Suzi Quatro went to Graceland this week for the very first time.
Suzi has finally made a visit to the home of Elvis Presley 35 years after she snubbed Elvis's invitation.The former rocker, said she felt very emotional as she arrived in Memphis and admitted she had been to scared to accept his invite in 1974.
She was in the city to record a BBC Radio 2 show marking what would have been The King's 75th birthday next month.
The singer-turned-broadcaster said she has had a life-long obsession with Elvis who she said influenced her whole career.
Talking about that day in 1974 when Elvis called her to invite her to his home, BBC producer Mark Hagen said she had just covered a Presley song and was in a Memphis hotel when Elvis phoned.
He said: "She was on tour in Memphis at that time and she had her version of All Shook Up on the American charts.
"Elvis heard this and phoned her up when she was sitting peacefully in her hotel room in Memphis and said 'do you want to come over?'
"Suzi would tell you it was complicated. She was in a relationship anyway, bit busy... I think she was a bit scared - she is a huge Elvis fan, so to pick up the phone in that hotel room and have Elvis on the other end of the line...".
Quatro's documentary Graceland explores her obsession with Presley and his influence on her.
She also visits his birthplace, meets some of his childhood friends and looks around Sun Records where the star made his earliest recordings.
She said: "To finally be going to Graceland after all these years. Wow - what a journey. It was very, very emotional.
"I was in tears many times as I traced the footsteps of Elvis Presley who was, and is, the reason I do what I do."
American-born Quatro, 59, moved to the UK in 1971 and had a string of hits in that decade including Can the Can, 48 Crash and Devil Gate Drive.
Radio 2 will broadcast her documentary on 7 January, Presley's birthday.
Music-News.com
