FOR LISA MARIE’S FIRST CHRISTMAS, VERNON PRESLEY PLAYED SANTA. Lisa Marie was born on February 1, 1968, exactly nine months after Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding. By December, her father’s television special had aired on NBC. The performance that would become known as the ’68 Comeback Special put his singing and stage presence back at the center of his public image. At Graceland, that same month brought a different occasion: his daughter’s first Christmas. Vernon, Elvis’s father, dressed as Santa Claus. It is a small detail with three generations inside it. The grandfather wore the costume; his son was the internationally famous entertainer; the baby was experiencing her first holiday season. Accounts of Elvis often divide his life into career milestones and family photographs. December 1968 puts them on the same calendar. On December 3, viewers watched a star reclaim the television screen. At home that Christmas, the Presley family had a nine-month-old to celebrate.
Introduction: Before Lisa Marie Presley became the daughter of a global music icon, she was simply a little girl celebrating her first…