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.
