ABSTRACT
Elvis Aron Presley is enjoying a life after death even more spectacular than his earthly one. He came, like all charismatic leaders, in the “fullness of time.” He burst on the American scene in the 1950s when comfort, complacency, and conformity abounded. A small-time entrepreneur, Sam Phillips, who owned Sun Records in Memphis, saw Elvis’s unique talent. In 1968 Colonel Tom Parker redesigned him, dressing him in black leather and putting him on the stage. Meanwhile, the market for memorabilia and trinketry booms. Forty-year-old Elvis tapes have been found and released, as well as various “lost interviews.” There is not only emotion and sincerity, but also vulnerability in his music. Peter Guralnick’s two massive volumes on Elvis are by far the best account: Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley.
