Monday, October 5, 2015

Read And Learn From Elvis Presley Books

By Deana Norton


There may be uncountable books on the King, and maybe they are in the thousands. Elvis Presley books are always in high demand and new ones appear all the time out of nowhere. It is a subject of top interest indeed. Voracious readers will always have something new to devour about his magical life. There is always something else they want to know.

They have his life story, of course: an usher at the Loews in Memphis and a truck driver in the early days. This only surviving twin of Gladys and Vernon Presley had a deep spiritual soul. He was always searching for his true self and is said to have been missing something. He probably died without having found it as he was overweight and on drugs.

Elvis thus was on a constant quest to find himself and the meaning of his life. He was successful, married the love of his life, divorced her, and made a fortune. He did inauspiciously on the john. It is ironic that he was reading a book entitled, Search for the Face of Jesus by Frank Adams.

No doubt it is also true that he was near broke when he died. It was up to his ex-wife Priscilla to resurrect his estate through music licensing and memorabilia. He had maybe a million left, not enough to run Graceland and take care of his large entourage (you know the story about giving everyone Cadillacs). He didn't worry, however, counting on his music. Just before he died, he said to his father, "Don't worry about the money; I'll just go out on the road and make more."

This is the stuff of legends and we eat it all up. We cry at the story about losing a key role opposite Barbra Streisand in A Star is Born. Colonel Tom Parker, his perennial manager, refused to let him take second billing, but he lost a major opportunity to jump start a serious film career. He was always subjected to such whims. No wonder he lost much of his fortune to bad business deals.

He was sad and alone until the end although he did have a girlfriend, Ginger Alden. He was reading in the bathroom a book about Jesus and she warned him not to fall asleep. He also spoke to his cousin, Billy Smith, on the phone stating optimistically that "this is gonna be my best tour ever." Alas, it was not to happen.

If you are looking for hidden meanings, they aren't in these books. It is the same story time and again about a Tennessee lad who made it bigger than big. But he was often lonely, even in a room full of people like his grand room at the Hilton in Los Vegas. You can see a note displayed at Graceland that reveals his soul, "I'm the only person I know who can walk into a room full of people and be alone."

It is a colorful greater than life story and the man was to become a legend. He is buried next to his beloved mother at Graceland, moved in 1977 from the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. Thousands of fans make the pilgrimage to Graceland each year. These same people buy the books that perpetuate the life and loves of the King.




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