Behind the Graceland Gates at Lisa Marie’s Memorial: ‘We Watched Her Go Through Her Struggles’ - Rolling Stone

Friends Jeanene Erdahl and Lisa Larson drove each nighttime from Minnesota to Graceland, arriving successful Memphis astatine 4:30 successful the greeting to queue up for a memorial honoring the beingness of Lisa Marie Presley, who died past week astatine 54. Later today, they’ll crook astir and bash it again.

Erdahl and Larson, who became accelerated friends 7 years agone aft bonding implicit their communal emotion of Elvis, watched the memorial service conscionable steps from wherever mourners similar Axl Rose and Alanis Morissette were paying philharmonic tribute to the lone kid of Elvis and Priscilla Presley.

“She was portion of our generation, and [we] watched her spell done struggles successful her beingness and flooded them,” Erdahl tells Rolling Stone. “She had spot and quality and pizzazz, and she conscionable seemed truthful fun.”

Mourners traveled from astir the satellite to wage their respects to Lisa Marie, a talented instrumentalist herself, arsenic good arsenic the caretaker of her father’s bequest for astir of her life. Debbie Ramage of Courtenay, British Columbia, was readying to yet sojourn Graceland adjacent twelvemonth connected her 60th birthday, but decided to travel present alternatively to wage her respects to the family. “I deliberation she was brilliant,” Ramage says of Lisa Marie. “She was precise overmuch similar her father. She’s got that beauteous tone similar her dad, and she was a beauteous singer.”

Under a cold, grey wintertime entity successful Memphis, family, friends, and a assemblage of mourners estimated successful the thousands gathered successful beforehand of a signifier acceptable up conscionable down the gates of Graceland — the mansion Elvis bought successful 1957 and the location wherever Lisa Marie spent her archetypal 4 years. Attendees lined the circular thrust and stretched toward the chromatic partition moving on the northbound broadside of the spot arsenic a succession of guests, from Priscilla Presley to Memphis Mafia alum Jerry Schilling, took the dais. As each impermanent exited the tent, the assemblage — unprompted — raised aloft photos of Lisa Marie and waved them successful tribute.

Like the wide mood, the philharmonic performances were mostly somber, with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins (whose relationship with Lisa Marie dates to their 2003 collaboration “Savior”) playing the Adore chopped “To Sheila” connected an acoustic guitar. Alanis Morissette took the signifier with a pianist to sing “Rest,” which she wrote aft Chester Bennington’s termination successful 2017 and released for Mental Health Action Day successful 2021. 

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Then successful a astonishment quality that could lone beryllium overshadowed by a cameo from Elvis himself, Axl Rose emerged. Dressed successful a agelong acheronian overgarment and scarf, the Guns N’ Roses frontman, susceptible and emotional, stood down the podium astatine Graceland and admitted helium was tongue-tied and tense astir being asked to talk astatine the memorial. “I’m inactive successful shock, arsenic I consciousness similar I volition proceed to beryllium for rather immoderate time,” Rose, a longtime person of Lisa Marie, said. “I consciousness similar I’m expected to beryllium texting her similar close now.” He followed his remarks, work from his phone, by taking a spot astatine the expansive soft and playing a fleet-fingered rendition of GNR’s signature ballad, “November Rain.”

Following the just-over-an-hour service, the mourners — who were asked not to photograph household members and guests retired of respect for Lisa Marie — softly walked Graceland’s driveway to Lisa Marie’s last resting spot successful the Meditation Garden, the aforesaid way that thousands of the Presley faithful instrumentality each August 15 arsenic portion of the candlelight vigil to people the day of Elvis’ death.

Wreaths sent from Elvis instrumentality clubs successful Italy, Japan, Sweden, and Germany lined the walkway starring to the garden. A bouquet of achromatic and reddish roses were placed nearby, with a paper speechmaking “In Loving Memory, From Axl Rose.” Mourners filed done slowly, archetypal passing the graves of Elvis and his parents, Gladys and Vernon, past curving astir to wage respects astatine Lisa Marie’s sedate adjacent to her son, Benjamin Keough, whose termination successful 2020 shattered Lisa Marie. Flowers, stuffed animals, and different mementoes surrounded their mausoleums, with different bouquet of achromatic roses — this 1 sent by Oprah Winfrey — bridging them.

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After paying her respects, Katrina McElyea of Memphis — whose parent was a caregiver for Elvis’ arguable physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos, and who occasionally plays Elvis’ parent successful reenactments of his beingness — reflected connected Lisa Marie’s representation and what she meant to the planetary Elvis community.

“She was idiosyncratic who cared astir not conscionable her household and her father’s legacy; she cared astir the fans, she cared astir the tribute artists,” McElyea says. “She genuinely loved each 1 of us, and to beryllium present and springiness backmost adjacent a fraction of that emotion is truly peculiar for me.”