It’s hard to follow in the footsteps of a king, andLisa Marie Presleydid everything her own way.
With a posthumous collab with her late father shared in 1997, a debut of her own released in 2003, and two more albums released in the decade to follow, Presley built up a steady catalog of music over the years. To celebrate her musical legacy, PEOPLE is looking back at her decision to launch a career as a singer and songwriter, and the music she’s now left behind.
“This is me. This record is me,“Presley said in 2003before the release of her debut LPTo Whom It May Concern. “Every song is me. You’re going to see who I really am and not what the tabloids say or whatever anyone has to say about me.”
Magma Agency/WireImage
While Presley’s musical beginnings can easily be traced back to her early years in Graceland and lessons learned from the King of Rock n' Roll himself, that familial relationship also introduced her to a few other notable names in music.
For more on Lisa Marie Presley, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
Lisa Marie Presley.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
She also explained to the outlet thatPink Floyd’s music had a tremendous impact on her early life withThe Wallbeing a classic that she often returned to. “I like honest, dark music that’s saying something,” Presley said. “That’s your job as a writer. Music is some sort of communication. I think that’s the only kind of music that had a real impact on me. That’s the music I respond to and that’s the music that I write. The only subject that I was good at in school was writing. I used to be a serious writer growing up. I wrote poems, short stories. That’s when I’d be the happiest, when I could write. That was obvious at a young age. "
But for her own career, things began moving forward in 1997 when Presley released what appears to be her first recording — a posthumous duet with her father,covering his song “Don’t Cry Daddy"as she sang along with his vocals. The song was shared as part of the 20th anniversary of Elvis' death, and just five years later, Lisa Marie began to pursue a solo career.
Lisa Marie Presley.Joe Scarnici/Getty
Of her decision to begin releasing solo music, starting with 2003’sTo Whom It May Concern, Presley toldPopEntertainment.comthat a goal of hers was to “try to get my own fans and hopefully allow my music to affect others like it’s done for me in my life.”
“I’m carrying the torch but it’s in my own way,” she said. “It’s like what I said in my liner notes to my parents. We’ve all pioneered different roads. He had a huge road in the 1950s it was very conservative and he shook everything up. That was a cross to bear and pissed a lot of people off and made a lot of people happy all at the same time. And my mom has her own thing where she was a very young girl and was presented an opportunity where I don’t think many women have crossed or walked. And me, I am who I am and I’m doing my own music in my own way and developing my own fan base and going against what people probably think I should do and what I should or shouldn’t be.”
Upon reviewing the LP in 2003, PEOPLE noted that the album was in the making for around a decade, and that at one point ex-husbandMichael Jacksonwas helping her on an LP. Outside of her own music, Presley notably appeared in Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” video.
The PEOPLE review also looked to lead single “Lights Out” as a standout, but noted that the rest of the LP didn’t deliver the same energy. “I never wanted to write a song, ever, about anything indicating my genetic code whatsoever, or my background. But if I had to do it, then ‘Lights Out’ would be that song,“she saidat the time. “It’s kind of a darker, odd take on it. It’s not like, ‘Woo! I’m from Memphis and look at my life and it’s so wonderful.'”
RELATED GALLERY:Lisa Marie Presley’s Life in Photos
Two years later, Presley released her sophomore albumNow What, which was her final release under Capitol. The album featured two singles — a cover of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” and track “Idiot.” It debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200.
Track “Shine” also featured an appearance fromPink, who called her friend “funny as s—, smart as a whip, sensitive, talented, witty, mean, loving, generous, judgmental but always right, loyal, and you adored your children,” afterlearning of her death Thursday.
AsPresley told Oprah Winfrey at the time, the album gave her a chance to define herself again. “When I put the record out I realized how much was there prior to me introducing myself and coming out in public and talking,” she said. “I was like, ‘You have no idea who I am.’ I’m introducing myself to you for the first time and you have all of these pre-conceived [ideas] of me.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In August 2007, Presley returned to music with another posthumous duet with her father for “In the Ghetto,” and took five more years before releasing her third and final studio LP,Storm & Grace.
As Presley explained in the interview, she was “hidden behind tons of production” on previous projects out of fear, but found herself writingStorm & Grace"vulnerably and organically.”
“I think I had been through such torrential experiences in my past records, being promoted and pushed in certain ways,” she said. “It was never really fun for me. I was never a pop person, I was a singer-songwriter. I’m not going to knock it all, but I was a little tapped out. So I got rid of everybody and everything from before and went to England and wrote.”
Presley’s final official release during her life came in 2018, when she sang a duet of her father’s “Where No One Stands Alone” along with his vocals once more, as part of hisWhere No One Stands Alonegospel compilation album.
“It was a very powerful and moving experience to sing with my father,” she wrote in the album’s liner notes, perUSA Today. “The lyrics speak to me and touch my soul. I’m certain that the lyrics spoke to my father in much the same way.”
source: people.com
