Elvis Presley became an international sensation before his untimely death in 1977 at the age of 42.
But while the world celebrated “The King of Rock and Roll” for his musical talents, his stepbrother, Billy Stanley, is on a mission to shed light on another part of his life that receives much less attention: his faith.
Stanley, author of the new book, “The Faith of Elvis: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell,” sat down with CBN’s Faithwire to reveal some of the unique details of Elvis’ faith and life.
Inside Elvis Presley Faith
“He was a Christian, and most people don’t know that,” Stanley said. “When I say ‘Christian,’ he was a Bible-carrying Christian…wherever he went, he took the Bible with him.”
In fact, Stanley, who worked for Elvis when he was on tour, was tasked with carrying the performer’s Bible, and he often observed his stepbrother down on his knees praying.“He read the Bible almost every day,” he said.
The challenges of fame, of course, were ever-present, especially for someone as well-known and cemented in the culture as Elvis. The singer had no shortage of headlines about his life, and he seemed to struggle with many of the demons fame can often bring about.
“Nobody can really imagine the position Elvis was in…here you have a man that really changed culture,” Stanley said. “I always thought…he had the devil on one side, and he’s got God on the other side, and there was a constant battle going on inside of his head.”
He continued, “[Elvis] did his best…whenever he was in trouble, he would always turn to God.”Stanley said his stepbrother would often pray for “God’s mercy,” forgiveness, and wisdom.
Listen to Stanley discuss Elvis’ faith:
Elvis: ‘A Generous Giver’
One of the other elements of the rock star’s life was a rabid generosity that, at moments, stunned Stanley and even brought him to tears.
“He was the most generous giver I’ve ever met my life, giving money, cars, and homes…to people he didn’t even know,” he said.
Stanley recalled one time he was driving around Memphis with Elvis. The two were chatting when they passed a homeless man. Elvis did a U-turn and told Stanley to grab his wallet to give money to the man.
“It was so thick you couldn’t bend it,” he said of Elvis’ wallet. “So, I said, ‘How much [money]?’ He said, ‘All of it.’”
Elvis handed over the cash to the homeless man, who recognized the megastar. The homeless man told the singer he was a big fan, and Elvis responded by telling the man the cash gift was his way of paying him back for watching his movies and listening to his music.
The touching memory left Stanley tearing up as he recounted the details.
“I still get a little emotional on this. As we was pulling away. The guy said, ‘God bless you, Mr. Presley’ and Elvis looked at him and said, ‘Sir, he already has,’” Stanley recalled. “I’m sitting there crying like a baby, going, ‘This generosity.’”