January 8, 2026 marks 91 years since Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935.

As great as he was as a singer, actor, and philanthropist, this column is about who he was as a father.

Years ago, in Memphis, I heard Mrs. Janelle McComb (1924-2005) share the story of having written a poem, titled “The Priceless Gift”, for Elvis to give to his daughter, Lisa Marie. 

Mrs. McComb, also from Tupelo, and a longtime friend of the Presley family from the time Elvis was a child, was visiting Graceland in late 1971. She commented to Elvis that Lisa would soon turn four, and she asked him what he would give Lisa for her birthday, and Elvis asked her if she would write a poem for him to give to his daughter.

The following is Mrs. McComb’s written account of how she came to write the poem “The Priceless Gift”, and it is just as I heard her share it all those years ago.

“In the latter part of ’71, I was visiting Graceland. Lisa was pushing her baby buggy through the hall, and I said to Elvis, ‘Can you imagine? She is soon going to be four years old. What are you going to give her for her birthday?’ Elvis paused and said, ‘I don’t know. She’s all we have. She is our most prized possession. I want Lisa to know what the important things in life are. Money is not important – it is fleeting and all this is just vanity.’ He said, ‘A lot has happened through the years. Do you remember, when we left Tupelo, all we had was a little trunk on top of the car.’ We talked and laughed for an hour or more, reminiscing about his childhood, about his mother cooking, about how his grandmother wore an apron, and about the song “Precious Memories”, which was sung at his mother’s funeral. He said, ‘Those early values that my parents taught me are still my values, and I want my child to know them. Mrs. McComb, do you think you could take your pen and write something for me to give my little girl to tell her what the real values of life are, because I may not always be around.’ ‘’In other words,’ I said, ‘you want to give her the priceless gift.’ He said, ‘That’s right, and be sure to sign it, ‘Daddy’.’ I said, ‘Well, Elvis, I’ll try.’ I went home and wrote the poem. When I brought it back to Elvis at Graceland, he was so touched and pleased when he read it, he ran up the stairs two at a time to hide it until Lisa’s birthday. When he came back down, crying, I asked him to sign my copy of the poem. He signed it, then, with his elbow, attempted to wipe the tears off the paper and smeared his signature. He said, ‘Oh, Mrs. McComb, I’ve ruined your copy.’ ‘No’, I said, ‘someday those teardrops will be just as priceless as this poem is to you.’”

Above is a photograph of Janelle McComb with Elvis when the poem was framed.

Below is the poem, “The Priceless Gift”, written by Mrs. Janelle McComb: