Most people know the date. 16 August 1977. Elvis Presley died at Graceland, his home in Memphis, at just 42 years old. What far fewer people know is who he spent his final hours with.
It was not a manager, a bandmate or a girlfriend. It was his first cousin, Billy Smith, and Billy’s wife Jo — two family members who lived in a small trailer in the grounds behind the house. And nearly fifty years later, they can still tell you exactly what he said.
Billy and Jo were as close to Elvis as anyone got. They were family; they lived on the property and were part of his daily life rather than his working life, which is why Elvis woke them up around four in the morning. He wanted to play racquetball — an indoor game a bit like squash, played with rackets against a wall. He had built himself a private court behind Graceland. Elvis rarely slept at night, so a 4 am game was not unusual for him.
Billy Smith: The Last Person With Elvis Presley Before He Died
There is a lovely little moment from that game that Billy has told for years. It had been raining all day. Billy said he wished the rain would stop, and Elvis put his hands out and announced he would take care of it. The rain stopped. Elvis turned to the others with a grin and said: “If you have a little faith, you can stop anything.”
They played only a short while. Then Elvis walked into the next room, sat down at the piano, and started to sing. He played two gospel songs — the church music he had loved since he was a boy — and then an old country song called “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” Those were the last songs Elvis Presley ever sang.
It was around half past four in the morning, in a room behind his own house, for an audience of about three people.
Elvis’ Last Words to Billy and Jo
Then everyone went back to the main house. Jo said goodnight at the bottom of the stairs. Her memory of it is very simple, and it is the part that gets people. “When he started up the steps, I gave him a hug and he said, ‘I love you,’ and I said, ‘I love you too.’”
She has explained that this was not unusual at all — it was just what they always did. “When we would leave him at night, we always gave him a hug and we always said ‘I love you.’”
Billy went upstairs with him. Elvis had just showered, so Billy stood there drying his cousin’s hair while the two of them talked. And Elvis was in good spirits, because he had a twelve-date tour starting the very next day. He had not performed live since 26 June. What he said about it is almost unbearable now: “I think this is going to be my greatest tour ever.”
Then Billy asked if he was going to bed. Elvis said yes. Billy said he was heading off. And Elvis gave him the last words he would ever say to him. “I love you, see you tomorrow.”
About eight hours later, Elvis was found unresponsive in his bathroom. He never made the tour. Billy and Jo Smith are still alive today, living in Mississippi, and they run a YouTube channel called Elvis Fans Matter, where they answer fans’ questions about the cousin they grew up with. They have told that story many times. They have never once changed a word of it.