Elvis Presley's Last Words Before Death Is Heartbreaking - The Late King Had 1 Last Wish

For those who heard them, Elvis Presley’s final words continue to haunt. Everyone was stunned by his sudden death—especially since the King of Rock and Roll was still planning his personal and professional future when he passed away on August 16, 1977, at 1:30 PM inside his Memphis mansion. He died of a heart attack caused by his addiction to prescription barbiturates, according to doctors.

However, the final words he spoke to his stepbrother just two days before his death broke many hearts. In this video, we’ll talk about Elvis Presley’s last words before his passing, and what his final wish was.

Billy Stanley still vividly remembers his last conversation with Elvis Presley, his stepbrother, on August 14, 1977. At the time, the musician was excitedly showing off his new knife blades, and the two were sparring. Stanley threw a surprise punch, which Presley quickly responded to. Stanley’s finger was accidentally cut, causing a blood blister to form.

Stanley—who recently wrote a book titled The Faith of Elvis—chuckled as he told the story to Fox News Digital. “He realized he hit me, so he instantly dropped the knives, grabbed my finger, and walked me to the bathroom,” he recalled.

“We were standing at the sink, facing this big mirror. There was Elvis making a huge fuss over it, like he was about to perform surgery or something—while I just stood there in awe, smiling at him.”

However, the mood quickly turned somber. Softly, Presley asked Stanley if he believed God forgives people for their sins. They had discussed this many times over the years—almost 17, in fact—but Elvis wanted to hear it again, directly from him.

“Do you believe God forgives us for all our sins?” Elvis asked. Stanley replied, “Well, yeah. I mean, we’ve talked about this for almost 17 years, Elvis.” Then Elvis said, “I just wanted to hear you say that, Billy.” That’s what he told me, Stanley recalled.

The conversation then shifted to the future, and then to love. Presley told his younger stepbrother that he had been in love twice—though he didn’t name names. Stanley remembered, “He said, ‘You couldn’t even guess, Billy.’”

After that, Presley said he was going to read his Bible. Stanley promised to visit him again on August 16. Presley replied, “Okay. I love you.” On his way home, Stanley thought about going back just to tell Elvis again how much he loved him—but changed his mind, thinking they’d see each other again in a couple of days.

That would be the last time Stanley ever saw Elvis alive. The rock and roll legend died on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42. While speaking to Fox News Digital, Stanley held back tears and said, “I wish I had gone back.”

Many books have been written about the short but legendary life of one of America’s most iconic music figures. In 1989, Stanley released a book titled Elvis, My Brother. A biographical film directed by Baz Luhrmann made waves at the box office in 2022.

But this time, Stanley wanted to focus on Presley’s spiritual side. A near-death—or “near-God”—experience involving a "widowmaker" heart attack in 2018 inspired him to reflect more deeply on Elvis’s relationship with God.

Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley, remarried in 1960 after the death of his first wife, Gladys, in 1958. Through the marriage, Elvis gained three stepbrothers. Stanley was only seven years old at the time.

“I remember him picking all three of us up at once and saying, ‘I’ve always wanted younger brothers. Now I have three,’” Stanley recalled. “We didn’t even know who he was yet, but he talked to us all night and tucked us in.”

The next morning, Elvis came running in like a fire drill. They went out to the backyard and found three of every kind of toy imaginable—as if a toy store had opened overnight. But that day, they received more than just gifts.

According to Stanley, Elvis taught them the importance of prayer. Every night, they gave thanks for their blessings. Elvis often spent time reading the Bible, making notes and highlighting the verses that spoke to him.

Those lessons stayed with Stanley when he later worked with Elvis on tour for more than two years. One of his main responsibilities was to carry Elvis’s Bible wherever they went. Many people don’t know that Elvis would sing gospel songs until dawn after each performance.

According to Stanley, Elvis had a deep connection with God. “He did this and that, sure—people said a lot of things about him. But we’re all just human. Most Christians live under a magnifying glass, but Elvis lived under a microscope—because he was such a huge star,” he said.

“He had the devil on one shoulder, and God on the other. There was a constant war going on in his mind.”

By the mid-1970s, Presley’s physical health was in decline. He had become dangerously dependent on prescription medications. In 1973, his marriage to Priscilla Presley ended. However, Stanley claimed that in tough times, Elvis found comfort in God’s teachings.

During their final conversation, Elvis shared plans for his future—including firing his long-time manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and his staff, who had reportedly been stealing millions from him for decades. He also wanted Stanley to quit his job as a jet mechanic at the airport and return to work for him.

Presley ended their talk by telling his stepbrother how much he loved him—and that he planned to read his Bible.

But that was the last time Stanley saw him alive.

A day before his death, Elvis asked his other stepbrother, Ricky Stanley, to pick up six Dilaudid tablets from the Baptist Memorial Hospital pharmacy, based on a prescription written by his personal doctor, Dr. George Nichopoulos. Reportedly, he wanted to get some sleep before his flight to Maine. He is believed to have taken all the medication, followed by more painkillers later that night.

Several hours later, he went to the bathroom due to severe constipation—and never came out.

It was his fiancée, Ginger Alden, who found him just after 2 PM.

“I had woken up and walked into Elvis’s bedroom, looking for him. The bathroom door was slightly ajar. I knocked and said, ‘Elvis?’ There was no answer. Slowly, I opened the door, peeked in, and saw Elvis on the floor. I stood frozen. Elvis looked as if his whole body had completely stiffened in a seated position, then fallen forward,” Ginger wrote in her memoir.