Judy Spreckels

Judy Spreckels (née Powell, born 1933, died 2015) was an American writer, publisher and trial historian. She was a friend of Elvis Presley during the rock 'n' roll singer's rise to stardom.

Spreckels describes herself as having been like a sister to Presley when he was about 21 and she was two years older. According to her own account, she was "a companion, confidante and keeper of secrets in the exciting days of his early career". At that time, "Elvis was surrounded by the first wave of what would become known as the Memphis Mafia." She says that she "was with him and the guys all the time." They drove bumper cars in Las Vegas, rode horses in California and hung out at Graceland. "There wasn't a crowd then, just a few guys," and she emphasizes that she "had nothing to do with being a yes man for him and obviously he trusted me." She also claims that Presley told her secrets "that I never told and will never tell." In 1956, the singer sat for a portrait she drew. He inscribed it, "To Judy Spreckels, I love you, baby. Elvis Presley." For this drawing and a photograph of her with Presley, see also Judy Spreckels, "Elvis Presley: His Favorite Picture." Modern Screen, May 1957. In February 1957, the same magazine included the article, "Elvis And Me" describing her as "Elvis' No.1 fan."

On June 11, 1956, Time magazine ironically reported:

When Presley and Spreckels visited Graceland, she said, "We stayed up all night listening to Elvis singing and playing the piano. He liked to sing hymns. ... He introduced me to Amazing Grace." She also went to the funeral of his mother Gladys in 1958, saying "I have never seen anyone as sad as Elvis was ... He grieved. He cried continuously. We were in the front hall at Graceland, and he stood there hugging me for a half-hour. He was crying and crying and crying. It was the saddest thing I'd ever seen." In a letter of August 25, 1958, Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker confirms that Judy Spreckels came "to Memphis to be with Elvis for the Funeral [,] this was very kind of her also. And I know Elvis did appreciate this so very much."

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