Elvis the Final Years

by Jerry Hopkins

Even after his death, Elvis, the King, lives on in his music and in the memories of millions of fans. Finally, a book exposes the real Elvis--the star so many loved, but few truly knew. An extremely gifted man, very giving, and very, very human. Reissue.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Biography

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 16, 1981

About the author

Jerry Hopkins was an American journalist and author best known for writing the first biographies of Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison of The Doors, as well as serving for 20 years as a correspondent and contributing editor of Rolling Stone magazine.

Reviews

[F.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-read of one of the best books I’ve ever encountered about Elvis. Hopkins details the last seven years of The King’s life in a breathlessly amazed style that keeps you turning pages like an airport thriller. The book tries to capture all of the madness while being as sympathetic as possible to the man at the centre (although sometimes it is hard to be that sympathetic). From the opening chapter (so good I’ve actually seen the whole thing extracted elsewhere) which narrates how Elvis ran away from home to meet President Nixon, you are absolutely gripped.

Written in 1980 the book has a fresh immediacy, the interviews have been conducted with people whose memories are still clear. However it means that it lacks some of the information that has come out since, for instance, the origins of Tom Parker. So maybe it could benefit from Hopkins updating it. An index would be nice too. But I’m quibbling here. If you want to read about the last days of Elvis Presley then this is the book for you.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

the last chapter really highlights both the excessive dehumanization AND glorification of elvis even after his death…. sheesh. “who knows when or if it will end?” is such a great last line. i will be thinking about this book for awhile.

[Jeffrey Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wondered how Jerry Hopkins felt about his first biography of Elvis. It was, I think, authorized and thus subject to approval by Elvis and his people so the portrait you get in that first book, the first real biography of Elvis ever published, is a bit white-washed and seems to help maintain the portrait of Elvis the Colonel had manufactured over time. So after Elvis died Hopkins revisits this territory, but he does it fairly. Yes, this book describes the decline of Elvis, already evident as starting when Hopkins was finishing and publishing his original book. But you also see what a generous man he could be, and why so many loved him. Hopkins maintains that Elvis never grew up and makes a good case for it. He does seem incapable of understanding how world really works and is only interested in how he thinks it should work and thus makes his own reality. It reminded me a bit of the story Kevin Smith tells in one of his college DVD's about Prince and someone relating how Prince lives in Princeland and doesn't always understand why his staff has trouble bringing him a live camel at 3 am on a January morning in Minneapolis. That's Elvis, he wants something and he wants it right now so he gets it. And even though you know how this story ends Hopkins tells a wonderful tale of how Elvis got to where ended up, on the floor of his bathroom dead. I enjoyed this book and found myself very emotional as we came to the last day of Elvis on earth. I don't know who I would recommend this to though. If you like Elvis read it, it's a fair portrait, I think, of Elvis' last years.

[Joe Gattuso]

The book covers the final years of Elvis's life. Every struggle he had, and every success of the last stage of his career and life are depicted in this book. From his numerous tours across the country to his quite sad home life. His former colleagues give personal accounts of events that happened and how they affected Elvis. Overall the book really takes you on a journey into the life of a star that no fan could see. We learn of his battles with addiction, his wife leaving him, his relationship with his dad. All of these interesting events are wrapped into one stunning novel.
This book was excellent. It allowed me to see Elvis in a new light. Definitely a must read for Elvis or any music fan really. The general consensus for this book is that it is great. Most of the goodreads reviews are extremely positive and I completely agree with what they say. We do not generally get to see the sad sides of celebrities. This book allowed a look at Elvis that you wouldn't get anywhere else.I think that the reader will enjoy how personal this book gets. You get to hear about Elvis's home life and all his troubles. It also focuses heavily on his addiction, which largely contributed to his death. A part of the book that I found helped a lot with the in depth look at his life was the personal accounts from his friends and crew members. Each person was able to share something new about the legendary musician. I think after this book I have an even better appreciation of all of his work knowing what he was going through in his life. In all a fantastic read and I would definitely recommend this book to any music fans out there.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was a detailed and seemingly realistic portrayal of Elvis's final years. Slight lack of polish - a few stories were repeated and noticed several typos. As advertised, nothing more, nothing less.

[William Larsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it years ago and decided to read it again. Very informative regarding Elvis' drug habits and the effect it had on him the last few years of his life.

[Vincenzo Ridente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jerry Hopkins explores the last year's of Elvis in a very respectful way

[Axton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad this book didn't make him look like a completely horrible person.

[Dutch Southern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if one single word in this book is true and I don't care. Fat Elvis was the man.

[John Hardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best balanced account of the last 7 years of Elvis Presley's life.

[Tina Nealen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12918991

[Todd Gade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge Elvis fan and this has a lot of great insight into his last 6 years of his life. A vey sad story really. The writing isn't very good and makes the book a tough read at times.