The Dark Reason Elvis Would Bring His Guns On Stage

And he liked to buy guns. For Christmas 1970 alone he'd bought 32 of them as presents, says Smithsonian, and that was the year he presented a .45 Colt in a display case as a gift to President Richard Nixon. Graceland was the site of more than one gunshot; when Elvis saw something on TV that he didn't approve of (especially, for some reason, Robert Goulet, says The Truth About Guns) he wouldn't change the channel; he'd shoot the set. Elvis seemed to enjoy the variety of collecting — as Gun and Game relates, he had "everything from sub-noses to Thompson full-auto sub-machine guns to full-auto" M-16s.

Like many celebrities, Elvis had his share of threats, and as his mental condition deteriorated in the 1970s he began to be more and more paranoid. One way he dealt with that was with bodyguards, and another was by carrying as many as three handguns on him at all times, including onto the stage. Australia's Elvis Presley Fan Club tells the story of his rhythm guitarist's shock when a .22 derringer popped out of Elvis's boot during a concert appearance. Fortunately, it didn't go off and tear a hunka hunka burning flesh out of an audience member.

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