The Memphis Mafia was the nickname given in the '60s by the media to the group of Elvis Presley's friends, associates, employees and cousins whose main functions were to accompany, protect, and serve Presley. From the beginning of his career in 1954 until his death in 1977, several members filled practical roles; for instance, they were employed to work for Presley as bodyguards or on tour logistics and scheduling. In these cases Presley paid salaries, but most lived off fringe benefits such as gifts, cars, houses and bonuses. Over the years, the number of members grew and changed, but for the most part there was a core group who spent much time with Presley.

Elvis preferred men around him who were loyal, trustworthy and deferential. Thus family members and friends of his youth were very important to him. "For the first time in his life, he had a group of male friends to pal around with, and he relished being the leader of the pack." The group began with Elvis' first cousins Junior and Gene Smith, who accompanied Elvis everywhere, along with Elvis' high school friend Red West, and rockabilly singer Cliff Gleaves [de]. At that time Judy Spreckels seems to have been the only woman. She describes herself as having been like a sister to Elvis, a companion, confidante and keeper of secrets in the exciting days of his early career. "Elvis was surrounded by the first wave of what would become known as the Memphis Mafia." She says that she "was with him and the guys all the time." They drove bumper cars in Las Vegas Valley, rode horses in California and hung out at Graceland. "There wasn't a crowd then, just a few guys," and she emphasizes that she "had nothing to do with being a yes man for him and obviously he trusted me."

Among them were cousins Red West and Sonny West, as well as Billy Smith, Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito, Alan Fortas, Richard Davis, Marty Lacker, Jimmy Kingsley, "Chief" Ray Sitton, Jerry Schilling, Mike Keeton, Dave Hebler, Sam Thompson and numerous others.

Around the mid '60s, the media dubbed these people the "Memphis Mafia". This first referred to their image, as they usually cruised the city in black mohair suits and dark sunglasses. According to one account, a crowd of people in front of the Riviera Hotel watched as two big black limousines arrived. Elvis and his friends got out of the two cars and someone in the crowd yelled, "Who are they, the Mafia?" and a newspaper reporter picked up the story. The Memphis Mafia members themselves say on their website that Elvis liked the name and it stuck. These original Memphis Mafia members at the time the phrase was coined were cousins Sonny West, and Red West, as well as Billy Smith, and Charlie Hodge, among others.^{[citation needed]}

Around 1970, Presley and his friends and employees adopted the acronym TCB which stood for "Taking Care of Business". Presley had the tail of his private jet painted with a lightning bolt and the initials "TCB", and he gave away gold and diamond chain necklaces with TCB logos as gifts. Women working in his entourage were given TLC jewelry for "Tender Loving Care". He commissioned the TCB jewelry in 1971 as a gift for the men working for him. Elvis' wife Priscilla helped with the creation of this logo on a flight through stormy conditions. A lightning bolt flashed across the sky in front of them, and Elvis took inspiration from it. Priscilla sketched out the design on note paper, positioning the letters and lightning bolt in various ways before they found what they liked. Known for his extravagant jewelry (including the Aloha ring, the Maltese Cross, and the Lion necklace), Presley would later wear his most well-known piece, the TCB ring. Created by his personal jeweler Lowell Hays, the gold diamond and onyx ring is now on display at Graceland.

Rolling Stone journalist William Otterburn-Hall describes the men as close around the star "like a football scrum after a loose ball". He relates that they were a "friendly bunch" who, when Elvis began to sing just for fun during his interview, followed "suit, singing, clowning, all on their feet". According to Patrick Humphries, they "acted as Elvis' bodyguards, babysitters, drug procurers, girl-getters, mates and car buyers." The author also mentions other functions of the guys: "various members of the Memphis Mafia had ... played vital roles in keeping Elvis' numerous dirty secrets out of the public eye. A couple of them had been arrested with false prescriptions attempting to collect drugs for Elvis, quite a few had taken physical hits in the service of protecting Elvis and none were paid more than $500 a week. For that they were often shouted at, abused and belittled by the King when he felt like it." Marty Lacker states, "Everyone had assigned responsibilities and they were far from leeches, hangers on or whatever else they were called." "They all had jobs to do so that Elvis could do his and as far as being there for the money, that's laughable because there really wasn't much in that area to be there for." Marty went on to say, "Most of us were not there for the money, we were there because we all cared about Elvis and each other like brothers."

Peter Guralnick writes that Elvis spent all day and night with the members from the Memphis Mafia: "For Elvis and the guys ... Hollywood was just an open invitation to party all night long. Sometimes they would hang out with Sammy Davis Jr., or check out Bobby Darin at the Cloister. Nick Adams and his gang came by the suite all the time, not to mention the eccentric actor Billy Murphy, longtime friend of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum". Guralnick adds "The Colonel joked that they looked like a bunch of old men, but the Memphis Mafia had become almost as well known around town as Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack" and that Elvis and his guys were all "living on speed and tranqs". For Joe Esposito, "it was a party like you wouldn't believe. Go to a different show every night, then pick up a bunch of women afterwards, go party the next night. Go to the lounges, see Fats Domino, Della Reese, Jackie Wilson, the Four Aces, the Dominoes – all the old acts. We'd stay there and never sleep, we were all taking pills just so we could keep up with each other."

When Presley emerged as a major celebrity in 1956, he was constantly besieged by adoring fans and the press, making a normal lifestyle impossible. However, Presley's enormous wealth allowed him an ability to separate himself from the general public, especially in his home city of Memphis. For example, he would rent an entire movie theater to watch a film. Among Memphis natives, he was most known for renting out the entire Memphis amusement park Libertyland in order to ride his favorite roller coaster, the Zippin Pippin. Professional handlers and celebrity security experts had not yet evolved. Presley faced repeated threats of physical violence from outraged moral extremists and death threats from fanatics, as would later happen when he performed in Las Vegas. These threats were kept out of the press for fear of triggering even more.