Good book bought for a family member off my mam for Christmas she's going to love this book as mad about elvis
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So enthralled by this biography as soon as I’d read it I started again - the accounts of those early tours of the southern states and Elvis’s astonishing commitment to his workload is truly exciting. One is very much left with the sense that EP was no doubt exceptional but his success was also partly because of the history and location of where he found himself. His meteoric rise couldn’t have occurred anywhere else … and the world will never see his like again. Amazing book. Highly recommended *****
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There isn't much new here, but Roy Connolly is a great writer and a supremely experienced rock journalist, and he has produced an interesting and engaging read. Recommended, especially if you don't own an Elvis book.
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This book leads You to step by step through the Elvis life and You understand that You read about the man who has reached his dream and brought to the peoples all around the world the beautiful music and voice. His belief in his dream was so strong that it makes his work immortal (and all of us are the witnesses of that). But when You read this book, You understand that Elvis has been betrayed by those persons around him (who has been beloved by him, too) - and this is totally sad and unfair. He was a genius and a lot of people around him reach a lot of good things (in different ways) but there was nobody who brings him the savior hand when he was ill and tired physically and mentally. This book makes You see clearly - how lonely could be the famous man and desperate as well. The book makes You feel this tragedy of Elvis and cry over him again. But he had a beautiful soul and through his voice and music heritage, the light continues to shine therefore he still is famous and still is the King.
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I have just seen the new movie "Elvis" which actually made me cry. I was 19 when Elvis died in 1977 and remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard. Rather like people do about the assassination of JFK and the day Princess Diana died. This book is even better than the film in giving you Elvis - warts and all. So sad. So manipulated. And a talent never been seen before or since. I can thoroughly recommend this book.
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As biographies of Elvis go this is disappointing although perhaps I have read too many of them! The only thing worth reading was the Foreword which was a perceptive, understanding and non judgemental analysis of the man and his various problems. Perhaps I was expecting something new to emerge but sadly I felt that this work was a pastiche of all the other things written about Elvis except I'm not entirely sure the facts as written in this book were accurate. Mr Connolly persists in the allegation that Elvis's death was drug related which is questionable if not refutable. We all know that Elvis was addicted to prescription drugs which clearly would have taken a toll on his well-being but my reading on the subject had indicated that NONE of the drugs present in Elvis's body were at toxic levels (particularly given his tolerance). I believe the consensus now is that he suffered cardiac arrest (valsalva manoeuvre whilst straining to evacuate his impacted colon). Equally the book by Sally Hoedel Destined to Die Young goes into detail and is meticulously researched into his genetic inheritance, Alpha Antripsin Deficit disorder, which meant that many of his family died young and also meant that Elvis himself was a very sick man irrespective of his drug use. Mr Connolly makes no mention of this.
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Read dozens of books about Elvis but this is right up there alongside PeterGuralnicks brilliant two volume biography
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Elvis Presley is undoubtedly one of the most famous people ever to have lived. His fame has stretched far beyond even his own premature death, right up to the present date. Yet this fascinating, well written book, is the saddest celebrity biography I have ever read. Not because of any fault on the part of the author, but because the story he tells is just so poignant. Elvis gave so much to the world of music, but it is clear from this book, that for all his fame and wealth, he would have been far happier if he had remained a truck driver. He was taken advantage of and left emotionally and physically bereft. By the end of his short life, he simply had nothing left to give. I appreciate that Elvis was no saint, but after reading this book, I loved him more than ever.
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Book was on sale I think Hubby wanted it Bought it
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Gives an in-depth account of Elvis Presley's over-the-top existence as the world's most famous entertainer. It takes an intimate look at the singer's personal life, drawing from interviews and exhaustive research. Author and journalist Ray Connolly digs deep into the mystery surrounding Elvis Presley's fame, fortune, and early death. He makes a compelling case for why the King of Rock 'n' Roll ultimately led a very lonely and reclusive life. Similar to other books on Presley, Being Elvis follows the chronological path of Elvis's life and work. How it differs from other books is that it brings the reader into the experience of what it might have been like to be Elvis Presley. Details are shared about his moods and behavior during recording sessions, in relationships, involving incidents, events, and concerts, even his home life, as if tapping into the mind and heart of the man. Readers learn that he was both celebrated and ridiculed, excessively generous and yet selfishly demanding. He was unpredictably violent at times, yet sang songs of love and injustice that would make those around him weep. He harbored an immense appetite for fatty foods, prescription pain killers and amphetamines, and he required a steady stream of women he sometimes needed merely as a friend. Almost constantly surrounded by family, friends, and associates, Elvis Presley, like other eccentric mega-celebrities, was unable to live life amidst his own fans. But, as the author opens his story with a 1956 quote from Jackie Gleason, he had fair warning early on in his career. Gleason told him, “Elvis, you're going to be a very big star. Here's some advice. Don't hide...” Another quote from John Lennon says it all: “It was murder for us as Beatles at the height of the hysteria. But there were four of us to share it. Elvis was on his own. There was only him. It must have been impossible.” As Elvis became increasingly dysfunctional due to chronic pain, ill health, and massive drug addiction, readers will be convinced that it was impossible. He was bound to a life and career his so-called manager, Colonel Tom Parker, established for him. But that was when Elvis was a young man not long out of high-school and not far from the crushing poverty of 1930s and 40s Tupelo and Memphis, Mississippi. While family, health care workers, and friends tried to help him, Connolly makes it clear, it was up to Elvis, himself, whether he would turn the tide and break free of addiction and the fears that haunted his every day. No book or movie can explain why Elvis lived the way he did or truly share his heart and soul as just a person who became a singer and an entertainer, but this book does a good job. Following his songs sprinkled throughout the text and listed at the end of the book, plus gazing at the people in the beautiful photographs at the end, offers a window into the best of Elvis Presley. He was tragically self-destructive yet so gifted in his voice and musical creativity that one can only love the man, appreciate his talent, and be thankful he walked the earth.
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Enfatiza mucho en el lado triste de la historia como por morbo, aunque en sí su historia no terminó bien, me hubiera encantado que se enfocara más en sus primeros años dándose a conocer y en cómo se reinventó a una edad avanzada. Pero se entiende que siempre se quiere llamar la atención con los "secretos" y las tragedias detrás del éxito.
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Einfach zu lesen
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Written superbly - I whipped through this in a few days and it set me on the hunt for more Elvis. Thoroughly enjoyable!
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