in on phone conversations between Elvis and Ginger, Riley remembers accidentally snooping into a phone argument between Lisa and Danny, where an angry Danny upon seeing a paparazzi photo of Lisa and the kids with Michael Jackson told Lisa “get my son off that guy's fucking lap.” Riley quickly hung up and it was the first time she realized her father wasn't at all happy with the MJ union because her parents had protected them so well from their relationship problems.
• Despite Danny's hurt, he flew to Florida to help Lisa during her breakdown and look after the kids. Lisa would tell Riley later [hopefully much, much, MUCH later] that was the last time she and Danny hooked up in the bedroom. Lisa desperately wanted to reconcile romantically with Danny (presumably 3 or 4 years after their divorce), she felt immense guilt over breaking up their family. Danny seemingly rejected Lisa's desire to reconcile, he refused to let himself be that vulnerable again.
• Riley remembers her dad and his friends playing music during a storm, and she, Lisa, Danny and Ben singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” together. Her parents had chosen Storm as Benjamin's middle name during Tropical Storm Earl; Lisa and Danny both hated the sun and loved the rain.
• Lisa talks about how her instability growing up affected her relationships. “I really had no prototype to follow, growing up. I had no family life…no home life to be an example, ever. No stability…I guess I didn’t really have a shot in hell.” When she lost interest, she was gone, and that's why she got married multiple times- she believed everything in the relationship would play out in two years.
• Lisa set out to have a child and raise a child with Riley. Her goal for Riley wasn't to have suitable parents that were stable, and she didn't think she was going to stay married forever to Danny, and neither did he, but they were a different kind of soul mates. Lisa and Danny always ended up living together somehow.
• During Danny's stay, Lisa and Danny began recording music in the garage. Some of these songs would end up on her first album. They would work during the day and take the kids out at night. Riley remembers her mom taking her out to see Titanic and covering her eyes during the sex scene and nudity but letting her see the death. While their parents collaborated and recorded, Riley and Ben would ride their bikes.
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• This decade after Michael Jackson was Lisa's best time outside of her life with Danny, Riley says. She had friends who really loved her and everyone traveled as a pack of 25 people. They were never alone and Lisa was never alone. After witnessing MJ’s life, she now had a private chef, agents, business managers, etc. Three of Riley's friends moved in and so did Lisa's holistic doctor, as did the two nannies. Friends would also visit every day. Lisa wrote her song “Thanx” about this period.
Click to view[OP Note: The elephant in the room? Scientology. This ten year period was when Lisa Marie was most deeply involved with the cult, her entire inner circle were fellow members and she did a lot of charity and public service touting scientology principles. However, it is certainly important to show- through this happiest time of Lisa Marie’s life- how this cult managed to keep her and her family in for most of her life. She had family, community and friends- things, from Lisa's recollections, which had been denied to her in her youth.
Lisa would leave the cult circa 2014 and took her family with her, which will be covered in part two of chapter 6. She never went back. We will cover the rest of the extended Presley family regarding scientology and the reasons why Riley likely opted to take this vague stance in part two as well.
I apologize for breaking the objectivity of the recaps, I just wanted to perhaps add some context as to the possible reason for the vagueness of the recollections.]
• Riley says Lisa had a mystical intuition. One morning while having coffee with Danny, she abruptly told two married friends they were pregnant- the woman was indeed pregnant. Lisa says as early as ten, she remembered past lives. She could remember them and told people she could remember riding on a horse and buggy and people thought she was crazy. She didn't raise her kids to not believe that kind of stuff, she encouraged them. She didn't want to cut Riley and Benjamin down like she had been as a child.
• Riley's parents wanted their kids to have a magical childhood. Lisa would hire a Santa to come on Christmas, Danny would take the kids fairy hunting in the woods. Riley remembered her mom having a tiny garden in her bathroom and Riley told Ben it was a fairy garden and if he asked for presents, they would bring them. Ben would ask for a Polly Pocket and Riley bought one at the toy store and planted it for him to find.
• Around eleven, Riley was at the age when Ben annoyed her. He told her he had a magical potion that would make her fly, she drank it because Ben was being so sweet, and he told her it was his pee. She indeed flew like he said, right to the bathroom as he laughed. She tattled, Lisa scolded him and that was it. Ben never got in trouble because everyone loved him so much and he was the sweetest boy.
• Riley recalls another incident with Benjamin where she chased him and raised her vhs tape to hit him. Ben started crying and it broke Riley's heart, she has felt bad about that incident her whole life.
• Riley and Benjamin went to Lewis Carroll Elementary School, a private school [note: aside from a scientology preschool, it appears Riley and Benjamin attended mostly non-Scientology public and private schools]. Lisa didn't take education seriously so when they said they didn't want to go, she let them stay home and hang out with her, sometimes turning around on the drive to school. Danny on the other hand wanted them to have an education and structure but Lisa ran the show. Lisa let Danny homeschool the kids at one point and Riley to this day impresses people with her knowledge of constellations.
• A few years before Riley was born, Priscilla gave birth to a son, Navarone. This was a bonding period for Priscilla and Lisa since they were both new mothers. It was a burying of the hatchet and a new start. However, Lisa was also jealous of Navarone because Priscilla adored him.
• The extended family would have dinner at Priscilla's mother's house every Sunday. Riley loved that they had a huge family and she had a ton of cousins, she felt lucky and they all had fun. Thanksgiving and other holidays were spent at Priscilla's and Riley saw Priscilla at least once a week.
• Riley was vaguely aware of Lisa and Priscilla having issues but family photos and videos showed a close family. Navarone and Riley were close as teens because they went to school together. She wasn't aware of the details of the real problems between Lisa and Priscilla until she was older, they let the past be the past so Priscilla could be a grandmother. From Riley's point of view, they were a close family and for two decades, everything was wonderful and normal.
• Lisa took Riley everywhere with her. She remembered accompanying her mom to a photoshoot with Kevyn Aucoin and thinking her mom looked beautiful made up as Marilyn Monroe. Aucoin also did Riley's makeup. Riley was Lisa's date to many photoshoots and wardrobe fittings.
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• Riley also accompanied Lisa to parties. She remembers attending a party at nine years old to Alanis Morrissette’s house in Malibu. Lisa didn't go out of her way to make friends because she was so shy so Riley was her friend. They ended up alone eating and talking outside, and when they saw two adults making out, Lisa covered Riley's eyes. If Lisa was at a party in the Hollywood Hills or an event close by where someone that Riley was a fan of was, she would call to get Riley out of bed to the party. One such incident was meeting Marilyn Manson, whom Riley at the time was a big fan of- Riley was pulled out of bed on a school night and security drove her an hour to the party. At 17, Lisa surprised Riley with a dinner attended by Robert Plant, since Riley was a huge fan of Led Zeppelin.
• Lisa had other boyfriends while Danny lived in the guest house. Lisa's routine was the same every night- a massage while she watched television, then she would lay with the kids singing songs and lullabies. Danny would read the kids The Hobbit and they would both say good night to the kids and go party.
• Riley remembers regularly falling asleep to partying and music being played loud. Ben and Riley slept in the same bed and there was always singing and piano playing. Due the partying happening, sometimes Lisa and Danny were too tipsy and “wild” to sing and read books when saying good night so the nannies took over.
• Holidays were big for Lisa Marie, who made a huge production of them. She would rent out amusement parks like Elvis did. Thanksgivings were big with everyone dressed up. She wanted everything to be extraordinary. And yet there would be nights when Riley would walk in on her mother listening to Elvis music and crying on the floor.
• Lisa was a beautiful lyricist but found it hard to be a musician with control. Riley thought she was brave. The kids would go with Lisa to the studio and she would get the kids’ opinion on her music. Lisa wrote “So Lovely” about Riley and Benjamin.
• Lisa loved touring but it wasn't lucrative because she wasn't giving people what they wanted, which was covering Elvis songs. Elvis impersonators would show up at Lisa's shows, which she dreaded. Lisa wanted to be taken seriously as a musician but it never happened. Despite all that, everyone loved the tour life, which was normal with everyone staying at motels, dining at Cracker Barrel and riding in a tour bus. Lisa would invite fans to party with her.
• Lisa remembers loving performing live and interacting both with her and Elvis’ fans. She tried to perform and meet her fans to the best of her ability, giving them whatever they wanted. She thought it was important to be grateful and gracious. She had fans relate to her music and tell her that her music saved them and it made her want to keep doing it. Lisa Marie loved the connection her music gave her with people.
• There were disputes over her song “Lights Out.” The rock song became more country to appeal to Elvis fans. Lisa didn't like to perform Elvis songs but she tried to do something special for the fans on anniversaries of Elvis’ death. Those songs were never on a record except for charity. It wasn't for money, just for the fans, because she wanted to have her own identity.
• During the making of her 2005 album Now What, her second, she told Riley what the songs were about. “When You Go” was half about Danny and half about Riley.
• “High Enough” was about Lisa Marie’s addiction issues and Riley says in retrospect, Lisa's addictions had begun coming back even back then with her drinking. She wasn't doing drugs, but she was sometimes drinking way too much. Riley says storm clouds were gathering.
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Part two of Chapter Six on Monday...
Source: me and my handy dandy book and audible account, pics: one, two, three, four, five, six, YouTube: one, two, three, four