Jim's Book Reviews

Dear Elvis Fans, Please send me ideas for books that you would like to see reviewed in this column. The first four books have been absolutely outstanding! Special thanks to Jackie for purchasing these books and donating them to Tribute To The King so they may be reviewed (And enjoyed!). We may begin reviewing other Elvis material, such as recordings and videos. Your donations are invaluable to keeping this research going! Thank you !

LAST TRAIN to MEMPHIS THE RISE OF ELVIS PRESLEY AUTHOR-PETER GURALNICK PUBLISHED IN 1994 BY BACK BAY BOOKS AVAILABILITY-EXCELLENT This biography chronicles Elvis Presley life from the humble beginnings in Tupelo, Miss. until his induction into the U.S. Army. The Army. The book is extremely well researched with hundreds of people interviewed and scores of actual sites visited over the course of several years. Guralnick even took up residence in Memphis during this time period to have access to people that were actually there during Elvis' dramatic rise to stardom. He has done his best to make this a "true" biography by checking sources and interviewing little known people as well as the "giants", such as Sam Phillips. The book is an interesting read loaded with vintage photos and information about what is was like being out on the road playing in small honky-tonks with Scotty, Bill, and later on, D.J. Fontana. The book dispels a lot of the myths and shows an extremely human side of a young Elvis Presley. It speaks in detail about his musical influences, the early recordings at Sun, family life, living conditions, school years and the young ladies he dated. This is a book you will want to read many times over, both for it's entertainment value and as a valuable resource. RATING - 5 STARS ***** (OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5 STARS)
CARELESS LOVE: THE UNMAKING OF ELVIS PRESLEY WRITTEN BY PETER GURALNICK PUBLISHED BY BACK BAY BOOKS COPYRIGHT 1999 767 PAGES COST $17.95 AVAILABILITY: EXCELLENT This is authors second book in the series, which begins after Elvis completes his military duty. The book is meticulously and painstakingly researched as was the first book entitled Last Train to Memphis. This volume chronicles his exit from the Army, through the Movie years, the 1968 Comeback Special, playing Las Vegas, touring, recording and ending with his unfortunate demise. There is considerable information concerning Colonel Parker's background and his cold, controlling, nearly fanatical style of managing "his Boy". Reading the accounts of how miserable Elvis became while grinding out films year after year while still harboring dreams of becoming a serious actor casts light upon his feeling of literally being "Caught in a trap". This book is not the glossy; fairytale view presented by many books about Elvis and his many triumphs. It is a factual, sometimes painful account of his struggle to survive in a world that forced him to become a virtual prisoner of his own fame. As an in depth biography this is another masterpiece on the same plateau as the first book. I give this book 5 stars out of a possible 5.
ELVIS PRESLEY A LIFE IN MUSIC THE COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS AUTHOR-ERNST JORGENSEN PUBLISHED BY ST. MARTIN'S PRESS-NEW YORK COPYRIGHT 1998 AVAILABILITY-EXCELLENT This book is a must have for the true Elvis fan. Ernst Jorgensen spent nine years cataloguing and making sense of the Elvis Presley recordings. He has been instrumental in co-producing many of the box sets for RCA and is a leading expert in Elvis recordings. This book is loaded with over 150 photographs in color and black and white, many of them never available to the public before. It includes complete recording information between the summer of 1953 and the summer of 1977. The book is a fascinating read with a tremendous amount of information about Elvis' career and the process of recording. I had the pleasure of visiting with Mr. Jorgensen briefly when he was in Memphis for Elvis week several years ago and he was very approachable and willing to discuss specifics about songs and events that occurred during the recording process. This book is tremendous. I rank it as the best book on the topic that I am aware of. I give this book 6 stars out of a possible 5 stars--- GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW!
THE COLONEL AUTHOR- ALANNA NASH PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER COPYRIGHT 2003 AVAILABILITY-EXCELLENT This book deals with the mysterious, cloudy past of "Colonel" Tom Parker who served as Elvis Presley's manager from the RCA days until the end. It provides a look into the complicated relationship Elvis had with his manager and explains why many of Elvis' professional dreams did not come to fruition. The author has done a fabulous job of researching from Parkers' childhood in Holland to the carnival and circus route and through his highly controversial managerial career. Whether you believe Parker was a shyster a murderer or a genius is unimportant, you need to purchase this book. After reading it you will have a far greater understanding of Elvis Presley. It was interesting to ponder how Parker made more than 100 million dollars from Elvis' talent and yet had less than 1 million left at the end of his life. Parker's response to Elvis' death leaves me chilled to the bone. This is another outstanding book and is another must read for the Elvis fan. FIVE STARS-GO BUY IT!
IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME is a compilation of ten Holiday selections distributed by BMG Entertainment in 1985. The CD and Cassette are both available and easily obtained today. The cover photo features a stunning photo of early 1960’s Elvis appropriately decked out in a red jacket with a high collar. The songs are mostly original cuts from his 1957 Christmas Album including, Blue Christmas, Silent Night, White Christmas, Santa Claus Is Back In Town and others. The sound quality is excellent. I question whether Mama Liked The Roses qualifies as a holiday song, but otherwise the CD contents are well balanced and result in a tasteful, affordable compilation. I highly recommend this recording.