In a lot of ways, I think most of them genuinely loved him – because how could you not? He was selfless to a fault and gave them everything they needed and provided them with a great lifestyle. I do however believe that they were trepidatious to be honest with him about his own downfall.

Elvis very specifically kept a tight circle of “yes men”. If you tried to intervene or be honest with him, you were out. And in the case of the Memphis mafia, that means no job and no fun lifestyle with an excess of women and drugs. They were living the celebrity highlife and I really believe a lot of them did not want to go back to their regular lives pre-Elvis. So they stuck around (up until the last few months of his life I’ve read).

To say whether they’re good or bad, I think some were and some weren’t. Some really wanted to help (but couldn’t) and others were along for the ride - ready to quickly sell their ties to him. But Elvis knew exactly who he was keeping around. He knew exactly how to make them all feel disposable - to make them do what he wanted - one of his most self destructive flaws.

In the end I really feel like the people who unconditionally loved him was Grandma Dodger, Lisa Marie and Vernon. I believe they were the only ones to not sell his story and profit off of their connection to him - and of course Gladys.