Elvis Presley was one of the most popular artists ever. Yet aside from a handful of concerts in Canada, and a couple organized by the Army when he was stationed in Germany, Elvis didn’t play any international concerts at all. No London, no Paris, no Tokyo, no Rio de Janeiro.
Frank Sinatra, in contrast, hosted concerts in every Western European country – even the tiny ones you can barely call a “country”, like Monaco. He also did over 50 shows in Australia, 15 in Japan, four in Hong Kong, two shows Tehran and even did one in front of the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
Why didn’t Elvis do any of that? Because his manager was an illegal immigrant.
History calls him “Thomas Andrew Parker” – the honorary “colonel” title came from Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis, who he helped elect in 1944. But Parker was actually born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in Breda, Netherlands on June 26, 1909.
One of 11 kids, his father died when he was 16. He was a bit of a ne’er do well as a teen, so was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in the port city of Rotterdam. The idea of running away to the United States was just too great. He tried in 1926 but was caught in New York and returned to Rotterdam. He sneaked in for good in 1929. Working as a carny and grifter for many years, Parker stumbled into talent management and had the good fortune to meet Elvis – who Parker thought was black, by the way – early in his career.
But Parker watched Elvis like a hawk, hence the problem: Parker didn’t feel safe leaving the country, and if he couldn’t leave the country, then Elvis wouldn’t, either. Hence the near total lack of international concerts for Elvis.