Excerpts from

Kathy Westmoreland: Elvis' Voice of an Angel

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ELVIS' VOICE OF AN ANGEL
by June Moore

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Photo by Keith Alverson

The following excerpts were taken from the interviews section of the new book,
Kathy Westmoreland: Elvis' Voice of an Angel.
 

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Question: Where were you in your career before the call from Elvis ?

    At the time of Elvis' call I was working with the Ray Coniff Singers, the Johnny Mann singers, and my main gig was as one of the Jimmy Joyce Singers. We appeared as regulars on the Red Skelton, Tim Conway, Bobby Darin shows, along
with film soundtracks, and other television shows such as the once known Hollywood Palace . . . that kind of thing.
 

   We also went daily from recording session to recording session for different artists, most days not knowing from hour to hour where we'd be called to go next! On our coffee breaks we'd all check in with our phone services to see whether
we had another session pop up to attend, or if that was it for the day, and we could go home. I found that at the time
I really thrived on not knowing where I would be for the entire day, and the thrill of working with new artists, known and unknown was very interesting for me.

**************************************

Kathy describes her introduction into what would be her life for the next seven years.  

     The Colonel came down to greet me, plopped a plastic straw hat on my head, welcomed me to the carnival, and took
me to his offices upstairs to meet Felton. The Colonel and I hit it off right away, as he absolutely cracked me up one side
and down the other, as he said for absolutely no reason, “Has the hay for the horses come in yet?” I couldn't stop
laughing, yet no one else in the room was amused in the slightest . . . hmmm. They appeared afraid of him . . . hmmm.

     Then Felton handed me a stack of Elvis' albums to listen to, and walked me to my room with a record player,
where I was told to listen . . . and listen . . . and listen . . . for one day . . . . I had one day to learn approximately
500 song...any one of which Elvis might do! I finally quit after the third album, tried to get something to eat--what
a joke--could not get in an elevator due to the crowds to even go downstairs to eat! Had to order Room Service,
of course, . . . little did I know that this would be my routine for the next seven years!

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Meeting Elvis for the first time

    After dinner which I had no time to finish by the time it arrived, Felton picked me up and took me down a service
elevator to go and watch the evening shows, watch from the sound booth, and listen . . . learn the show. “Aha”
I'd have a chance to listen. I recalled Hugh, Jackie and Tom saying the only prerequisite for the job was that I
could ad-lib . . . that is make up something as we went along; Jackie insisting that I could, and I, being the fool
I am, answered “Yes, of course . . . Aha”!

    Felton and I were backstage in the hall, just before the first show, when to my left a man stepped out of the service
elevator in caramel colored pants, shirt, a black leather jacket, jet-black dyed hair, and sun glasses, which
kept me from seeing that he actually had eyes at all.

    Our outfits matched in color . . . I had on caramel, also, and Felton jumped up, saying, “Kathy, this is Elvis . . . uh . . .
Elvis, . . . meet Kathy Westmoreland. She's your new soprano starting tomorrow night.”

    He smiled--(he had teeth) . . . if no eyes---we shook hands, and he said warmly, “Very nice to meet you, Kathy.
Hope you enjoy the show tonight.”

    Being just 5 feet one and a half inches tall, I found myself straining my neck up to meet this young man, who looked
like a biker just off his Harley ride out in the desert somewhere, and he stood at least six feet tall. We kind of laughed at
our height difference, then I went up to the sound booth with Felton, as Elvis turned to go to his dressing room.

***********************************************

That same night as Kathy watched Elvis perform for the first time

     I took my place in the center of the balcony . . . waiting . . . waiting . . . the house lights went down, . . . and out
he came in a white jump suit, a Greek God . . . the most handsome, charismatic performer I had ever seen . . . what a transformation had taken place in just a few minutes time!

    He absolutely captivated the audience--strutting like a peacock, yet so graceful--like a cat--just took
command of the entire audience immediately.

    I have yet to witness any other entertainer with so great a gift. And then . . . then . . . this young man called Elvis . . .
sang . . . yes sang, as people rushed the stage, climbing over each other, he sang, and sang, and sang, with a range and versatility like no other "Interpreter of Songs" has ever sung before.

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A few mistakes I discovered
after the book was published

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