“I have a million memories of Elvis. We met at his show in the summer of 1955, and we clicked. I was 17. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ came out a few months before he came to Biloxi. He was here all summer in 1956. It was a fun time, and I was young and foolish. 

I grew up in Biloxi, just a normal teenager. My mother was a stickler about people, but she thought it was okay for me to date Elvis. His parents approved of me, too. 

We rode horses on the beach, fished, and did all of the things he wanted to do. Normal things people do around here. There was no privacy. Everyone knew who he was. A crowd was always around him, often brand-new people. He liked being around strangers, and it became normal to him. I couldn’t imagine living like that. We went to the Julep Room to get away from the crowd and have time together.  He was pretty, and I  would stare at him. 

Everyone has a different opinion about Elvis.  He was super nice and well-raised. He was a lot of fun and sang all of the time. He would pop into a song out of nowhere. Whatever was on his mind.  ‘Love Me Tender’ was one of my favorites. His songs were a little mushy, but they were pretty good. He did alright for a country boy. 

We loved each other, and it was hard when he had to leave because we had gotten attached. That summer, he played shows in Florida and went to Hollywood to film Love Me Tender, his first movie. I never got jealous of other girls, but there were stories about more of them. His career was getting too big, and he wasn’t calling as much.  It was time to move on.

I broke up with Elvis and got married the next year. I raised two kids. Every day of my life was special.”

June Juanico

Here’s a story from June’s book “In the Twilight of Memory” about her time with Elvis. 

“Elvis had played to a full house for all three shows, and in spite of his fatigue, he was in a great mood again that night. Over five thousand people had attended the shows, and he was still amazed by the crowds he was attracting. Watching from the wings, and seeing how the fans behaved, his popularity didn’t come as a surprise to me. Elvis, virtually unknown in 1955, had become the hottest singing sensation in the USA before the summer of 1956 came to an end.

It was during this rocket ride to stardom that I started asking myself questions. Why me? He could have his choice of any girl in the country. Why had he chosen me? Would he someday see someone he liked better? Questions like these were driving me crazy, so I tried to put them out of my mind completely.

After the show, Pat went along with Buddy and Arthur to have another greasy but delicious cheeseburger, leaving Elvis and me alone in my room. Beginning to feel the stress of his rigid schedule, he was talking and trying to rub his neck and back at the same time.

‘If only they’d leave me alone after the show. I give them everything I can, when I’m on stage, but somehow they feel the need to have bits and pieces of me. It scares me sometimes. If they would just touch, it would be okay,’ he said, showing me the fresh scratches on his right arm and hand.

Collapsing face-down on the bed, he moaned and groaned with pleasure when I straddled his thighs and began rubbing his back.

‘What’s it like to be loved by so many girls?’ I asked, feeling a little insecure.

‘They don’t love me, June, they love the idea of me. It’s fun for them to scream and jump around to the music. They can’t cut up that way at home, and they certainly can’t behave like that in school. It’s just their way of letting it all out, I guess. Everybody needs to cut loose once in a while. I know I do,’ he said.

‘And you love it too, don’t you? I’ve seen you before you get on stage and you’re a totally different person after you get out there. Am I right?’

‘You’re right, baby. It’s hard to explain. You’d have to be inside my body, to feel what I feel. It’s like your whole body gets goose-bumps, but it’s not goose-bumps, and it’s not a chill either. It’s more like a surge of electricity that goes all through you. It’s almost like making love, but it’s even stronger than that. It’s hard to explain, baby.’

The more he talked the more insecure I became. Not only did he have his choice of girls, he was making love to all of them at the same time.

‘Does the same thing happen to all entertainers?’ I asked, trying not to sound jealous.

‘I don’t know, baby. The few I’ve talked to have experienced excitement and nerves, but they can’t feel the way I do. If they did, they’d say more about it, wouldn’t you think? They all get nervous when they first go on, but after they sing a few lines, they calm down. Hell, I don’t calm down until two or three hours after I leave the stage’.”

(Photos from the exhibit Summer of ‘56 at the Mary O’Keefe Art Center in Ocean Springs. Photo of June at the exhibit courtesy of her son.)