![]() In this sympathetic portrayal of Elvis Presley, English writer and journalist Connolly tells the much-recounted saga of a hillbilly from Tupelo, Miss., who became the first rock-and-roll superstar. Intimate and unsparing, Being Elvis explores the extravagance and irrationality inherent in the Elvis mythology, ultimately offering a thoughtful celebration of an immortal life. The creator of an American sound that resonates today, Elvis remains frozen in time, an enduring American icon who could “seamlessly soar into a falsetto of pleading and yearning” and capture an inner emotion, perhaps of eternal yearning, to which all of us can still relate. ![]() ![]() As we reach the end of this poignant account, Elvis’s death at forty-two takes on the hue of a profoundly American tragedy. What distinguishes Being Elvis beyond the narrative itself is Connolly’s more subtle examinations of white poverty, class aspirations, and the prison that is extreme fame. King, Sam Phillips, and Roy Orbison, among many others, Connolly creates one of the most nuanced and mature portraits of this cultural phenomenon to date. With a narrative informed by interviews over many years with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, B. Juxtaposing the music, the songs, and the incendiary live concerts with a personal life that would later careen wildly out of control, Connolly demonstrates that Elvis’s amphetamine use began as early as his touring days of hysteria in the late 1950s, and that the financial needs that drove him in the beginning would return to plague him at the very end. For new and seasoned fans alike, Connolly, who interviewed Elvis in 1969, re-creates a man who sprang from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi, to unprecedented overnight fame, eclipsing Frank Sinatra and then inspiring the Beatles along the way. In Being Elvis veteran rock journalist Ray Connolly takes a fresh look at the career of the world’s most loved singer, placing him, forty years after his death, not exhaustively in the garish neon lights of Las Vegas but back in his mid-twentieth-century, distinctly southern world. A godlike entity in the history of rock and roll, this twentieth-century icon with a dazzling voice blended gospel and traditionally black rhythm and blues with country to create a completely new kind of music and new way of expressing male sexuality, which simply blew the doors off a staid and repressed 1950s America. 16, 1977), put your suspicious minds at ease and savor this survey of the best of his breadth: 20 essential Elvis songs that make you turn your head (and pelvis) toward the speakers.A “sympathetic and exceptionally well-written account” (USA Today), Ray Connolly’s biography of the King soars with “spontaneity and electricity” (Preston Lauterbach).Įlvis Presley is a giant figure in American popular culture, a man whose talent and fame were matched only by his later excesses and tragic end. So to mark the 45th anniversary of Elvis' death (Aug. ![]() That's why, when assessing the more than 750 songs Elvis recorded, it's more useful to appreciate his mastery of multiple styles rather than quibble over whether "How Great Thou Art" was, well, greater than "Hound Dog." He was Americana before we knew the word. The man could, and did, sing just about anything, including the phone book (cue up "Memphis, Tennessee").Įlvis Presley adopted Mario Lanza-inspired romantic pieces, Arthur Crudup's down-and-dirty blues, pop tunes from Brill Building wiseacres Leiber and Stoller, Jackie Wilson R&B and several shades of country – and spit them out as rock 'n' roll.Īlong the way, there would be cool Christmas songs, blue-eyed soul, soundtrack snoozers and enough schlock to make you "Do the Clam." Plus, he knew gospel, chapter and verse. Wise men say only fools rush in to a debate on Elvis' oeuvre.
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