"If every day was like christmas”  

Red West  went back a long way with Elvis Presley: he had pulled bullies off him in high school, partied with him at  Graceland, consoled him during his army stint in Germany, worked as his bodyguard and helped choose to go in his films. But on his day, June 10, 1966,  Elvis was making a request that even Red was having trouble with. It was studio time again, and Elvis was planning on recording a song Red had written. The title of the song was; “If Everyday Was Like Christmas.” “I just sensed that he didn’t  want to do the recording session,” recalled Red. “and it was right.” Elvis called Red from his hotel and said, “You go down and cut the tracks. You sing with the orchestra. I’ll dub it in later.” Red drove over to RCA’s  Nashville Studio B, where the usual gang of ace studio musicians was waiting; Scotty Moore on guitar, as well as D.J. Fontana on drums, Peter Drake on steel and no fewer than three sets of vocalists. “I was high and I was nervous, “remembers Red, “but these guys made me feel at ease.” Singing his best imitation of Elvis, Red pulled it off, and the background tracks were laid down. It was only later that Elvis came to the studio alone and recorded his part for “If Everyday Was Like Christmas.” The result was one of his best singles and one of his more moving performances. It was also representative of one of Elvis’ most successful genres; the Christmas song. Like gospel music, it was a body of material that spoke directly to Elvis’ roots, and one he enjoyed celebrating.

He was taught..”When you do something the lord requires of you, do not boast of it but do it humbly and with gratitude.” And for most of his life, Elvis Presley tried to live up to this strict rule of Southern faith. But when fame intruded upon his private life, even his attempts to give charity quietly and sincerely were suddenly drenched with the cold glare of the public spotlight. At first he shrank from this exposure. But, he soon realized that it could become a double blessing in disguise.  There was so much more to do than he could do. And,  if the world knew what needed to be done and through his fame, this knowledge could be brought home to one and all, then there would indeed be a purpose to it all. So, Elvis began his public life of charity. When the time came for the introduction of the Salk vaccine as a weapon against one of mankind’s most dreadful diseases, polio, Elvis rushed to do what he could to tell parents about this safeguard for their children. He was in the Army at the time; serving overseas in Germany. But, he took time out from a leave he’d  been patiently waiting for to pose with a child who had been crippled with polio and to speak to reporters and newsreel photographers about the vaccine. He also volunteered to be among the first public figures to take the shots and so dispel the fears of many about them. More recently, after a flood struck in the Southern part of the country, and wiped out farms and homesteads and shattered the lives of so many people. Elvis arranged for a special concert to be given and every penny raised that was not spent on necessary expenses was given back to the people whose dreams had become a nightmare in one dark night. Elvis took nothing for himself . But, he did tell friends; “I feel rich tonight. I feel really rich.” “Hey, he says, money’s meant to be spread around. The more happiness it helps create, the more it’s  worth. It’s worthless as old cut up paper if it just lies in a bank and grows there without ever having been used to help a body.”