Inventing Elvis

Elvis Presley stands tall as perhaps the supreme icon of 20th-century U.S. culture. But he was perceived to be deeply un-American in his early years as his controversial adaptation of rhythm and blues music and gyrating on-stage performances sent shockwaves through Eisenhower's conservative America and far beyond. This book explores Elvis Presley's global transformation from a teenage rebel figure into one of the U.S.'s major pop-cultural embodiments from a historical perspective. It shows how Elvis's rise was part of an emerging transnational youth culture whose political impact was heavily conditioned by the Cold War. As well as this, the book analyses Elvis's stint as G.I. soldier in West Germany, where he acted as an informal ambassador for the so-called American way of life and was turned into a deeply patriotic figure almost overnight. Yet, it also suggests that Elvis's increasingly synonymous identity with U.S. culture ultimately proved to be a double-edged sword, as the excesses of his superstardom and personal decline seemingly vindicated long-held stereotypes about the allegedly materialistic nature of U.S. society. Tracing Elvis's story from his unlikely rise in the 1950s right up to his tragic death in August 1977, this book offers a riveting account of changing U.S. identities during the Cold War, shedding fresh light on the powerful role of popular music and consumerism in shaping images of the United States during the cultural struggle between East and West.

This is the first of two volumes that make up what is arguably the definitive Elvis biography. Rich in documentary and interview material, this volume charts Elvis' early years and his rise to fame, taking us up to his departure for Germany in 1958. Of all the biographies of Elvis - this is the one you will keep coming back to.

Written with grace, humor, and affection, Last Train to Memphis has been hailed as the definitive biography of Elvis Presley. It is the first to set aside the myths and focus on Elvis' humanity in a way that has yet to be duplicated. A New York Times Notable BookWinner of the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award "Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe. This book cancels out all others." --Bob Dylan From the moment that he first shook up the world in the mid 1950s, Elvis Presley has been one of the most vivid and enduring myths of American culture. Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley is the first biography to go past that myth and present an Elvis beyond the legend. Based on hundreds of interviews and nearly a decade of research, it traces the evolution not just of the man but of the music and of the culture he left utterly transformed, creating a completely fresh portrait of Elvis and his world. This volume tracks the first twenty-four years of Elvis' life, covering his childhood, the stunning first recordings at Sun Records ("That's All Right," "Mystery Train"), and the early RCA hits ("Heartbreak Hotel," "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel"). These were the years of his improbable self-invention and unprecedented triumphs, when it seemed that everything that Elvis tried succeeded wildly. There was scarcely a cloud in sight through this period until, in 1958, he was drafted into the army and his mother died shortly thereafter. The book closes on that somber and poignant note. Last Train to Memphis takes us deep inside Elvis' life, exploring his lifelong passion for music of every sort (from blues and gospel to Bing Crosby and Mario Lanza), his compelling affection for his family, and his intimate relationships with girlfriends, mentors, band members, professional associates, and friends. It shows us the loneliness, the trustfulness, the voracious appetite for experience, and above all the unshakable, almost mystical faith that Elvis had in himself and his music. Drawing frequently on Elvis' own words and on the recollections of those closest to him, the book offers an emotional, complex portrait of young Elvis Presley with a depth and dimension that for the first time allow his extraordinary accomplishments to ring true. Peter Guralnick has given us a previously unseen world, a rich panoply of people and events that illuminate an achievement, a place, and a time as never revealed before.

From the author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biography: Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the visionary genius who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records. The music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day. With extensive interviews and firsthand personal observations extending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Records artists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait of an American original as compelling in his own right as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, or Thomas Edison.

Rare audio interviews and exclusive video clips are among the special features of this enhanced ebook. The author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biography Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the visionary genius who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records. The music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day. With extensive interviews and firsthand personal observations extending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Records artists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait of an American original as compelling in his own right as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, or Thomas Edison. This enhanced edition includes: Exclusive video clips featuring the author's interviews with Sam Phillips, his family, and his Sun Studios collaborators Jack Clement, Roland James, and J.M. Van Eaton. Rare audio interviews with Sam Phillips, spanning 1979 to 1990, as well as audio interviews with Carl Perkins, Billy Sherrill, and Phillips's former assistant Marion Keister.

Doss (fine arts and American studies, U. of Colorado-Boulder) examines the image of Elvis from a number of perspectives, including as a religious icon honored in household shrines, as a sexual fantasy for women and men, as an inspiration for impersonators, as a not- altogether positive emblem of whiteness for many blacks, and as a commodity to be protected by Elvis Presley Enterprises. Bandw illustrations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Basing his work on exclusive interviews, Alba has produced a wonderful history of the first "Tonight" show, complete with terrific photos and revealing insights from more than 30 legends who knew and worked with Steve Allen.

Elvis Presley was a virtual unknown when, in 1956, he strutted his stuff in front of a national television audience for the very first time. By year's end, following a dozen TV appearances, he was an international superstar. Over the next two decades, Elvis turned to TV whenever his career required a boost or a complete makeover. "Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock 'n' Roll" peers through TV's unique lens to take a close-up look at his 20-year career. Based on more than a decade of research, dozens of fresh interviews, and careful review of hours of television and other footage, "Channeling Elvis" focuses on the role television played in creating, sustaining, and reviving the King's unrivaled popularity. Only television captured the full arc of his career, from those initial steps on the national stage and highly anticipated return from the U.S. Army to his resurrection in the wake of some lame recordings and less-than-stellar movies, renewed acclaim as a concert artist, and premature, self-inflicted 1977 exit. Television captured it all, and Elvis Presley's TV appearances also provided us with the most extensive visual record of this incredible man doing what he loved best: performing live. Praise for "Channeling Elvis": "Allen Wiener puts a new charge into the story of Elvis and his rise, namely television. It's arguable that television had more to do with Elvis' meteoric streak to the top than radio. 'Channeling Elvis' is something new under the Elvis sun." -- Allen Barra, author of "Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball's Golden Age". "Unlike the Hollywood-contrived plastic persona that characterized the vast majority of his big-screen appearances, the Elvis who turned American television on its head during the mid-'50s and used it for his rebirth in the late-'60s was the real performer in all of his lip-curling, pelvic-thrusting glory. Equally captivating was the sadder figure who faced the final curtain on his 1977 TV special, and it is thanks to Allen Wiener's great insight and invaluable research that, at long last, 'Channeling Elvis' explores, explains, and relives these pivotal moments of a legendary career." - Richard Buskin, author of "Classic Tracks: The Real Stories Behind 68 Seminal Recordings". "Television made Elvis Presley in 1956. Twelve years later -- all too briefly -- it resurrected him. In 'Channeling Elvis', Allen Wiener illuminates a bittersweet American romance." -- Bob Thompson, author of "Born on a Mountaintop: On the Road with Davy Crockett and the Ghosts of the Wild Frontier." "Allen J. Wiener knows his way around icons, and 'Channeling Elvis' ably makes the case that TV transformed the greatest recording artist of the early rock 'n' roll era into a unique cultural phenomenon. The Elvises that emerge in Wiener's account always command the spotlight." -- Paul Cool, former program director and disc jockey, KUSF Radio, San Francisco, and author of "Salt Warriors: Insurgency on the Rio Grande".