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This concluding volume recounts the second half of Elvis' life in rich and previously unimagined detail, and confirms Guralnick's status as one of the great biographers of our time. Beginning with Presley's army service in Germany in 1958 and ending with his death in Memphis in 1977, Careless Love chronicles the unraveling of the dream that once shone so brightly, homing in on the complex playing-out of Elvis' relationship with his Machiavellian manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
The music that Phillips 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.
On a lazy Sunday in 1954, 12-year-old Jerry Schilling wandered into a Memphis touch-football game, only to discover that his team was quarterbacked by a 19-year-old Elvis Presley, the local teen whose first record, That's All Right, had just debuted on Memphis radio. The two became fast friends, even as Elvis turned into the world's biggest star.
Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in the life of Ginger Alden, having been born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy - as Elvis Presley’s fiancée, and his last great love. For over three decades Ginger has held the truth of their relationship close to her heart. Now she shares her unique story, and while a lot has been written about the King, the Elvis we meet in this long-anticipated memoir is a revelation.
While scores of books have been written about Elvis Presley, this is the first meticulously researched biography of Tom Parker written by someone who knew him personally. And for anyone truly interested in the performer many consider the greatest and most influential of the 20th century, it is impossible to understand how Elvis came to be such a phenomenon without examining the life and mind of Parker, the man who virtually controlled Elvis' every move.
Just in time for the Chairman's centennial, the endlessly absorbing sequel to James Kaplan's best-selling Frank: The Voice - finally the definitive biography that Frank Sinatra, justly termed "The Entertainer of the Century", deserves and requires. Like Peter Guralnick on Elvis, Kaplan goes behind the legend to give us the man in full, in his many guises and aspects: peerless singer, (sometimes) powerful actor, business mogul, tireless lover, and associate of the powerful and infamous.
This concluding volume recounts the second half of Elvis' life in rich and previously unimagined detail, and confirms Guralnick's status as one of the great biographers of our time. Beginning with Presley's army service in Germany in 1958 and ending with his death in Memphis in 1977, Careless Love chronicles the unraveling of the dream that once shone so brightly, homing in on the complex playing-out of Elvis' relationship with his Machiavellian manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
The music that Phillips 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.
On a lazy Sunday in 1954, 12-year-old Jerry Schilling wandered into a Memphis touch-football game, only to discover that his team was quarterbacked by a 19-year-old Elvis Presley, the local teen whose first record, That's All Right, had just debuted on Memphis radio. The two became fast friends, even as Elvis turned into the world's biggest star.
Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in the life of Ginger Alden, having been born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy - as Elvis Presley’s fiancée, and his last great love. For over three decades Ginger has held the truth of their relationship close to her heart. Now she shares her unique story, and while a lot has been written about the King, the Elvis we meet in this long-anticipated memoir is a revelation.
While scores of books have been written about Elvis Presley, this is the first meticulously researched biography of Tom Parker written by someone who knew him personally. And for anyone truly interested in the performer many consider the greatest and most influential of the 20th century, it is impossible to understand how Elvis came to be such a phenomenon without examining the life and mind of Parker, the man who virtually controlled Elvis' every move.
Just in time for the Chairman's centennial, the endlessly absorbing sequel to James Kaplan's best-selling Frank: The Voice - finally the definitive biography that Frank Sinatra, justly termed "The Entertainer of the Century", deserves and requires. Like Peter Guralnick on Elvis, Kaplan goes behind the legend to give us the man in full, in his many guises and aspects: peerless singer, (sometimes) powerful actor, business mogul, tireless lover, and associate of the powerful and infamous.
Award-winning songwriter Linda Thompson breaks her silence, sharing the extraordinary story of her life, career, and epic romances with two of the most celebrated yet enigmatic modern American superstars - Elvis Presley and Bruce Jenner.
Memphis Boys chronicles the story of the rhythm section at Chips Moman's American Studios from 1964, when the group began working together, until 1972, when Moman shut down the studio and moved the entire operation to Atlanta. Utilizing extensive interviews with Moman and the group, as well as additional comments from the songwriters, sound engineers, and office staff, author Roben Jones creates a collective biography combined with a business history and a critical analysis of important recordings.
A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On" and "Great Balls of Fire", that gave rock and roll its devil’s edge; caused riots and boycotts with his incendiary performances; nearly scuttled his career by marrying his 13-year-old second cousin - his third wife of seven - and ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women.
Frank Sinatra was the best-known entertainer of the 20th century - infinitely charismatic, lionized, and notorious in equal measure. But despite his mammoth fame, Sinatra the man has remained an enigma. As Bob Spitz did with the Beatles, Tina Brown for Diana, and Peter Guralnick for Elvis, James Kaplan goes behind the legend and hype to bring alive a force that changed popular culture in fundamental ways.
The definitive, intimate, no-holds-barred biography of Johnny Cash. People don't just listen to Johnny Cash - they believe in him. Although part of his life has been told on film, there are many compelling layers to his story that have remained hidden - until now. Robert Hilburn tells the unvarnished truth about a musical icon whose personal life was far more troubled and his artistry much more profound than even his most devoted fans have realized.
Since the age of 21, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock 'n' roll lives, played out on the most public of stages. Now Paul's story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with McCartney's consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before.
After he died in the backseat of a Cadillac at the age of 29, Hank Williams - a frail, flawed man who had become country music's first real star - instantly morphed into its first tragic martyr. Having hit the heights with simple songs of despair, depression, and tainted love, he would, with that outlaw swagger, become in death a template for the rock generation to follow.
In Elvis Presley: A Southern Life, one of the most admired Southern historians of our time takes on one of the greatest cultural icons of all time. The result is a masterpiece: a vivid, gripping biography, set against the rich backdrop of Southern society - indeed, American society - in the second half of the 20th century.
Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
After eight years on the air, Desi Arnaz did not love Lucy any more. On screen, they were dynamite, a comedy pairing more successful than any Hollywood had ever produced. But when the cameras stopped rolling, they fought, screamed and threatened each other more each season. Finally, an argument in Desi's production office turned violent. Lucy hurled a cocktail glass past his head, and Desi demanded a divorce. He moved out that night. After nearly 20 years, America's favorite couple was finished.
Born in 1903, and until his death in 2003, Bob Hope was the only entertainer to achieve top-rated success in every major mass-entertainment medium, from vaudeville to television and everything in between. He virtually invented modern stand-up comedy. His tours to entertain US troops and patriotic radio broadcasts, along with his all-American, brash-but-cowardly movie character, helped to ease the nation's jitters during the stressful days of World War II.
For generations the electric guitar has been an international symbol of freedom, danger, rebellion, and hedonism. In Play It Loud, Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna bring the history of this iconic instrument to roaring life. It's a story of inventors and iconoclasts, of scam artists, prodigies, and mythologizers as varied and original as the instruments they spawned. Play It Loud uses 12 landmark guitars - each of them artistic milestones in their own right - to illustrate the conflict and passion the instruments have inspired.
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 24 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 audiobook 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 audiobook 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. 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.
I lived right behind Graceland from 1975 to 1978. I remember being unable to get home on the afternoon of August 16, 1977 due to the tens of thousands of people who filled the streets around Graceland after Elvis Presley was pronounced dead earlier that afternoon from a "heart attack". Two days later, since my husband and I were still not able to get near our complex, so we chose instead to stand in the sweltering Memphis, TN heat with that great mass of people - both rabid fans from around the world and just the merely curious - on what is now Elvis Presley Blvd., as the hearse carrying the body of "The King", followed by a dozen or so white limos with his superstar mourners, made its mournful way to nearby Forest Hill Cemetery.
Many books have been written about Presley since that day, most of which I have read. Each account has a different view of this man's life - some factual, some more fiction than truth, some vindictive, some self-serving. But, combined, one can get a pretty good idea of Presley's life and music. In my opinion, the best of the lot is "Elvis" by Albert Goldman (1981). But I still wanted to know more. So I bought Peter Guralnick's book. I couldn't be more disappointed!
After 22 hours, I still no idea what this book is about. It claims to chronicle the early years of Elvis Presley, yet there is very little about the REAL man in this book. The author writes like an 8 year-old doing a book report on a book he didn't read. The story is all over the place, his thoughts unfocused, no sense of chronology or local flavor. He will start telling us about an event or person but then not finish his point. The story is told in some weird, sometimes first-person manner, but you never know who is talking at the time. The narrator doesn't help, sounding bored, with no change in his voice for each person. He has a non-regional, generic voice, attempting to narrate a book about people from the seriously southern Mississippi and Tennessee!
Save yourself some time and money. Guralnick's effort is lazy, amateurish and superficial. Buy the Goldman biography on Elvis Presley. Some critics called it controversial at the time, but at least it's INTERESTING! At the very least, you will get great insight into the King and his huge "posse" (second only to the Disciples).
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Narrator was monotone. Story jumps around. Slow n unenthusiasicly read. More emphasis on who quotations needed.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Where does Last Train to Memphis rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I love biographies and, in recent years, have really enjoyed biographies from the music industry. Elvis was a little before my time so his music wasn't "my" music. I appreciated the impact that he had on rock and roll but I didn't really appreciate his music.
Much of what I knew about his was from the later part of his career. I knew nothing about his early years in the business. Mr. Guralnick did a great job of telling that story. The book was interesting from the first word to the last. It also prompted me to YouTube where I was able to see some of his work from his early years.
Now I understand what it was all about and I have a new appreciation for the man and his work.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to Last Train to Memphis the most enjoyable?
This book is heavy on the details - reading the researched minutia might have been a little bit overwhelming. The performance of the reader, combined with an incredible biography, made me listen to this book non-stop. It was incredible.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Last Train to Memphis?
All of it was wonderful, but the reader clearly understood where to put the emphasis and inflection. He was wonderful. I loved hearing him pretend to cheer like a teenage girl! The ending was heartbreaking, and he used the power of his dramatic pause very effectively.
Which character – as performed by Kevin Stillwell – was your favorite?
His portrayal of Elvis was wonderful - capturing the slight drawl and accent without going overboard was wonderful.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
As previously stated, when Elvis' mother passed away. It was heartbreaking. I was weeding in the garden and started to cry. Ha!
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up Last Train to Memphis in three words, what would they be?
Very informative and it held my attention for 22 hours.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Of coarse, Elvis. I was never crazy about him in general growing up, but I now have a new opinion of him as a very geniune person.
What about Kevin Stillwell’s performance did you like?
He made you believe he was actually there with the characters.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
What you never knew about Elvis, the person.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
This gave me a real look into Elvis's mind and life, really made me understand why he ended up like he did. Such a wild existence. Thanks to the author!
Long as hell which is good. Great value for money. Nice narrator. Intimate details I never knew about and overall fascinating.
A most satisfying portrait of a young man lost. It has changed my perspective of the human being behind the music, and has inspired a greater appreciation for the singer's less well-known recordings.
If you consider yourself an Elvis fan, this is a must. Great book with so many details of his life I didn't know. I could listen to the narrators voice all day. 10/10
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Guralnick gives us a thorough accounting of Elvis' life up to his induction into the Army and basic training, death of his beloved mother, and his last press conference before heading to Germany, where he was stationed. Wonderfully written and painstakingly thorough. The author spoke with family, friends, girlfriends, acquaintances, fellow soldiers, actors, just about anyone who spent time with his subject. He knits together all of these varying accounts into a seamless story. Despite his fastidiousness I still don't feel like I know Elvis. Part of the problem is people's tendency to read more into their encounters with him. But I suspect the larger part is that he is just one of those elusive people that can't ever be truly known. He liked to please people and to feel he was liked, and he became who he had to in order to accomplish this. The narrator spoke clearly if a bit slowly. I eventually played it at 1.25x speed. Highly recommended if you are an Elvis fan or a music fan in general.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
I was a Irish kid in Germany in 1958 (my Dad worked in the AFEX system as an accountant) when Elvis came over as an army draftee. A family friend got his autograph for me which I lost soon after (damn & double-damn!)and this is the point where this book - the first of a two-part biography - closes. It takes us from Elvis' birth in Tupelo to his family's move to Memphis, his geeky high school days, the $12 guitar his father bought for him, and his burning desire to cut a record. This brought him to Sam Phillips and Sun Records. This early recording took off thanks to radio play throughout the South and a series of live gigs followed getting ever bigger and bigger. Soon things became so big they nearly got out of control. From some peculiar mixture of gospel, hillbilly, and Negro blues Elvis had hit on a new sound that caught the imagination of teenage America. By the age of 21 (1956) he was pulling in huge audiences and the music moguls were taking an interest. The predatory ex-Carnie barker "Colonel" Tom Parker moved in to guide this boy along and in his manipulatory and conniving ways made Elvis a national phenomenon.
What makes this story so fascinating is the way it is told. The author, an early fan of the music, spent 11 years tracking down all the surviving friends and associates of Elvis and tells the story as if he were looking through a keyhole, recording conversations and first impressions and opinions from such a wide number of people that you begin to feel you are there yourself. The way this book was put together is extremely impressive: by no means is it your "standard" biography. Whether you like the music or not (I did even then, I still do!) you cannot help but get caught up in the story. After such a meteoric rise you just know that a fall is bound to come: hubris, as we know from the wise old Greeks, is followed by nemesis.
A second volume of the biography entitled "Careless Love" follows ....
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Bought both this and the next part/audiobook of the life of Elvis Presley. Extremely well read, flows smoothly and definitely worth buying this and the second book.
loved every moment of it. Balanced. well researched and written, could not wait to listen each day.
I really enjoyed this audio book and literally couldn't stop listening to it. So much information - I think I may re listen and read the book, which I have also, together.
it is the first time I have actually listened to and finished an audio book.
Kevin Sitwells narration was excellent.
It is hard to imagine a better audiobook about contemporary music than this. This book covers a subject that many will feel familiar with. However throughout this book there is a feeling of authenticity and accuracy that it is hard to imagine being beaten in regard to this subject.
It really takes you into a time and place and makes it all real to you. It does not put forward detailed theories and interpretations but lets you decide how you use the material.
It somehow makes you feel that you are there but makes you forget the incredible impact that this period was ultimately to have on popular music and western culture overall subsequently.
I would also like to say that the reading is particularly good. The story is told in quite a leisurely way that again, seems to fit the material.
A great book on a very important subject. And audiobook that was a real pleasure to listen to.
Now for volume two................
This book was so much better than I expected. I thought I know the life and times of the early years of rock n roll, I was mistaken.
This book paints a brilliant picture of the legend and make you look at him as a normal human being.
This is a great book for fans and non fans or people (like myself) who just have an interest in music and history..........
The book really puts you there and explains the story so well.
Amazing.
This is the ultimate rock and roll success story. How did they make it quite so dreary, so dull and so depressive?
Somehow the narrator makes this whole experience ridden with a sense of poverty and failure and exploitation. There is just no joy in the telling - there is no celebration, and no victory.
The narrative tends to adopt a very detached perspective - a more than slightly cynical voice - and never really achieves a sense of being in the time. It is all painted with a colour that is entirely from today - and looking back it was all so inevitable - but the searing, revolutionary quality of Elvis' arrival and rocketing velocity is missing.
If you substituted what Elvis had with some sort of a disease - that is how this comes across. It is like Elvis had some terrible, but irresistible disease, a date with his own inevitable doom - that somehow ruined this poor poor, dirt poor, southern boy, and exploited him along the way.
I do not recommend this.
i don't want this on my tablets ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to Last Train to Memphis the most enjoyable?
I found this book hard to get into but about a third of the way I got quite immersed. Towards the end I was keen to keep listening as it was getting more interesting then. I learned more about Elvis than ever before and at times it made me wonder how the author got all the information although the book was many years in the making.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Elvis of course.
What about Kevin Stillwell’s performance did you like?
At times he seemed a bit lifeless and just running off a list of subjects but was not too bad overall.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Not with this book
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
the bool was thorough and details and portayed a very unexpected side of elvis gor my first elvis book. I struggled a bit with the authors portrayal of a young high school elvis and the indecisiveness of whether he was confident with his guitar of terrified. other than that it was an epic story and i cant wait to learn more :)