This is an iHeart Podcast. I turned off news altogether. I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people.
If we got clear facts, maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.
Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first... There, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that...
refreshes. Toa Ina. We all know that water is life. An average American household consumes over 300 gallons daily. 40% of Navajo families residing on a reservation the size of West Virginia struggle to survive on less than 10 gallons of water per day.
Yearly St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School delivers over 1.5 million gallons of clean water to these families. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. At Lowe's, this Veterans Day and every day, verified military members, veterans, and their spouses get automatic silver status in My Lowe's rewards with free standard shipping.
Plus, 10% off eligible purchases with no annual limit. It's one way we honor and give back to those who have served and still do. Learn more now at lowez.com slash military. 10% discount can't be combined with another offer. Exclusions, terms, and conditions apply.
Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Details at lowe's.com slash terms. Subject to change. SackSaw Fifth is revealing the season's most wanted holiday steals. Whether you're gifting someone on your list or treating yourself to a designer score, find deals on McQueen, Valentino, Versace, Stuart Weizman, and more at up to 70% off every day.
Outshine at every event and outsmart your budget. From shimmer-ready party looks to luxe layers and cozy giftable accessories, Sacks Off Fifth is your secret source for celebrating in style. Your holiday shopping mission starts now at SackSOffFifth.com or a SacksOff Fifth store near you. And we continue with our American stories. Craig McDonald got his start in show business as a teenager after meeting Elvis Presley.
and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. while changing their AC filters in Palm Springs, California. Greg went on to manage Ricky Nelson for 17 years and worked under Colonel Parker and Elvis shortly after Parker began managing Elvis. in the 1950s. Here's Gregg with the first time he met Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker.
When I was a young kid. My dad Was a part-time preacher and a part-time air conditioning mechanic. And we used to work For Oral Roberts, who was a famous Evangelist preacher.
Well, Oral Roberts had this giant tent that used to belong to Wrangling Brothers. It had 10,000 seats. And my dad was one of the preachers. And we'd travel with that tent and set up 10,000 chairs. and set up the stage and Put the Yeah.
And when the revival was over, when Oral Roberts was finished with that revival. We'd come back to Palm Springs, California. where my dad did pretty good in air conditioning 'cause it's very hot here. He was in the air conditioning business.
So I was only a young teenage kid. And my dad and the company had me out changing filters. in the Las Palmas area of Palm Springs, California. And at that time, that's where all of this a lot of the old movie stars lived there.
So Elvis was renting a house. That belonged to Jack Warner, the famous. from Warner Brothers Studio.
Well, I knew it was the Warner house because I had a key to the house. It was summertime and I was supposed to go in and change the air conditioning filter.
So I'm in the house. It's hot outside. I don't think anybody's home.
So The Air handler for the air conditioning system was in the hall inside the house.
So you had to change the filter in the belt. Which is all I could do. I was just a kid. was I had to take a screen off and crawl under The air hand. and I'm under the heater air handler.
And I'm laying on my back. And I'm reaching down for my tools. And there's this little white dog trying to bite. And I'm cursing the dog. And I'm annoyed with this dog, and every time I reach down into the hall, I'm laying on my back.
and my feet are out in the hall.
So every time I reach out from my hip joint toolbox, this dog tries to bite me.
So I'm cursing pretty loud now. I don't think anybody's hollowed.
So I look down between my shoes, and there's a face down there. And it's elbis. And I knew it was Elvis even when I was down on my back. We grabs a dog and he keeps looking underneath where I am and he says, boy, what are you doing under there? I said, I'm trying to change your darn filter, but your dog's trying to eat me up.
He's just he's laughing at me now. He says come out from under there And so I I crawl out and I knew it was Elvis immediately. You know, he was only wearing a robe. He wasn't wearing his jumpsuit. I mean.
So I get out. And we start talking and he thinks it's so funny about that dog. And I said, well, I said, well, your dog's trying to eat. He said, it's not my dog. The girl out there by the pool.
Well that dog belongs to her. She's a friend of mine. But she wasn't dressed. And as soon as he figured that out, he went over to the curtain and shoved the curtain. Elvis is pretty cool about that.
So uh He said, What are you doing? You're just a kid. What what are you drawing? You're a mechanic? I said, well, I'm not really a mechanic.
I can change these filters. and I get so much a house and I'm going on my bike with a wagon. all over the neighborhood here. And he said, This isn't my house, it belongs to. Mr.
Warner from Jack Warner Studios. I don't really know who that is, but. Obviously, he did.
So he says, sit down, and we sit down, and he says. Why are you doing this? I said, Well, we have to work. And I told him, I said, we work for Oral Roberts. And he immediately sparked Oral Roberts.
He says, I know Oral Roberts. I love Oral Roberts.
So he starts quizzing me about the He said so. Your dad's a preacher and I said yeah. He said, Well, that means you're an Assembly of God kid. I go, yeah, I guess I am. And he says, you know, so am I.
I went to the Assembly of God in Tupelo, Mississippi. My mama brought me there.
So this now sets off another. We weren't talking about rock and roll music, we were talking about preachers. And he's testing me now, he says. Tell me did they bring snakes to your church? I said yes, they did.
Yes, they did. They brought rattlesnakes. And he said, Yeah. And I said, my mom used to sit us in the middle pew So that we if we sat near the aisle, The idea was if the snake reached out for you, you had sinned. You were a sinner and Elvis is laughing all over the room.
He says, My Mom Gladys did the same thing. She set us in the middle pew so we wouldn't be near the rattlesnake. And now both of us are laughing about this snake because he really did scare the crap out of me.
So That's what we're talking about, you know, and he says.
So you travel with the tent? I go, yeah, we do.
So he wants to know how we put that tent up. And I said, well, it's an old circus tent, it's a canvas tent with all the poles and the. Ropes and All the roughnecks. Those are the men that that grab those poles and push the canvas up. We they're called roughnecks.
These are all old tough guys. mainly old circus hands. He said, Well, how do you pull that up, with an elephant? I said, no, we don't have any elephants on the show. We do it with big tractor trailer trucks.
He laughed, I said, you think we bring elephants to the revival? See, he told me, I said, no, I guess not. But he'd seen the circus used to pull up the the the tent with elephants. And This went on forever, and we weren't talking about him being a rock and roll star in music. We were talking about preachers.
And he said, Okay, kid. Who's the organ player for Earl Roberts? and I said a guy named Buford Dowell, He says, How do you know that? I said, because one of my jobs was to help him move his Hammond B3 organ. up on to that darn stage in his Leslie cabinet.
And Elvis is now walking around there and laughing out loud. He says, You're right. He's the best organ player in the country. And I can't get him to come and play with me because he won't play secular music, won't play rock and roll. I said, Well, I know him very well.
So through this whole peace with him, which was very interesting to me. Phone rings. And he answers the phone, and somebody named the Colonel is on the phone.
Well, I didn't know who Colonel Parker was. He's obviously telling the colonel I'm over here talking to this kid, and he's a funny kid. And he he works for Royal Roberts and he's changing my filter in this air conditioner.
So the Colonel told Elvis on the phone, Send that kid over here. I need my filters changed. and it was only a couple blocks away where the Colonel lived from the Warner house.
So I say goodbye to Elvis. You know, I'm getting ready to leave and I'm shaking his hand. He says, I'll see you some more. I'll see you again. And I He didn't really say anything other than We'd had a lot of fun.
So I go over to the colonel's house and I knock on the door and I'm expecting some military guy to show up. And it's just an old man in a robe. And he says, Come in here.
So I changed the filter. And then he has me come into his sitting room. with his wife Marie's cats. They both set my lap. And he says, Now tell me about this story about Oral Roberts.
I love those preachers. That went on for 27 years. I got along with him and he just sort of I don't know. He He he kept me as long as he worked. And we were very, very close.
Yeah. And a terrific job on the editing, production, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Greg McDonald. He's the author of Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider's Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business. And his co-author on that book was Marshall Trump.
Corell. The story of Greg McDonald's first encounter with Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker here. On Our American Story. Ah, greetings from my bath, festive friends. The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money, getting 5% cash back when I pay in four.
No fees, no interest. I used it to get this portable spa with jets.
Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body. Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal. Save the offer in the app. N1231, see PayPal.com/slash promotions. Points give you renewed for cash and more pay in four, subject to terms of approval.
PayPal Inc. and MLS 910-457. Yeah. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line.
But first... There. The last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that... Are you freshes?
To Aina. We all know that water is life. An average American household consumes over 300 gallons daily. 40% of Navajo families residing on a reservation the size of West Virginia struggle to survive on less than 10 gallons of water per day. Yearly St.
Bonaventure Indian Mission and School delivers over 1.5 million gallons of clean water to these families. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. This is Julian Edelman from Games with Names. Fantasy football can be exhausting.
I mean that literally. You're so anxious over your lineup, you can't fall asleep. Best way to deal with it is Unisom. There's a reason it's the number one doctor-recommended over-the-counter sleep aid brand. It helps you fall asleep faster, wake up less, and feel refreshed in the morning.
Plus, Unisom sleep tabs are clinically tested and proven effective and completely. Non-habit forming.
So make the ultimate sleeper pick and put it to bed with Unisom Uses Directed. Sacksaw Fifth is revealing the season's most wanted holiday steals. Whether you're gifting someone on your list or treating yourself to a designer score, find deals on McQueen, Valentino, Versace, Stewart Weizmann and more at up to 70% off every day. Outshine at every event and outsmart your budget. From shimmer-ready party looks to luxe layers and cozy giftable accessories, Sacksaw Fifth is your secret source for celebrating in style.
Your holiday shopping mission starts now at sacksawfifth.com or a SacksOff Fifth store near you. This is an iHeart podcast. Um
