Lisa Marie has it bad -- and NASCAR capitalizes

Presley the focus of sport's latest promotional campaign
By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
August 1, 2005
11:25 AM EDT (15:25 GMT)


The question was simple enough: Would you like to interview Lisa Marie Presley?

She's the face of the latest 30-second NASCAR ad that asks, "How bad have you got it?" The commercial combines footage of Lisa Marie at the Pepsi 400, race footage and her song Thanx off the Now What album. NASCAR also is in discussions with Capitol Records for cross-promotion at retail and radio venues around the Presley-NASCAR relationship.

LMP -- daughter of Elvis and Priscilla, activist, musician. ... Yeah, I could be persuaded.

My parents instilled in me at an early age a great sense of history. I know Elvis' story, from Tupelo to Graceland; I grew up 30 minutes south of Tupelo, a couple hours from Memphis. Other than Highway 45, Elvis was the best thing to ever come out of Northeast Mississippi.

Elvis and Priscilla were married the day we loaded up the family Ford Falcon and moved from Fayetteville, Tenn., to Aberdeen, Miss.

Ten years later, fate had my mom and me on a Trailsway bus en route from Tennessee to Mississippi -- but mired in heavy traffic in Memphis; the world was laying The King to rest. (Like many others, my mom still has the August 1977 newspapers that mourned Presley's death.) We both have daughters named Riley (Lisa Marie) or Reily (me).

Interview Lisa Marie? Yeah, that's doable. I know her story, too -- and it's not Jacko or Nick Cage. It's never been about her celebrity, not for me.

She's into LEAP and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. She's also actively involved with Presley Place. The lady isn't big on talk; she's does the walk.

ALSO
• LMP's official Web site


After the interview everyone had the same question: What's she like? As if the answer was going to include the words "diva" or "prima donna." Truth is Lisa Marie's every other thirtysomething mother of two with a career. When she's not Lisa Marie Presley, she's mom. What else is there? Lisa Marie comes across as someone you'd want in your circle of friends.

And that's where we began ...

So, Ms. Presley, would you do another ride-along with Wally Dallenbach? "Hell no! ... But I would like to go around the track with someone sane," she says.

For those who missed it, her pre-Pepsi 400 "Wally's World" trek around Daytona was must-scream TV.

"I knew I was in for it," says Presley, "when I asked him before we started that if I asked he would slow down. He didn't answer."

Presley performed before the Pepsi 400 at Daytona on July 2, and though that was her first NASCAR race to attend in person, she's quick to say that "I kinda got hooked."

"I got a crash-course in the whole arena -- racers, their stories. ... It's amazing [that they] basically jeopardize their lives for our entertainment."

And it's that entertainment on which NASCAR is looking to capitalize. Presley is the latest entertainer to lend her fame to the "How bad have you got it?" marketing campaign, joining a list that includes Hootie and the Blowfish, Sheryl Crow and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others.

Presley also says the sport's ongoing move toward the left coast will be well-received. "I think the West Coast will embrace NASCAR; there is more of an audience."

Speaking of audiences, Presley's music is gaining its own -- despite the industry's current slant toward pop princesses. "[The music industry] is not at its best at this moment," she says. "It's not conducive to different kinds of music. ... It's shallow and commercial."

Nonetheless, her gritty debut album To Whom It May Concern was certified gold and her follow-up entry debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard chart.

Presley admits it has been "hard to walk my own path," but says she wouldn't change a thing. "Most of the content of the second record is radio-friendly. But I did my own thing, didn't conform -- and that's not necessarily praised in society."

Her daughter, Riley Keough, also has done her own thing. She did two runway shows during Fashion Week 2002 in Milan, Italy, for designers Dolce & Gabbana, and she currently is a model for the Dior fashion house.

Presley readily admits to having reservations about 16-year-old Riley pursuing a modeling career. "Yes, of course -- because of the nature of [the business] savors superficial things. But she's so unaffected by all of it, and all is going good."

However, she does have some advice for those who either want to break into the entertainment industry or are trying to follow famous footsteps: "All you can do is the best you can do. Be serious about it.

"Being an individual is OK rather than being what you're thought of or should be."

To that end, Presley has engaged herself in several projects to help others. In 2002, she testified before Congress on behalf of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, championing the cause against labeling children mentally ill and drugging them with heavy, mind-altering, psychiatric drugs.

She also supporters LEAP -- the Literacy, Education and Ability Program -- as well as Presley Place, a charitable organization in Memphis that helps homeless people.

"I'm not someone out for myself," she says. "I'm not vain and I don't want attention. I have to take responsibility because I have the ability to help others. ... I'm blessed to be privileged."

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.