There's no mention of sequins, drugs, or peanut butter in this understated biography of the teenaged Elvis, a serious and worthy attempt to answer the question, "Who was this guy before he was an icon, the voice of a generation, the King?" The essential clarity and honesty of Guralnick's prose clearly limns the eager, malleable boy whose immense talent changed the course of American music.


From Publishers Weekly
Vol. one of Guralnick's exhaustive, two-volume biography details the King's first 24 years, leaving off when his rise is interrupted by his being drafted into the army. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Another work on Presley? Since Guralnick is "one of the best, most respected popular music historians" in the business (Sweet Soul Blues Music, LJ 6/1/ 86), this could be good.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Nick Tosches
In a work of lucent prose and rare perception, Peter Guralnick has given us not only the definitive biography of Elvis Presley, but also a luminous portrait of the America that made, and was in turn swayed by, him.


From Booklist
Forty years ago this month, during a break in an unsuccessful recording session at Sam Phillips' studio in Memphis, a shy, well-mannered though strangely dressed young singer started fooling around with the old blues song That's All Right. The session guitarist and bass player joined in, and in the control booth, Phillips realized this was the synthesis of hillbilly music and rhythm and blues he'd been looking for. Pretty soon, Elvis Presley was making hit records, his public appearances were mob scenes, and Hollywood was calling. Retelling the oft-told early Elvis story soberly, thoroughly, and unsensationally, Guralnick depicts Elvis as a naive yet extremely talented boy whose dream of stardom came true, leaving him a virtual prisoner of his own success. Realized through scores of interviews and hours of in-depth research, Guralnick's Elvis is ignorant of worldly matters, seemingly without artifice, but a quick study; he aims to please, wants to be a good role model, and is genuinely distressed when some find his gyrations vulgar, even pornographic. He loves his mother excessively and will not sleep with hometown girlfriends. The first half of Guralnick's projected two-volume biography is eminently engrossing. Taking pains to keep the story fresh and flowing and refraining from foreshadowing and editorializing, Guralnick lets the facts speak for themselves. If you really want only one Elvis biography, let this sensitive book be it. Benjamin Segedin


From Kirkus Reviews
The first volume of two in what is bound to be the definitive biography of the King. Whereas Albert Goldman, in his infamous trash biography (Elvis, 1981), served up an overstuffed, doped-up Elvis in a one- sided portrait of an American nightmare, Guralnick (Sweet Soul Music, 1986, etc.) takes a more sensible and sensitive approach, tracing the roots of an American dream. The son of a ne'er-do-well father and an unnaturally devoted mother, an only child whose twin brother died at birth, Elvis grew up sheltered and alone. The fact that his father made little attempt to lift his family out of poverty turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because they remained just one tiny rung up the social ladder from their black neighbors--and their music. From an early age, Elvis heard and admired gospel and rhythm and blues. Amazingly, his own style seems to have emerged full-grown; he took only a few guitar lessons, performed little in high school, and to all outward appearances was ``beyond shy,'' in the words of his first producer, Sam Phillips. Thanks to Phillips, who patiently oversaw his first sessions, the real Elvis quickly emerged: a dynamic performer who knew instinctively how to bring his audience to a frenzy and rapidly became a star. Guralnick perfectly captures Elvis's mixture of na‹vet‚ and shrewdness: He carried a joy buzzer to his first meeting with RCA executives but also carefully practiced every stage movement for maximum effect. Still, Elvis repeatedly expressed his fears that he would ``go out like a light, just like I came on.'' This volume ends in 1958, when Elvis was inducted into the Army and his beloved mother died. The year marked the end of a youthful innocence and the beginning of a long and sorry decline. A serious, musically literate, and historically attuned biography. An American epic that belongs on every bookshelf. (20 b&w photos) (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM OUR EDITORS

This first book of a two-volume biography charts the singer's meteoric rise to fame up to and including his mother's death in 1958. Portrays the gifted artist & perfectionist beneath Elvis's "pretty-boy" image. B&W photos.

ANNOTATION

The myth-shattering first volume of what will surely be the definitive biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis reconstructs the early years--ending in 1958 with Elvis, in uniform, burying his mother. 6 cassettes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Vol. one of Guralnick's exhaustive, two-volume biography details the King's first 24 years, leaving off when his rise is interrupted by his being drafted into the army. (Sept.)

Library Journal