“WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH ELVIS?” — THE SHOCKING FIRST IMPRESSION THAT CHANGED MYRNA SMITH’S LIFE
When Myrna Smith first heard Elvis Presley’s music, she had a surprisingly ordinary reaction: she wasn’t impressed.
She had heard “Hound Dog.” She had heard “Love Me Tender.” She knew Elvis was famous, but the music did not immediately convince her. To Smith, the whole rock-and-roll image seemed almost humorous. She was coming from a completely different musical world—one built on soul, rhythm and blues, and gospel.
Yet somehow, the woman who initially questioned what she could possibly do with Elvis would eventually spend roughly eight years performing behind him, becoming part of one of the most important live bands of his career.
And when she later looked back on those years, she had one extraordinary word for the experience:
Magical.
That transformation is what makes Myrna Smith’s story so fascinating.
THE WOMAN WHO ALMOST SAID NO
Smith was not an inexperienced singer looking for her big opportunity. She was already part of the Sweet Inspirations, a highly respected vocal group whose members had worked with some of the biggest names in American music.
The group had deep roots in gospel and R&B. Its history included work with major artists such as Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, and Van Morrison. The original lineup was also associated with Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston.
So when Elvis came calling, the singers had a legitimate question: What did Elvis Presley need from them?
According to Smith’s recollections, hundreds of Elvis recordings were sent to the group so they could prepare his material. Their reaction was almost disbelief. They were professional backing singers. They knew how to learn music.
But the bigger issue was artistic.
Elvis represented rock and roll. The Sweet Inspirations represented soul and gospel. On paper, the combination seemed strange.
Then they discovered that the strange combination was exactly what Elvis wanted.
ELVIS HAD A PLAN
The stage Elvis was building for his 1969 Las Vegas comeback was unlike a simple rock show.
He wanted multiple musical traditions working together: his rock-and-roll musicians, a male gospel group, the Sweet Inspirations, and a large orchestra.
The result was designed to give his music greater depth and power.
For Elvis, gospel was particularly important. It had been part of his musical foundation since childhood, and his love for gospel remained a major part of his identity throughout his career.
Myrna Smith initially couldn’t understand the concept.
Then came the first rehearsal.
Everything changed.
Hearing Elvis perform live, rather than simply listening to his old records, allowed her to understand what millions of fans had already discovered. The charisma, voice, energy, and command of an audience suddenly made sense.
The skeptic became a believer.
THE 1969 COMEBACK
The timing could hardly have been more dramatic.
Elvis was returning to live performance after years away from the concert stage. His engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas became one of the defining moments of his career.
Behind him stood Smith and the Sweet Inspirations.
She wasn’t watching the comeback from a seat in the audience.
She was standing only a few feet behind the man everyone had come to see.
And what she witnessed was not simply confidence.
She saw fear.
Smith later recalled that Elvis could be nervous before a performance, just as other performers were. But once he stepped onto the stage, something happened. The nerves disappeared behind an overwhelming commitment to entertain.
That observation became one of the most important lessons she took from him.
Elvis wasn’t fearless.
He performed despite the fear.
A NEW KIND OF LIFE
For the Sweet Inspirations, working with Elvis also changed the economics of their career.
They had experienced the difficult realities of touring on the R&B circuit, where talented performers could work hard without receiving the financial security people might imagine.
Elvis offered something very different.
The group was transported, paid professionally, outfitted for performances, and given arrangements prepared for the shows. More importantly, Smith remembered that when Elvis worked, they could expect to work too.
That reliability mattered.
But money was only one part of the story.
The bigger surprise was Elvis himself.
Smith remembered him as warm, respectful, and generous. She recalled that he would personally visit the singers after performances rather than treating them as anonymous employees.
For someone who had initially wondered what she could possibly have in common with Elvis Presley, the relationship became deeply personal.
THE CONTROVERSY THEY FACED
Their association with Elvis wasn’t free of criticism.
The Sweet Inspirations were Black performers working alongside one of the most famous white entertainers in America during a period of enormous racial tension.
Smith recalled facing criticism from some people in the Black community simply because they worked with Elvis.
There were also longstanding rumors surrounding Elvis and race that complicated public perceptions of him.
Smith’s response was based on personal experience. She judged Elvis according to how he treated her and the other singers over the years.
Her perspective was simple: she had actually been there.
She had seen the man behind the celebrity.
And her memories of him were overwhelmingly positive.
BEYOND THE STAGE
Perhaps the most unexpected part of Smith’s story was her discovery of Elvis’s spiritual side.
The man she had initially dismissed as a rock-and-roll novelty act became, in her eyes, a deeply spiritual person searching for meaning.
She remembered his interest in God, prayer, the Bible, and helping other people.
She also came to understand the people surrounding him differently.
To outsiders, Elvis’s inner circle could look like a collection of hangers-on. Smith believed there was more to it. She saw people whom Elvis personally chose to keep close.
Over time, she became part of that extended circle herself.
What began as a professional job developed into something resembling a family.
FROM SKEPTIC TO FAMILY
That may be the most powerful twist in the entire story.
Myrna Smith began this journey wondering what a soul-and-gospel singer could possibly contribute to Elvis Presley.
She ended it describing the experience as “magical.”
The difference wasn’t created by one spectacular concert.
It happened gradually.
She heard Elvis live.
She watched him fight through his nerves.
She saw how he treated people when cameras weren’t focused on him.
She experienced the security and respect that came with working for him.
She watched musicians from very different backgrounds become one team.
And eventually, the supposed mismatch became the strength of the entire arrangement.
Rock and roll.
Gospel.
Soul.
R&B.
Orchestra.
Different histories, different experiences, different sounds—but together, something powerful emerged.
For Myrna Smith, the greatest revelation wasn’t discovering that Elvis was a superstar.
It was discovering the human being behind the superstar.
The woman who once thought, essentially, “What are we going to do with Elvis?” eventually realized there was far more musical and emotional possibility in that partnership than she had imagined.
Her story is therefore more than an Elvis story.
It’s a reminder that first impressions can be spectacularly wrong.
Sometimes the person you don’t understand at first becomes someone you never forget.
And sometimes what looks like the worst possible musical combination on paper becomes, once the music starts, something unforgettable.
For Myrna Smith, that unexpected journey lasted years.
And when she finally found the right word for it, she didn’t call it strange.
