5 Chapter 4 Colonel Tom Parker

Chapter 4 Colonel Tom Parker Girls weren't the only ones interested in watching Elvis. A man named Colonel Tom Parker also took note. Colonel Parker wasn't actually a colonel. He had once been in the army, but he was not an officer. And he dropped out to join the circus. Parker thought "colonel" made him sound important. Parker couldn't sing or play an instrument. He was a businessman who managed country singer Hank Snow.

女孩并不是唯一对猫王感兴趣的人。 一位名叫汤姆·帕克上校的人也注意到了这一点。 帕克上校其实不是上校。 他曾经当过兵，但不是军官。 后来他退学加入了马戏团。 帕克认为“上校”让他听起来很重要。 帕克不会唱歌，也不会演奏乐器。 他是乡村歌手汉克·斯诺的经纪人。

COLONEL TOM PARKER Colonel Parker had big plans for Elvis. When they met, he told the young singer that playing small concerts near his home wasn't good enough. He should be touring the country. Elvis should appear on television shows, and star in movies. With his looks and style, Elvis could be bigger than anyone before him. There was one problem. Elvis already had a manager. His name was Bob Neal. Bob was friendly and hard-working. He got Elvis a regular spot on the Louisiana Hayride, a popular concert series on the radio. He also helped Elvis make business deals with Mr. Phillips at Sun Studios. But that didn't stop Parker. He was pushy. Parker knew Elvis needed him. Sun was too small.

帕克上校对猫王有很大的计划。 当他们见面时，他告诉这位年轻的歌手，在他家附近开小型音乐会还不够好。 他应该在全国巡演。 猫王应该出现在电视节目和电影中。 凭借他的外表和风格，埃尔维斯可能比他之前的任何人都要伟大。 有一个问题。猫王已经有经纪人了。 他的名字叫鲍勃·尼尔。鲍勃很友好，工作也很努力。 他为埃尔维斯在电台流行的系列音乐会《路易斯安那Hayride》中争取到了一个固定的位置。 他还帮助埃尔维斯与太阳工作室的菲利普斯先生达成商业交易。 但这并没有阻止帕克。 他很有进取心。帕克知道猫王需要他。 太阳太小了。

Bob Neal was too small, and Elvis was going to be big. Famous record companies should be recording his music. That was the way to get big hits heard all across the country. Mr. Phillips knew all of this, too. But he didn't like Parker, and he didn't want to let Elvis go. Vernon wanted Elvis to sign with Parker. The talk of movies and big record deals impressed Elvis's father. But Gladys had her doubts. She hardly knew this Colonel Parker. And he wasn't easy to like. Parker smoked big cigars that stank up their home. He was older than Vernon. He was blunt, saying whatever he wanted, even if it made people feel bad. He only seemed to care about money. Gladys worried about girls running after her son, tearing at his clothes. Would he be happy spending most nights on a bus, traveling from concert to concert? Gladys wanted him to settle down and start a family.

鲍勃·尼尔太小了，而埃尔维斯要成为大人物了。 著名的唱片公司应该录制他的音乐。 这是让全国都能听到热门歌曲的方法。 菲利普斯先生也知道这一切。 但他不喜欢帕克，也不想让埃尔维斯走。 弗农想让埃尔维斯和帕克签约。 关于电影和大唱片合约的讨论给埃尔维斯的父亲留下了深刻的印象。 但格拉迪斯有自己的疑虑。 她几乎不认识这位帕克上校。 而且他不容易讨人喜欢。 帕克抽的大雪茄使他们家臭气熏天。 他比弗农年纪大。他直言不讳，想说什么就说什么，即使这会让人感觉不好。 他似乎只关心钱。 格拉迪斯担心女孩们追着她儿子，撕扯他的衣服。 他愿意在巴士上度过大部分的夜晚，从一场音乐会到另一场音乐会吗? 格拉迪斯想让他安定下来，组建家庭。

Elvis adored his mama. Still, he ended up doing what his father wanted. In August of 1955, Colonel Parker became "special adviser" to Elvis. And, sure enough, a few months later, Parker got RCA Records to buy Elvis's contract with Sun. RCA paid thirty-five thousand dollars. That was more money than any other record company had ever paid for a singer. Some people at RCA worried that Elvis would be a flop. Maybe they had made a big mistake. They had nothing to worry about.

猫王崇拜他的妈妈。尽管如此，他最终还是做了他父亲想要的。 1955年8月，帕克上校成为埃尔维斯的“特别顾问”。 果不其然，几个月后，帕克让RCA唱片公司买下了猫王与Sun的合同。 RCA支付了3.5万美元。 这比其他任何唱片公司付给歌手的钱都要多。 RCA的一些人担心猫王会失败。 也许他们犯了一个大错误。 他们没有什么可担心的。