In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker (the manager of the number-one country music star of the day) heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse and headed south to investigate. Within a matter of days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking agents: 'We have a new boy that is absolutely going to be one of the biggest things in the business in a very short time. His name is ELVIS PRESLEY.'
The close personal bond between Elvis and the Colonel is something that has never been fully portrayed before. It was a relationship founded on mutual admiration and support. From the outset, the Colonel defended Elvis fiercely and indefatigably against RCA executives, Elvis' own booking agents and movie moguls. But in their final years together, the story grew darker, as the Colonel found himself unable to protect Elvis from himself - or to control growing problems of his own.
Featuring troves of previously unpublished correspondence from the Colonel's own archives, revelatory for both their insights and their emotional depth, The Colonel and the King provides a groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between the iconic artist and his legendary manager and a unique perspective on not one but two American originals. A tale of the birth of the modern-day superstar (an invention almost entirely of Parker's making) by the most acclaimed music writer of his generation, it presents these two misunderstood icons as they've never been seen before: with all of their brilliance, humour and flaws on full display.
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The Colonel and the King 9781399635295 Hardback
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The story of the manager
The first part os the book is the story of Colonel Tom Parker the manager of Elvis Presley. The second part that is dedicated to letters has lots of letters by Tom Parker, except 2 brief thank you notes by Elvis and one letter by Vernon Presley. If you haven't read a biography about Elvis Presl…
The first part os the book is the story of Colonel Tom Parker the manager of Elvis Presley. The second part that is dedicated to letters has lots of letters by Tom Parker, except 2 brief thank you notes by Elvis and one letter by Vernon Presley. If you haven't read a biography about Elvis Presley you won't get lots of the references. If you want to know about Elvis and his life give this one a miss. If you're after every little detail you will get a different perspective, albeit a totally biased one. The sad truth is that the author is too close to Tom Parker and he likes him too much to have any sort of objectivity. Plus he is attempting to 'correct' the image of the man and the way he's trying to do that is by portraying him as some kind of saint which it's sure he was not.
- Authors:
- Guralnick, Peter
- Year Published:
- 2025
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Format:
- Hardback
- ISBN:
- 9781399635295
- Number of Pages:
- 624
- Publication Date:
- 14/08/2025
- Publisher:
- Orion Publishing Co
- Language:
- English
- SKU:
- 9781399635295