Tragedy struck the Presley family over the weekend. On Sunday, TMZ reported that Lisa Marie Presley‘s son Benjamin Keough had died at the age of 27. According to the source, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Calabasas, California. Following the news of his passing, more details have been revealed about his life, which was largely private unlike other members of his famous family. The Daily Mail reported that Keough was set to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Elvis Presley, by heading into the music industry. Back in 2009, he even signed a massive record deal with Universal.
The Daily Mail originally reported the news in 2009 about a then 17-year-old Keough. At the time, Keough was reportedly offered a $5 million record deal to make up to five albums. He had already begun to record his first album, which was said to have a much different sound than the music that his grandfather produced. Keough even said while at the Inspiration Awards for Women at Cadogen Hall in Belgravia, “The music will be nothing like Elvis, nothing like him at all.” Despite the fact that he was offered a lofty record deal, he was supposedly taking a break from recording his first album. His spokesperson told the Daily Mail, “He’s a typical 17-year-old. He doesn’t get up before midday and then grunts at you.”
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While Keough was not planning to release music like his grandfather’s, Presley has opened up about how much her son looked like her late father. “He does [look so much like Elvis]! He was at the Opry and was the quiet storm behind the stage. Everybody turned around and looked when he was over there. Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny,” she told CMT in 2012. “Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I look at him.”
Presley also opened up about her son’s music aspirations during an interview with Huffington Post in 2013. She said, “He loves to be part of it. He loves touring. It’s on his time frame. Always. Then when he’s ready to see me, he’ll come. It ebbs and flows, but they are very supportive. They just have pressing matters now with their own lives.” Keough is survived by his mother, his father Danny Keough, elder sister Riley Keough, and two younger siblings Harper and Finley Lockwood.
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