Baby, Let's Play House

Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him

De: Alanna Nash

Narrado por: Erin Spencer, Alanna Nash - Introduction

Elvis Presley’s unbreakable stronghold on the psyche of women - and theirs on him - is the focus of this much-lauded book by Elvis expert, journalist, and Country Music Association Media Achievement Award winner Alanna Nash.

Called "by far the best study of Presley I have ever read...Impressively researched written - and felt" by New York Times best-selling author Philip Norman (author of John Lennon and Shout!) and “the most entertaining Elvis book ever” by New York Times best-selling author Jimmy McDonough (Shakey: Neil Young's Biography), Baby, Let’s Play House is the first ever Elvis book to focus solely on his complex relationships with women, starting with his mother, and including celebrities such as Ann-Margret, Linda Thompson, Mary Ann Mobley, Cher, Raquel Welch, Barbara Eden, and Cybill Shepherd.

Featuring dozens of exclusive interviews, Baby, Let’s Play House is a must-have collector’s item for fans of The King everywhere.

©2010 Alanna Nash (P)2020 Alanna Nash

Truthful

This gives you the story of Elvis and those closest to him. Not always flattering.

Wish there was more ~

I have been an Elvis fan/admirer for just shy of one year. ( I am 56 y/o) Planned a pre Covid adventure to Memphis in February. Prior to my bucket list Graceland experience, I attempted to watch Elvis movies. Listened to and watched every documentary and interview that is available. Researched and soaked in every aspect of "Elvis" that I could. For lack of a better description I fell in love/respect for the humanitarian that was Elvis. I am partial to the memoirs and writings of the inner circle, the Memphis Mafia and their legacies. I feel oddly blessed to be a generation that can have access/exposure to Billy and Jo Smith and Sheri Lacker who were with Elvis a large majority of time. With all of this being said when I started to 'listen' to Alanna Nash's "Baby, Let's Play House" I became defensive and skeptical of what I was hearing.(Denial of my own thoughts). With each chapter my skepticism lessened. What I was hearing only reinforced what I already knew. Ms. Nash not only delivers history with each relationship but psychological based facts that are DSM based.The amount of research, interviews, investigating and genuine sincerity that are revealed in this "Omg, I can't stop listening book" are revolutionary to any Elvis fanatic/fan/admirer. While I still have much to absorb about the life of Elvis Presley, Ms. Nash's book has brought me full circle to a better understanding of who Elvis actually was and why he followed the path and made the decisions that he did. Although eye opening for sure...it has left me with an even greater respect. Thank you Alanna Nash. Looking forward to reading/listening to more of your writing!

Wow!

Loved it, very well covered history, a little head spinning. Narrative was well done.

Amayzing book

As a huge Elvis fan this book gave clairity and insights into the heart and sole of the man. I do not believe the media portrayal of the fairytale life of Elvis does him any service and im really glad i took the time to listen to this book fills in all the unanswered questions i had at i am happy now to know Elvis lived a full and complete life

I never knew

This told me so much that I never would have imagined. I am so shocked 😳 about many things I heard. But I still love him and listen to his music 🎶 a lot. I read many books about his life and will continue to do so. 😭 so sad

Alana Nash does it again~

Great book. Sometimes with Alana, she goes down rabbitholes that aren't pertinent to the story, and they sometimes come off as inserted simply because she had the information, or --dare I say it-- in an all-knowing tone. Either way, it adds interesting context no matter how germaine it is to the subject. She's clearly a scholar of Elvis, and that comes through loudly and clearly. She does her homework, and the result is a long, compelling book that never fails to shine light on the man behind the legend. You definitely get your moneys' worth with one of her books.

Sad

Tragic story of a great entertainer. Drugs and self entitlement did Elvis in.
Colonel Parker should’ve been put in jail early on and Elvis did not have the self-confidence to put a stop to his treachery .

An interesting but very sad Eye Opener

I'm a tragic Elvis fan .. have been for over 50 years and will continue to be. I've read so much written on him but this one was not what I expected.

It's literally a complete list of every single female he had a relationship with, young, old long term or fleeting, high and low profile. That's a list spanning from mid 50's to 77 with no breaks in between! The amount of women is unbelievable .. understandable but unbelievable!!

If accurate it's a real eye opener.. warts and all. Many of the parts were hard to get through and it became increasingly more difficult to read once it got to 1972 with his downward spiral. As the end got closer it just got sadder and sadder.

Although I felt it was a bit heavy on the "going back to the womb" psychology and dissection of the relationship between twins it does shed light on the issues Elvis had with women and himself.

No one in this story comes out looking good and as we know, no one saves the day .. it shows all those around him were villains, victims and sometimes both. Elvis being a villain at times (which I absolutely hate saying) but undoubtedly the biggest victim of them all.

Regardless I am still on Team Elvis .. I'm just now a slightly sadder fan. However I would recommend this book but be prepared to read about Elvis the Man, not the King.

Entertaining, but Incomplete

I NEVER write full reviews for Audible, but here I feel I must. PLEASE DO NOT READ/LISTEN TO THIS UBTIL YOU HAVE READ PETER GURALNICK’S TWO VOLUME BIO ON ELVIS. Those books are works of art, establishing neutrality and honesty in beautifully written prose. They are the Encyclopedia Britannia of EP. This book, while immensely entertaining, led me to question A LOT of things, and left me feeling like I had just read the complete Daily Mail collective of all the confessionals of every woman Elvis ever knew, without proper footnotes. Ultimately, I think bc this book is SO focused on Elvis’s relations with women that so much is left out, eliminating the possibility to formulate true context of a most complex man.
Also, I am so sorry to whomever read this for Audible, but OMG. After listening to Alanna Nash’s intro, you hope to hear her narrate the rest… her raw and gravelly voice seems to truly channel Elvis. This narrator was sugary sweet, mispronounced or incorrectly stated a bunch of things (HEARTACHE HOTEL?????) and made it read like the most recent Harlequin Romance novel. Bottom line: read/listen to this if you are a hard core Elvis fan, absolutely. But if this is all you ever listen to, you are robbing yourself, the legacy of the King, and all of humanity his true story. READ/LISTEN TO PETER GURALNICK FIRST!!!! ELVIS DESERVES IT!!!

The DEFINITIVE Intimate Elvis Book

My mom was a big Elvis fan and I remember reading "Elvis, What Happened" when I was a kid... I always found him to be a fascinating historical figure so I read a few other books over the years, including the Priscilla Presley and Ginger Alden memoirs. "Baby, Let's Play House" is by far THE best Elvis book I've ever read (well, listened to, in this case) and among the very best in music biographies in general. It hits on all the things I am personally interested in -- an artist's intimate and inner life, his psychology, how he related to others, and how the mores of his times, not to mention his fame, shaped him. The amount of research Alanna Nash did, and all of the interviews she conducted, quotes gathered, etc., is truly astounding and noteworthy. I loved the stories about Tura Satana and Ann Margret, in particular. What's more, A.N.'s writing style is colorful and alive, really painting a picture of each event she covers--even the day-to-day is made interesting. The narrator was great; she acts out the emotions in the quoted dialog but doesn't go overboard with it. This is my first A.N. book but it won't be my last.