Last train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley

I wasn’t a big Elvis fan back in the day but after reading Last Train to Memphis I am now. This epic volume (vol. 1 out of 2) consisting of over 500 pages of small print and a mind‑boggling level of detail about Elvis’s early years has converted me. I’m also now a fan of Peter Guralnick’s writing. Whether or not he has captured the true spirit of Elvis himself on these pages, it's clear he's captured the spirit of the Elvis Presley phenomenon.

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. So well researched, but reads with the flow of a novel. Guralnick makes you feel like you were there with Elvis from the beginning, lots of detail but never boring. Elvis is a true American Icon in every sense of that overused label. He impacted American music and culture like no one before him. You're not just reading a biography of Elvis, you're reading about a major shift in American history when you read this book.

When Guralnick calls Elvis a "myth" is he referring to the unfolding of events that created rock and roll, or is he implying Elvis had an unverifiable existence? Was Elvis a false notion? I'm not really sure. What I am sure about is Guralnick's ability to tease apart the smaller pieces of Elvis Aron Presley's early life; the moments that led up to his stardom. There is certainly enough emphasis on Elvis's shy and polite and humble beginnings as a sheltered country & western wannabe who couldn't play the guitar worth beans. There is also emphasis on the key people surrounding Elvis during his rise to fame. It is obvious as Elvis' stardom rose, the less he was able to discern who was trustworthy. He needed an entourage and he struggled show more with identity, but a growing confidence led him to expect adoration and special treatment, especially when it came to cars and women. I appreciated the historical context of the songs Elvis made famous, especially since someone else wrote them and almost always sang them first. Everyone knows Elvis made 'Blue Suede Shoes' famous, but few recognize the true origins of the song. I also appreciated the emphasis placed on Elvis' connection to family. Elvis may have had a taste of reality when he had to enter the military, but he had to swallow it whole when his mother died. The event changed his life. This is where Last Train to Memphis ends. The sequel, Careless Love picks up the biography.
Last Train to Memphis includes photographs (as it should), but that's not the cool part. The cool part is that the photos are not clumped together in the middle of the book like most biographies, but rather they begin each chapter like a little surprise. show less

Well researched biography (part 1 of 2 books) on Elvis Presley. The first volume spent time on Presley's early life, the poverty experienced by his family, and his initial forays into music and initial success. The author spent a lot of time interviewing those who knew and worked with Elvis as well as had extensive footnotes and bibliography. The writing style was very descriptive and many events made you feel like you were there. The books could have had more photographs since at times the author would describe a photo but alas, the photo was not included in the book. The book could have used some followup as to what happened to those who spent so much time with Elvis, i.e., the Memphis Mafia. It was hard to put down and highly show more recommended. show less

Peter Guralnick certainly did his research for this book! He details the first half of Elvis's life, from early childhood growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi to his mother's death and his deployment to Germany during his stint in the army. Guralnick offers a fairly complete portrait of Elvis Presley as a polite, eager-to-please Southern kid with a penchant for loud clothes, nice cars, and pretty girls. Elvis's rise to fame happened pretty quickly (or, at least faster than I had originally thought), and the descriptions of the pandemonium that followed him wherever he went were wild. The only downside to this book is, ironically, the extreme attention to detail - at times I got confused trying to keep all the people straight. I look show more forward to reading the second volume of this biography, detailing "the fall of Elvis Presley". show less

Last Train to Memphis (first of two volumes) is probably one of the best biographies about Elvis. It covers the early years from Elvis' birth in 1935 to his mothers death in 1958. The first couple chapters are about his childhood, but the majority of the volumes length are about the first five years of his professional career from July 1953 to September 1958. It's a very readable and often gripping account by a self-avowed Elvis fan - Peter Guralnick - who wanted to present Elvis as a normal person and not a mythological characture. Guralnick says up front he does not analyze or interpret Elvis but leaves it to the reader to find their own interpretation; so, right away we know this is not a scholarly book or serious attempt at show more understanding and interpreting Elvis, but a well-told narrative of the events of his life, akin perhaps to a well done History Channel or PBS show.

Probably the most compelling question the reader will have about Elvis' early life is how and why he became so successful. Elvis once explained his success in response to a question asking if he was lucky, "I've been very lucky. I happened to come along at a time in the music business when there was no trend. The people were looking for something different, and I was lucky. I came along just in time." Of course Elvis also had a genius for giving people what they wanted, as the above answer reveals, Elvis was a mirror who could mold himself to be whatever people wanted. True to his word, Guralnick never really discusses why Elvis became successful, but my own interpretation is that he was the right person at the right time at the right place, a combination of luck, talent and hard work. It was a matter of contingencies. Elvis was known as the cross-over artist, but cross-over was in the air, if it hadn't been him it would have been someone else - although probably combinations of many artists over time, instead of so much talent in one person at one time and place.

I'll be honest, I'm not an Elvis fan. I don't dislike him, just neutral, although after reading this I'm more sympathetic, he just wasn't part of my generation or my parents. There is no doubt he was a major talent, not to mention key figure of 20th century world history, which is why I wanted to learn more about him. I had many questions about his early life and rise to fame which were mostly answered in the first 150 pages or so. After that it became a little tedious reading about concert performances, snakelike handlers and the recording industry, and so I stopped reading around page 220, or in 1955. By then Elvis was on the express train his success was assured, there were too many people invested in seeing it happen, the machine was in motion. What I missed, however, was the interpretation and analysis by Guralnick to better reveal who Elvis was, he still felt remote to me.

Note: there is a wealth of material on YouTube about Elvis including early recordings and rare video before he became famous making it a richer documentary experience when combined with reading the book. Search YouTube for "Elvis 1954".

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd show less

On sale on Thriftbooks.com site, I bought it because recently I watched a documentary regarding Elvis. He was my first love. As a young child, the local movie was only .25 cents on Saturday, and I think I saw every one of his not so good movies, but it was his dark hair and handsomeness that kept me coming back to watch them.

The is an exhaustive story of the King of Rock and Roll. It is a good book, but the author went way beyond keeping the story on track. Elvis came from a poor family. He was a twin, but his other brother died at birth. His father really had no gumption.

It was his mother that held everything together, including her only child. She was the queen of his heart. Her death co-incited with his military obligation.

A very show more polite person, he loved his mommy, fast, beautiful cars, and a plethora of young woman.

When he danced and sang, he girated his hips and legs. This led to many scandalous reviews. It also led to quite a large audience of women who screamed and at times, tore off his clothes. show less