Friends and family of Lisa Marie Presley gathered at Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday to remember and honor her life and legacy. Axl Rose, Billy Corgan and Alanis Morissette paid their respects with musical tributes, while others shared their remembrances with speeches dedicated to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s only child.
Corgan appeared on stage with an acoustic guitar as the first performer of the service, delivering a stripped-down rendition of the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1998 ballad “To Sheila.” (Corgan did not speak at the event but, following the news of Lisa Marie’s death, had shared his thoughts on social media, writing, “There is heartbreak and then there is sorrow. This would be sorrow and on more levels than I can count.”)
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, followed up with a heartfelt speech in dedication to her “sissy,” a pet name Ferguson said the two often used for one another. The crowd of attendees included “Elvis” star Austin Butler, Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley Keough.
“Grief is the price we pay for love,” Ferguson said before adding, “For Riley, Harper and Finley [Lisa Marie’s twin girls] and the entire family, we march forward in support of you.”
Priscilla read a poem called “Old Soul,” and a note penned by her granddaughter about the loss of her mother. “‘I have no idea how to put my mother into words. Truth is, there are too many. Lisa Marie Presley was an icon, a role model, a superhero to many people all over the world, but Mama was my icon, my role model, my superhero — in much more ways than one,'” the letter read.
Rose gave a short speech before delivering a nearly six-minute performance of the Guns N’ Roses song “November Rain.” He pointed out how Lisa Marie was “fiercely protective of her father, his legacy and both his love for him and his love for her,” adding that she was also very proud of the “Elvis” film “and how she felt it portrayed her father and the care that was put into the film by those involved, Mr. [Baz] Luhrmann’s vision and direction and Austin Butler’s dedication to the role.”
The last musical tribute came from Morissette, who performed her song “Rest” accompanied by a pianist.
Presley died on Jan. 12 after suffering cardiac arrest in her home in California, just two days after she attended the Golden Globes with her mother, Priscilla. She was rushed to a hospital after paramedics performed CPR. Her final resting place is at Graceland, next to her son Ben.
