What to Read After You Watch ‘Elvis’
Image courtesy of IMDB
Elvis, a new movie based on the life of the King of Rock and Roll, just hit theaters and many are wanting to relive the 50’s. Whether you want to read about the King of Rock and Roll or famous Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra or Marilyn Monroe, this booklist will take you into the lives of the rich and famous from this time.
Last Train to Memphis takes us deep inside Elvis’ life, exploring his lifelong passion for music of every sort (from blues and gospel to Bing Crosby and Mario Lanza), his compelling affection for his family, and his intimate relationships with girlfriends, mentors, band members, professional associates, and friends. It shows us the loneliness, the trustfulness, the voracious appetite for experience, and above all the unshakable, almost mystical faith that Elvis had in himself and his music. Drawing frequently on Elvis’ own words and on the recollections of those closest to him, the book offers an emotional, complex portrait of young Elvis Presley with a depth and dimension that for the first time allow his extraordinary accomplishments to ring true.
Sinatra: Hollywood His Way is a complete, film by film exploration of this true Hollywood legend. His screen history is vividly brought to life through illuminating reviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and hundreds of rare color and black-and-white photographs, making this the ultimate guide to the films of Frank Sinatra and an essential in the library of any fan.
While many think of Elvis Presley as rock ‘n’ roll’s driving force, the truth is that Fats Domino, whose records have sold more than 100 million copies, was the first to put it on the map with such hits as “Ain’t That a Shame” and “Blueberry Hill.” In Blue Monday, acclaimed R&B scholar Rick Coleman draws on a multitude of new interviews with Fats Domino and many other early musical legends to create a definitive biography of not just an extraordinary man but also a unique time and place: New Orleans at the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. Coleman’s groundbreaking research makes for an immense cultural biography, and is the first to convey the full scope of Fats Domino’s impact on the popular music of the twentieth century.
Loretta Lynn and the late Patsy Cline are legends—country icons and sisters of the heart. For the first time ever Loretta tells their story: a celebration of their music and their relationship up until Patsy’s tragic and untimely death. Full of laughter and tears, this eye-opening, heartwarming memoir paints a picture of two stubborn, spirited country gals who’d be damned if they’d let men or convention tell them how to be. Set in the heady streets of the 1960s South, this nostalgia ride shows how Nashville blossomed into the city of music it is today. Tender and fierce, Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust is an up-close-and-personal portrait of a friendship that defined a generation and changed country music indelibly—and a meditation on love, loss and legacy.
Last Train to Memphis, the first part of Guralnick’s two-volume life of Elvis Presley, was acclaimed by the New York Times as “a triumph of biographical art.” This concluding volume recounts the second half of Elvis’ life in rich and previously unimagined detail, and confirms Guralnick’s status as one of the great biographers of our time. Elvis’ changes during these years form a tragic mystery that Careless Love unlocks for the first time. This is the quintessential American story, encompassing elements of race, class, wealth, sex, music, religion, and personal transformation. Written with grace, sensitivity, and passion, Careless Love is a unique contribution to our understanding of American popular culture and the nature of success, giving us true insight at last into one of the most misunderstood public figures of our times.
In Faces in the Crowd Gary Giddins explores the achievements of thirty-seven artists, ranging from Irving Berlin to Spike Lee, Billie Holiday to Kay Starr, Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis, Elias Canetti to Philip Roth. He shows how Jack Benny revolutionized comedy; assesses the hardboiled fiction of James M.Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Elmore Leonard; recounts how he uncovered the true birthdate of Louis Armstrong; chats with Clint Eastwood about Charlie Parker. And, of course, he writes with authority on the great jazz musicians. This provocative and entertaining collection reveals why Gary Giddins has become one of the most influential critics of his generation.
Born in Cleveland in 1925, “Little” Jimmy Scott lost his mother at age thirteen, the same year he was diagnosed with Kallman’s syndrome. The disease stunted his growth and earned him his nickname, but it also left him with a haunting voice, a mesmerizing voice. He soon built a following as a singer touring with Lionel Hampton’s great orchestra in the ’40s, then performed with many of the stars of the ’50s, from Lester Young to Charlie Parker to Dinah Washington, and was signed by Savoy Records. With full cooperation from Jimmy, his siblings, spouses, and colleagues from Ray Charles to Ruth Brown, Faith in Time is at once an intimate biography, an invaluable history of a life that spanned big band to bebop to pop, and the poignant story of a man whose voice will live forever.
When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn’s world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told…until now. In this groundbreaking book, Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress’ life, including her mother, her foster mother, and her legal guardian.
In The Heart of Rock & Soul, veteran rock critic Dave Marsh offers a polemical guide to the 1,001 greatest rock and soul singles ever made, encompassing rock, metal, R&B, disco, folk, funk, punk, reggae, rap, soul, country, and any other music that has made a difference over the past fifty years. The illuminating essays—complete with music history, social commentary, and personal appraisals—double as a mini-history of popular music. Here you will find singles by artists as wide-ranging as Aretha Franklin, George Jones, Roy Orbison, the Sex Pistols, Madonna, Run-D.M.C., and Van Halen. Featuring a new preface that covers the hits—and misses—of the ’90s, The Heart of Rock & Soul remains as provocative, passionate, and timeless as the music it praises.
The music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day. With extensive interviews and firsthand personal observations extending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Records artists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait of an American original as compelling in his own right as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, or Thomas Edison.
Leonard Feather’s autobiography is also the story of jazz over the last half-century. Since arriving in New York from London in 1935, he has managed to distinguish himself as a producer, composer, pianist, and one of the music’s most acute critics. He was one of the first to champion the innovations of bebop in the pages of Esquire and Downbeat, also an ardent campaigner against racial barriers, and a friend to dozens of musicians. There are stories here about Feather’s relationship with Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, George Shearing, Joe Williams, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and many others. Filled with information about the recording business and the tricky art of criticism, this earwitness account of a lifetime in jazz caps a career that has been dedicated to the best that American culture has to offer.