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Elvis: The King of Rock and Roll : Book1: The Crowning of a King
From Larry Geller - Friend of Elvis :
"I'm always reluctant to read manuscripts about Elvis - over the years, scores of them are offered to me. I do my best to read those that I feel might have some real, authentic merit. Yours, my friend, is one excellent book. You did a wonderful job of researching and putting it all together in a readable format that really expresses the brilliance and unparalleled life and career of Elvis Presley.
TCB,
Larry”
Is Elvis The King of Rock & Roll? Yes, he is!
Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy), who wrote the successful song “Fight the power”, seems to believe there is reason for debate. He said in an interview, “As a musicologist he understood Elvis’ greatness with the Sun sessions… As far as Elvis being ‘The King,’ I couldn’t buy that ” – Chuck D, I have the answer for you in this book.
Why is The King of Rock & Roll? The distinction becomes more blurred by only looking at the definition from today's perspective. History was never meant to be told from today's perspective. It must be experienced in the context of the time it happened. You cannot decide based on Elvis "the end result."
Talking about this 60 years later illustrates a culture seeking to rewrite the history of what happened. People at the time believed they should have today's perspective and could do it better. Why Elvis was given the title harbors fierce debate and racial tensions. Some take it personally, believing he should not have it and never earned it. This book seeks to end the debate once and for all. After Elvis stepped into the future on July 5th, 1954, accidentally singing "That's Allright Mama." everything changed.
Elvis "The End Result" happened after his coronation on September 9th, 1956. Prior to that, Rock and Roll did not exist. The answer is in the facts of what happened between 1954 - 1956.
It is why John Lennon said, "Before Elvis, there was nothing.";
Leonard Bernstein "Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes; it's a whole new social revolution – the '60s comes from it."
Elvis Presley unwittingly altered a trajectory of history in a single moment on July 5th, 1954. Igniting a spark and starting a firestorm. This Book illustrates what happened. This could never be explained in today's context or terms.1954 is different compared to today. Destiny was no accident! The world was a different place.
The firestorm Elvis caused transformed the definition of what popular music represented. Elvis went on to transform the music/entertainment industry landscape and changed our culture. Transforming the world and how we see one another. Elvis and rock and roll music became catalysts for change. The book places the reader in the shoes of a 19-year-old truck driver from Memphis. and the moment Rock and Roll Music became his destiny.
The Baz Luhrmann film "Elvis" was important; it was an exciting visual and musical film experience. But it left out his whole story. The people and environment that defined him. The initial stir was not Elvis' shaking. That came a year later. It was THE MUSIC he created that caused a revolution. People reacted initially to his music. His effect on music and pop culture occurred before the world had ever seen him perform!
The film focused only on Elvis' physical attributes, leaving out his contribution of creating Rock and Roll music experience. Not showing his true genius as the man who virtually transformed R&B into Rock and Roll. When Television catapulted him to international stardom.
"I'm always reluctant to read manuscripts about Elvis - over the years, scores of them are offered to me. I do my best to read those that I feel might have some real, authentic merit. Yours, my friend, is one excellent book. You did a wonderful job of researching and putting it all together in a readable format that really expresses the brilliance and unparalleled life and career of Elvis Presley.
TCB,
Larry”
Is Elvis The King of Rock & Roll? Yes, he is!
Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy), who wrote the successful song “Fight the power”, seems to believe there is reason for debate. He said in an interview, “As a musicologist he understood Elvis’ greatness with the Sun sessions… As far as Elvis being ‘The King,’ I couldn’t buy that ” – Chuck D, I have the answer for you in this book.
Why is The King of Rock & Roll? The distinction becomes more blurred by only looking at the definition from today's perspective. History was never meant to be told from today's perspective. It must be experienced in the context of the time it happened. You cannot decide based on Elvis "the end result."
Talking about this 60 years later illustrates a culture seeking to rewrite the history of what happened. People at the time believed they should have today's perspective and could do it better. Why Elvis was given the title harbors fierce debate and racial tensions. Some take it personally, believing he should not have it and never earned it. This book seeks to end the debate once and for all. After Elvis stepped into the future on July 5th, 1954, accidentally singing "That's Allright Mama." everything changed.
Elvis "The End Result" happened after his coronation on September 9th, 1956. Prior to that, Rock and Roll did not exist. The answer is in the facts of what happened between 1954 - 1956.
It is why John Lennon said, "Before Elvis, there was nothing.";
Leonard Bernstein "Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes; it's a whole new social revolution – the '60s comes from it."
Elvis Presley unwittingly altered a trajectory of history in a single moment on July 5th, 1954. Igniting a spark and starting a firestorm. This Book illustrates what happened. This could never be explained in today's context or terms.1954 is different compared to today. Destiny was no accident! The world was a different place.
The firestorm Elvis caused transformed the definition of what popular music represented. Elvis went on to transform the music/entertainment industry landscape and changed our culture. Transforming the world and how we see one another. Elvis and rock and roll music became catalysts for change. The book places the reader in the shoes of a 19-year-old truck driver from Memphis. and the moment Rock and Roll Music became his destiny.
The Baz Luhrmann film "Elvis" was important; it was an exciting visual and musical film experience. But it left out his whole story. The people and environment that defined him. The initial stir was not Elvis' shaking. That came a year later. It was THE MUSIC he created that caused a revolution. People reacted initially to his music. His effect on music and pop culture occurred before the world had ever seen him perform!
The film focused only on Elvis' physical attributes, leaving out his contribution of creating Rock and Roll music experience. Not showing his true genius as the man who virtually transformed R&B into Rock and Roll. When Television catapulted him to international stardom.
392 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 19, 2023
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3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 17, 2023
Solid information.
The information in this book is interesting and appears to be well-researched. Beyond that, this book needs some serious copyediting. Not only are there spelling errors, but even names of real people are spelled wrong. On top of this there appears to be some issue with formatting whereby whole paragraphs get repeated. I am not sure if this us because this book gas an academic essay feel to it, whereby something is said, then said again, and to make sure the point was made, Saud again in the conclusion. This makes for very boring reading. No one really likes to read English class essays.
Another annoying point is the author's use of the word woke in the introduction. This is a recent word and politically charged. I understand that Chuck D has said some things about Elvis being the King of Rock and Roll, but he us not the first one to feel that way. Elvis Presley did sing the music of black Americans and was more marketable because he wax white. Racism was a major part of the rise of Rock and Roll music and we cannot discount that, but to assume people are saying that to be woke is not correct either as people have said this before woke took on this definition. The author disparages the recent Elvis movie, which concentrates on the Colonels role in Elvis' career. This book ends with Elvis' appearance in the Ed Sullivan show. There is much more of Elvis a life yet to go. Sam Phillips of Sun Records was no longer part of Elvis marketing team and Rock and Roll was a brand new music genre.
The information in this book is interesting and appears to be well-researched. Beyond that, this book needs some serious copyediting. Not only are there spelling errors, but even names of real people are spelled wrong. On top of this there appears to be some issue with formatting whereby whole paragraphs get repeated. I am not sure if this us because this book gas an academic essay feel to it, whereby something is said, then said again, and to make sure the point was made, Saud again in the conclusion. This makes for very boring reading. No one really likes to read English class essays.
Another annoying point is the author's use of the word woke in the introduction. This is a recent word and politically charged. I understand that Chuck D has said some things about Elvis being the King of Rock and Roll, but he us not the first one to feel that way. Elvis Presley did sing the music of black Americans and was more marketable because he wax white. Racism was a major part of the rise of Rock and Roll music and we cannot discount that, but to assume people are saying that to be woke is not correct either as people have said this before woke took on this definition. The author disparages the recent Elvis movie, which concentrates on the Colonels role in Elvis' career. This book ends with Elvis' appearance in the Ed Sullivan show. There is much more of Elvis a life yet to go. Sam Phillips of Sun Records was no longer part of Elvis marketing team and Rock and Roll was a brand new music genre.
Displaying 1 of 1 review