Download or read book Before Elvis written by Larry Birnbaum and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential work for rock fans and scholars, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll surveys the origins of rock 'n' roll from the minstrel era to the emergence of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Unlike other histories of rock, Before Elvis offers a far broader and deeper analysis of the influences on rock music. Dispelling common misconceptions, it examines rock's origins in hokum songs and big-band boogies as well as Delta blues, detailing the embrace by white artists of African-American styles long before rock 'n' roll appeared. This unique study ranges far and wide, highlighting not only the contributions of obscure but key precursors like Hardrock Gunter and Sam Theard but also the influence of celebrity performers like Gene Autry and Ella Fitzgerald. Too often, rock historians treat the genesis of rock 'n' roll as a bolt from the blue, an overnight revolution provoked by the bland pop music that immediately preceded it and created through the white appropriation of music till then played only by and for black audiences. In Before Elvis, Birnbaum daringly argues a more complicated history of rock's evolution from a heady mix of ragtime, boogie-woogie, swing, country music, mainstream pop, and rhythm-and-blues--a melange that influenced one another along the way, from the absorption of blues and boogies into jazz and pop to the integration of country and Caribbean music into rhythm-and-blues. Written in an easy style, Before Elvis presents a bold argument about rock's origins and required reading for fans and scholars of rock 'n' roll history.
Download or read book Elvis and Ginger written by Ginger Alden and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Elvis Presley’s fiancée and last love tells her story and sets the record straight in this deeply personal memoir that reveals what really happened in the final years of the King of Rock n' Roll. Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in Ginger Alden’s life; after all, she was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy. For more than three decades Ginger has held the truth of their relationship close to her heart. Now she shares her unique story… In her own words, Ginger details their whirlwind romance—from first kiss to his stunning proposal of marriage. And for the very first time, she talks about the devastating end of it all and the fifty thousand mourners and reporters who descended on Graceland in 1977, exposing Ginger to the reality of living in the spotlight of a short yet immortal life. Above it all, Ginger rescues Elvis from the hearsay, rumors, and tabloid speculations of his final year by shedding a frank yet personal light on a very public legend. From a unique and intimate perspective, she reveals the man—complicated, romantic, fallible, and human—behind the myth, a superstar worshipped by millions and loved by Ginger Alden. INCLUDES PHOTOS
Download or read book Me and a Guy Named Elvis written by Jerry Schilling and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "On a lazy summer Sunday in Memphis in 1954, twelve-year-old Jerry Schilling wandered into a pickup football game in a local park, little realizing that his life was about to change forever. The quarterback that day was a charismatic seventeen-year-old whose first recording, "That's All Right", had debuted earlier that week and was burning up the local airwaves - Elvis Presley." "Elvis and Jerry would strike up a friendship that would grow over the many weekly football games that followed, even as Elvis became the world's biggest star. Jerry soon became a regular at Elvis's raucous all-night parties at Graceland, and after he graduated from college in 1964, Elvis asked him to join his "Memphis Mafia" entourage in Hollywood. Over the next thirteen years Jerry would work for Elvis in various capacities - from bodyguard to photo double to personal trainer to co-executive producer on a karate film. But more than anything else he was Elvis's close friend and confident. Jerry had rooms in Elvis's Bel Air mansion and at Graceland, and became the envoy between Elvis and Colonel Parker when Elvis was performing in Las Vegas. Elvis trusted Jerry with protecting his life when he received death threats, he had Jerry drive him and Priscilla to the hospital the day Lisa Marie was born, and he asked Jerry to accompany him on his famous "lost weekend" trip to meet President Nixon at the White House." "Me and a Guy Named Elvis looks at Elvis from the unique perspective of a close friend, presenting the man rather than the icon. The Elvis Presley Jerry Schilling knew was fiercely intelligent and passionate about his art, a loving and generous man at home with his family and friends, and a fiery and determined spiritual seeker who became a master of martial arts and a self-taught student of philosophy. Jerry reveals Elvis as a relentless prankster and fun-loving man who never truly grew up. He does not shy away from the darker side of Elvis's life, and offers an account of the career frustrations that led to Elvis's abuse of prescription medications that precipitated his early, tragic death."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Elvis Is King written by Richard Crouse and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2015-04-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An explosive, groundbreaking album that crowned a new king of rock in just 33 minutes Before Elvis Costello was one of Rolling Stone's greatest artists of all time, before he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was Declan P. McManus, an office drone with a dull suburban life and a side gig in a pub rock band. In 1976, under the guidance of legendary label Stiff Records, he transformed himself into the snarling, spectacled artist who defied the musical status quo to blaze the trail for a new kind of rock star with his debut album, My Aim Is True. In Elvis Is King, Richard Crouse examines how the man, the myth, and the music of this arrestingly original album smashed the trends of the era to bridge the gap between punk and rock 'n' roll.
Download or read book Elvis what Happened written by Steve Dunleavy and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Before Elvis There was Nothing written by Laurie Foos and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With joyful and satirical irreverence, Laurie Foos navigates the wild terrain of our beauty-obsessed culture.
Download or read book Is Elvis Alive written by Gail Brewer-Giorgio and published by Tudor Publishers. This book was released on 1988 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Elvis My Best Man written by George Klein and published by Crown. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The touching story of thirty years of friendship between George Klein and the King that “offers an insider’s view of Presley the man as opposed to Presley the singer, actor, and icon” (Associated Press). “You capture the essence of Elvis not only in dialogue, but also in giving the reader a sense of his personality, humor, and his spirit of play.”—Priscilla Presley When George Klein was an eighth grader at Humes High, he couldn’t have known how important the new kid with the guitar—the boy named Elvis—would later become in his life. But from the first time GK (as he was nicknamed by Elvis) heard this kid sing, he knew that Elvis Presley was someone extraordinary. During Elvis’s rise to fame and throughout the wild swirl of his remarkable life, Klein was a steady presence and one of Elvis’s closest and most loyal friends until his untimely death in 1977. In Elvis: My Best Man, a heartfelt, entertaining, and long-awaited contribution to our understanding of Elvis Presley and the early days of rock ’n’ roll, George Klein writes with great affection for the friend he knew about who the King of Rock ’n’ Roll really was and how he acted when the stage lights were off. This fascinating chronicle of boundary-breaking and music-making through one of the most intriguing and dynamic stretches of American history overflows with insights and anecdotes from someone who was in the middle of it all. From the good times at Graceland to hanging out with Hollywood stars to butting heads with Elvis’s iron-handed manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to making sure that Elvis’s legacy is fittingly honored, GK was a true friend of the King and a trailblazer in the music industry in his own right.
Download or read book Elvis written by Alfred Wertheimer and published by Chartwell Books. This book was released on 2017-10-17 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and without artifice.
Download or read book Elvis and Me written by Priscilla Presley and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-08-01 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that reveals the intimate story of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, told by the woman who lived it. THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE PRISCILLA, DIRECTED BY SOFIA COPPOLA Decades after his death, millions of fans continue to worship Elvis the legend. But very few knew him as Elvis the man. Here in her own words, Priscilla Presley tells the story of their love, revealing the details of their first meeting, their marriage, their affairs, their divorce, and the unbreakable bond that has remained long after his tragic death. A tribute to both the man and the legend, Elvis and Me gives Elvis fans the world over an unprecedented look at the true life of the King of Rock 'N' Roll and the woman who loved him.
Download or read book Elvis in Vegas written by Richard Zoglin and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Outstanding pop-culture history.” —Newsday The “smart and zippy account” (The Wall Street Journal) of how Las Vegas saved Elvis and Elvis saved Las Vegas in the greatest musical comeback of all time. Elvis’s 1969 opening night in Vegas was his first time back on a live stage in more than eight years. His career had gone sour—bad movies, mediocre pop songs that no longer made the charts—and he’d been dismissed by most critics as over-the-hill. But in Vegas he played the biggest showroom in the biggest hotel in the city, drawing more people for his four-week engagement than any other show in Vegas history. His performance got rave reviews; “Suspicious Minds,” the song he introduced there, gave him his first number-one hit in seven years; and Elvis became Vegas’s biggest star. Over the next seven years, he performed more than 600 shows there, and sold out every one. Las Vegas was changed, too. By the end of the ‘60s, Vegas’ golden age—when the Rat Pack led a glittering array of stars who made it the nation’s premier live-entertainment center—was losing its luster. Elvis created a new kind of Vegas show: an over-the-top, rock-concert extravaganza. He set a new bar for Vegas performers, with the biggest salary, the biggest musical production, and the biggest promotion campaign the city had ever seen. He opened the door to a new generation of pop/rock artists and brought a new audience to Vegas—not the traditional well-heeled older gamblers, but a mass audience from Middle America that Vegas depends on for its success to this day. At once “a fascinating history of Vegas as gambling capital, celebrity playground, mob hangout, [and] entertainment Valhalla” (Rolling Stone) and the incredible “tale of how the King got his groove back” (Associated Press), Elvis in Vegas is a classic feel-good story for the ages.
Download or read book Elvis Presley written by James D. Torr and published by Greenhaven Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of seventeen essays that examine Elvis Presley's life, career, and influences, as well as his impact on music and on U.S. culture. Also includes a chronology, a selected bibliography, discussion questions, and a collection of primary source documents.
Download or read book Return of the King written by Gillian G. Gaar and published by Jawbone Press. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Book). On January 1, 1967, a contract between "Colonel" Tom Parker and his sole client, Elvis Presley, gave Parker a 50 percent cut of profits that Presley generated. It was a shameless grab for a bigger piece of a pie that had actually been shrinking for some time. Though Parker's plan to reestablish Presley as a star after he left the army proved successful at first (with the triumph of films like G.I. Blues and Blue Hawaii ), by 1967 Presley's singles struggled to break the top 20, and he hadn't hit number one for six years. Amazingly, by the end of 1968 he was artistically revitalized, reemerging in a TV comeback special and slimmed down for the now-iconic black leather suit. It was the pivotal moment of the second great period of Presley's career, which lasted through to the end of 1970, during which he recorded some of his most enduring records, including "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto." Return of the King document's Presley reclamation of his crown, making an extraordinary transition from fading balladeer to engaged, vital artist.
Download or read book Elvis Presley Reluctant Rebel written by Glen Jeansonne and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-02-18 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fresh interpretation explains how an untutored musician changed music while at the same time playing an inadvertent role in the youth rebellion that has shaped the Baby Boomer generation into the 21st century. Elvis Aaron Presley was born in a two-room house in Tupelo, MS, on January 8, 1935. He died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977. In those 42 years, Elvis made an indelible impression on pop culture the world over. Elvis Presley, Reluctant Rebel: His Life and Our Times probes both the man and his influence, delving deeply into the personality of its protagonist, his needs and motivations, and the social and musical forces that shaped his career. Elvis's musical talents and liabilities are explored, as are his records, films, and live performances and his relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, whom he allowed to manipulate him as a money-making machine. Readers will learn about Elvis's personal life, his devotion to conventional religious and political beliefs, and his decline into self-destruction and death. Finally, the book explores Elvis's impact on the musical and racial revolutions of the 1950s and 1960s, his legacy, and his importance in shaping a generation of Baby Boomers.
Download or read book The Elvis Archives written by Todd Slaughter and published by Omnibus Press. This book was released on 2014-02-20 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exclusive account of the extraordinary life of Elvis Aaron Presley. This details the undisputed facts of Elvis' life and career and is illustrated with over 100 rare and exclusive photographs. Elvis was often thought to be a recluse, but these photographic records shows Elvis meeting and mixing with some of the most famous and influential people of our time. Pop stars, politicians and presidents all wanted to meet The King and this picture portfolio details many of those exciting moments.
Download or read book Elvis Forever written by Boze Hadleigh and published by Riverdale Avenue Books LLC. This book was released on 2021-09-16 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is Elvis the most charismatic star ever? What else accounts for his continuing global appeal and media presence, his allure to music lovers of all ages and to fans whose pilgrimages to Graceland make it the most-visited private residence in the USA? Presley's estate now earns more annually than when Elvis was alive. He died at 42, close on half a century ago, but new generations keep discovering him. He rocks and rolls on and on, not necessarily as a movie star—he was the first to dismiss his 31-film output—but as the top-selling singer in history, a pop-culture icon, an ageless sex symbol and a mythic figure who inspires intense, even fanatical devotion (e.g., the First Presbyterian Church of Elvis the Divine). When Elvis died there were some 170 Elvis imitators. A quarter-century later there were an estimated 85,000 Elvis "tribute artists," including a popular Chinese Elvis in London and a gay Mexican American, El Vez, whose re-tooled song performances include "You Ain't Nothin' But a Chihuahua." There are even Elvis performances in "heaven"—some years ago two groups of skydiving impersonators, the Flying Elvises and the Flying Elvis, sued each other in federal court. Elvis Forever offers possibly the most revealing and rounded close-up look yet at the King. The frank, often bold, sometimes shocking or surprising quotes from insiders and outsiders, peers, costars, friends, employees and famous fans took over two decades to collect and cover every phase of the life and legacy of the magnetic man from Memphis.
Download or read book Elvis Presley written by Joel Williamson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most admired Southern historians of our time paints an intimate portrait of Elvis Presley, set against the rich backdrop of Southern society, that illuminates the zenith of his career, showing how Elvis himself changed—and didn't—and providing a deeper understanding of the man and his times.
