HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Elvis: A King in the Making

by Alfred Wertheimer

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
1111,720,737 (5)None
This volume contains a true treasure trove of spontaneous and completely unrehearsed photographs of The King of Rock n Roll. Elvis both famous pictures and some that have never before been published. In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable and unparalleled career and photographer Alfred Wertheimer was asked by Presley's new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the rising star. With unimpeded access to the young performer, Wertheimer was able to capture the unguarded and everyday moments in Elvis' life during that crucial year.  This was a year that took Presley from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and to his coronation as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, and again in 1958, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and completely without artifice. Wertheimer's photographs of Elvis are extraordinary and he appears almost ethereal, whether reading a newspaper while waiting for a cab, or washing his hands during one of his many train trips. After 1958 and Elvis' induction into the army, the world seemingly forgot about Wertheimer's magical photographs - for nineteen years - until Aug 16, 1977, the day Elvis died and Time Magazine called. "The phone hasn't really stopped ringing in the last thirty years," observes Wertheimer. Many of the photographs in this visual treasury are previously unpublished and some have become almost as famous as the man himself.… (more)
None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

This is basically a book of photographs, so there isn't a lot to say about it. However, it is interesting to read Mr. Wertheimer's recollections of Elvis, before he was Elvis. At the time these photos were taken, he was a young 21-year-old man, who had no idea of the fame that lay in front of him. He was probably one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen, and these photos are raw, candid, heartfelt and exquisite; showing Elvis at his most vulnerable.

They show Elvis at one of his first television appearances, in a recording studio, at a concert, and at home in Tupelo. They show a young man who wants to be somebody, who stops and talks to people, always signing autographs and listening to them. A man who was attracted to and attractive to women, who loved his family and enjoyed being with them.

The photos of Elvis at home are particularly telling; they show him at his most relaxed, with family and friends surrounding him, and the gentle, courteous young man who was nice to everyone and didn't mind sharing his life. You can see in these photos the elemental soul of Elvis; watching him sleep, eat and read.

This is the Elvis who was; the Elvis before stardom hit and everything changed. The photographs are nothing if not incredible; for anyone who has ever listened to Elvis, ever watched one of his films, ever heard him speak - these will make you fall in love with him all over again. He was indeed remarkable and there will never be another like him. Highly recommended. ( )
  joannefm2 | Feb 6, 2018 |
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

This volume contains a true treasure trove of spontaneous and completely unrehearsed photographs of The King of Rock n Roll. Elvis both famous pictures and some that have never before been published. In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable and unparalleled career and photographer Alfred Wertheimer was asked by Presley's new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the rising star. With unimpeded access to the young performer, Wertheimer was able to capture the unguarded and everyday moments in Elvis' life during that crucial year.  This was a year that took Presley from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and to his coronation as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, and again in 1958, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and completely without artifice. Wertheimer's photographs of Elvis are extraordinary and he appears almost ethereal, whether reading a newspaper while waiting for a cab, or washing his hands during one of his many train trips. After 1958 and Elvis' induction into the army, the world seemingly forgot about Wertheimer's magical photographs - for nineteen years - until Aug 16, 1977, the day Elvis died and Time Magazine called. "The phone hasn't really stopped ringing in the last thirty years," observes Wertheimer. Many of the photographs in this visual treasury are previously unpublished and some have become almost as famous as the man himself.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (5)
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5 1

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 204,504,907 books! | Top bar: Always visible