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Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley (American Portrait
Days before his death, Elvis Presley saw a chance to earn the U.S. Marshal’s badge President Nixon had given him in the Oval Office back in 1970, where, in his bejeweled leisure suit, the drug-addicted Elvis had sworn himself to law and order. Spying a fight breaking out between two men and a gas station attendant, an overweight Elvis did his best to leap out of his limo and strike a karate pose. He was met with stunned disbelief and requests for autographs; when his police escort finally arrived, it was in hopes of a photo with the King.
In the 1950s Elvis was celebrity’s perfect storm. Gifted, charismatic, and telegenic, he was a rebel rooted in conservative Southern working-class morals. By the late 1960s, the storm had largely passed. A surging popular culture had upended those morals, and what had once seemed rebellious looked more and more reactionary. Far from daring and racy, Elvis’s moves seemed treacle; rather than trendsetting, his musical talent seemed grist for country ballads. Charles Ponce de Leon’s brilliant Fortunate Son succinctly places Elvis’s life within the larger shifts that redefined the cultural landscape during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, discovering in the mounting ironies of Elvis’s waning success the seeds of the mythology we live with today.
In the 1950s Elvis was celebrity’s perfect storm. Gifted, charismatic, and telegenic, he was a rebel rooted in conservative Southern working-class morals. By the late 1960s, the storm had largely passed. A surging popular culture had upended those morals, and what had once seemed rebellious looked more and more reactionary. Far from daring and racy, Elvis’s moves seemed treacle; rather than trendsetting, his musical talent seemed grist for country ballads. Charles Ponce de Leon’s brilliant Fortunate Son succinctly places Elvis’s life within the larger shifts that redefined the cultural landscape during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, discovering in the mounting ironies of Elvis’s waning success the seeds of the mythology we live with today.
- GenresBiography
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 1, 2025
Excellent book. Captured the pop side of things in a super relatable way without sacrificing the academic. Scathing analysis of Presleys poor choices when it needed to be AND uber empathetic to his position an internal state. 10/10 will read again thank you Dr. Davis for the rec.
June 28, 2019
Interesting look into the life of Elvis Presley and the role of media in it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews