How Bob Dylan Defended Elvis’ Infamously Controversial Manager Colonel Tom Parker

One of the more controversial business figures in rock ‘n’ roll history is Elvis Presley‘s manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Time after time, folks have painted Parker in a bad light, given that he prohibited him from touring overseas, forced him into projects, and later in Elvis’ career, ended up taking 50% of his total earnings. That being said, there is a valid reason for Parker’s poor public image. However, one of the very few people to defend Elvis’ manager has been none other than Bob Dylan.

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Dylan has always been a contrarian of sorts. Hence, it is no surprise that he played the devil’s advocate regarding Colonel Tom Parker. However, in his argument, he did not play devil’s advocate just for the sake of it. Rather, Dylan made some very reasonable claims that the masses have seemingly overlooked due to the rest of Parker’s malpractices.

Bob Dylan Applauded Colonel Tom Parker’s Dedication to His Client

In his book, The Philosophy Of Modern Song, Bob Dylan took up quite a few lines defending the Colonel. In essence, Dylan defended the Colonel and acknowledged that nobody else had as much faith in Elvis as Parker did. According to Bob Dylan, Parker’s faith in Elvis was one of the many factors that led to arguably the most fruitful rock ‘n’ roll career of all time.

Bob Dylan wrote in his book that “among a certain cadre of fans, Colonel Tom Parker is equally reviled for squandering Elvis’ talents.” He quickly subverted that point by writing that “in the Elvis myth, it’s easy to paint the Colonel as Judas tossing silver into the one-armed bandits thirty pieces at a time, but it’s important to remember that there would have been no King to be brought low without the Colonel’s hard work and unwavering faith from the beginning.”

“And even in the darkest hours, the Colonel was loyal and true, worshiping no pretenders to the throne, no false gods, no other clients,” added Dylan.

While Dylan’s claims are polarizing, there is seemingly a lot of truth in them. After all, if Parker had not taken a chance on Elvis, he might not have had such a successful career. As a matter of fact, he might not have had a career at all. In addition to defending the disgraced figure, Bob Dylan’s argument teaches folks an important lesson. A lesson telling one to look at the whole picture before making any sweeping judgments.

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