Sequel to:
Evelyn, the global super starlet dubbed the Princess Of Rock And Roll, was not born, she was made. Originally born into a life of poverty in Tupela, Mississippi as a now-little known man called Elvis Presley, at the age of 19 Elvis signed a record deal with Sun Records, inadvertently giving away almost all rights over his career and personal autonomy.
Despite showing promise with local gigs with his energetic, hip-shaking performances, producer Sam Phillips believed his uniquely physical style would better suit a female vocalist if he ever wanted a chance of making it big.
On January 10th, 1956, against his explicit wishes, Elvis was checked into the Memphis Institute for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The Institute, now infamous for its treatment of many of the most recognisable songstresses in music, undertook the forced castration and feminization of its patient into the Evelyn Presley we know and love today.
Evelyn would go on to sing about her time in the Institute in the lyrics of her breakout hit 'Heartbreak Hotel', a reference to the gaudy-yet-grissly clinic that confined its patients in opulent luxury during their conversions.
"For broken hearted lovers to cry there in their gloom," Evelyn sings. In her memiors she would describe the tearful wives visiting their ex-husbands at the clinic, trapped there by ruthless contracts or who had submitted themselves voluntarilly in the hopes of a chance at stardom, even as women.
"Although it's always crowded. You still can find some room." Indeed, Evelyn had no shortage of company during her stay, being operated on alongside such contemporaries as Rae Orbison, Jenny Lee Lewis, and Joani Cash.
- Excerpt from Don't Be Cruel: The Evelyn Presley Story