Last Train to Memphis written by Peter Guralnick is a biography of the rise of Elvis Presley. It is Peter Guralnick’s story of Elvis Presley’s rise to fame and fortune. The book is based on hundreds of interviews and almost a decade of research tracing the first twenty-four years of Elvis’s life, which covers his childhood, first Sun Records recordings of “That’s All Right,” “Mystery Train,” and the early RCA hits of “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” The book records his years of self-invention and times when it seemed everything Elvis Presley tried succeeded way beyond anyone’s wildest dreams including Elvis himself. All seemed to be going extremely well for Elvis until he was drafted into the army in 1958. While in the army, his mother died, leaving him devastated and noticeably changed thereafter.
In the book, Peter Guralnick reveals how he wrote about Elvis Presley for the first time in 1967 out of love for his music that Mr. Guralnick said he thought had been unjustly criticized. However, in Guralnick’s book, “Last Train to Memphis,” he reveals that his feelings changed to reflect more of a person he was writing about who was a great singer from the heart in that Presley sang the songs he cared about, which were blues, gospel, and other sentimental numbers with all his heart.
The book ends on the note of Elvis’s departure from the United States to Germany and an interview in which it was felt he was a bit tired and downcast, but says he is looking forward to Germany, to seeing the country and meeting new people, but at the same time, he was looking forward to coming back to the U.S. and resuming his music/movie career.
“Last Train to Memphis,” written by Peter Guralnick, copyright of 1994. The book includes bibliographical references and index with photographs of Elvis Presley from 1935-1977. The book is rich in details deep inside the life of Elvis Presley as well as a vivid exploration of his lifelong passion for music of every sort (from blues to gospel to Bing Crosby and Mario Lanza). There are details of his great love for family, his intimate relationships with girlfriends, mentors, band members, professional associates and friends. It is a story of Elvis Presley’s rise to success reaching beyond his myth and legend. The author hoped to create a fresh view of Elvis and his world. It is my opinion he succeeded.
the books – smells like content
