Elvisin Print

Probably worth a more careful second read. A collection of essays by thirty-five music writers.

Scholarly look at the impact of Elvis after his death. Sometimes difficult and confusing.

Elvis racially prejudiced? Not according to this author! Interesting book which approaches its subject matter from an unusual angle, studying influences on Elvis, his assimilation of these influences, the part he played to make black music more accepted, and providing evidence of his lack of prejudice.

First published in hardback as Elvis Meets The Beatles.

Elvis's career and the reactions to it within Belgium (though text seems to favour Flanders). Well illustrated, including repros of every Belgian Elvis film poster. Interesting section on Belgian Elvis pressings.

Extremely scholalry study of Elvis's continued presence in the media (especially in print) and his influence on US culture and society. Not for the feint-hearted -- it's a tough read!

Review of articles which previously appeared in Norwegian fan club magazine "Flaming Star." Well illustrated, but illustrations are not captioned.

Nicely made book with fairly innocuous text. Lavishly illustrated, but many photos irrelevant. Expected better.

Academic look at impact of Elvis in specific cultural contexts. Fans and faith are handled somewhat fatuously, but the image aspect contains some fascinating insights into the machinations of Elvis Inc., which should make fans think at least twice about the ethics of EPE.

A series of essays and interviews by and with prominent and not so prominent Dutch artists and fans. Some pieces are excellent, such as the interview with choreographer Hans van Manen about Elvis as dancer, or that with actress Monique van de Ven about Elvis as actor, and some are less successful. Author Jan Cremer writes a good piece, and the story of a return journey to Elvis places in Germany by some fans is highly enjoyable, too. Well illustrated in black and white.

Elvis's life described through a series of hundreds of quotes from those who knew him. A bit disjointed, but interesting.

Fascinating tale of the machinations of Parker, Priscilla et al in their attempts to make money from Elvis and his fans. Parker made more money than Elvis, who gave his away, anyway, so that almost nothing was left at his death. Along comes Cilla to sort it out, which is exactly what she does, but not always in the best possible taste (sorry, Kenny!).

An anthology of Elvis stories which appeared in the Memphis "Press Scimitar" between 1954 and 1983. Another excellent book from Burk!

British look at the possibility that the Elvis following might be developing into a religion. Examines Elvis's search for the meaning of life. Uses purported interviews with real fans for much of the basis of the argument. Somewhat overstated.

First Flemish Elvis book? Published in 1961 and remarkable in its inaccuracy, but great fun in the stories it promotes as the facts of Elvis's rise to fame. Last quarter of book is given over to an almost intellectual discussion of Elvis and youth rebellion! Good photos, several of which are most unusual.

A quite excellent study of Elvis, including a basic bio, an evaluation, a study of his interviews, a bibliographical essay, an examination of his films and an examination of his recordings. Full bibliography, list of (US) magazine articles, film credits, record releases (US), up to date of writing. Such a pity that writing of such excellence remains unnoticed by Elvis fans, who seem to prefer the schmaltz of exposés and tattle-tales: did they learn nothing from their acceptance of Elvis's films and the impact that had on his career?

Better than average 1977 tribute magazine, including reprints of older articles, memories from some Elvis acquaintances (incl. Jack Lord, Laurel Goodwin and Rick Nelson), his "very last interview" and other articles specially written for the issue. Well illustrated, some illustrations in colour.

As indicated below, printing of Elvis Special 1978 had been completed before Elvis's death. To compensate for this, the 1978 Special appeared also simply as "Elvis Special" (no year, but otherwise the same cover), with the article about the forthcoming 1978 visit to the States scrapped (replaced by a concert photo), a more sober title page (with reference to "the late Elvis Presley") and a new leader by Todd Slaughter, called "The World Mourns Elvis."

The very first Elvis Special (and not to be confused with "Meet Elvis," which is often listed as the 1962 Special, but was actually an "Elvis Monthly Special" issued in 1962!). Albert's brief editorial indicates his doubts about the success of his new project -- little did he know that more than 20 further annual Specials would follow! For a first attempt, this is an excellent collection of photos (all black and white, except for the cover) and fan articles. Already fans were writing about unreleased tracks, but the main question seemed to be if Elvis was going to marry! Controversy is provided in the form of an article listing "Elvis's Most Overrated Recordings," too! They were all "gone, real gone," and listening to their wirelesses in those days, but I bet they had a great time! The only Special with a soft cover, too.

British fan club annual. The second Special, but the first in hardback! Apparently, this was the first UK home-grown Elvis hardback ever ("Operation Elvis" was originally published in the US, so isn't taken into account) -- the now late Albert Hand says so in his editorial, so who am I to argue? A 78-page effort, all b/w illustrations, with prize for best article going to "What Do You Think Of Elvis?" in which numerous pop stars of the day give their thought on the leader of the pack -- and some of them even think he'll still be around in 1972...!

The first edition in1962 was a soft-cover, 66 page effort; the 1963 edition was hardback with 78 pages, and by 1964 the annual had fattened out to almost 100 pages of fan articles and Elvis information.

British fan club annual. Cartoons (Elvis Toons) illustrate Elvis song titles and the winning 1964 formula of articles and info continues.

British fan club annual. Best article must be "Elvis In Person -- 1972"" in which Michael Wolkins looks into the future and has Elvis winning an Oscar for Best Actor and appearing live at Wembley Stadium. If only! Photos of Tupelo birthplace before the big clean-up.

British fan club annual. Did Elvis have a nose job? Read the evidence, compare the photos, and judge for yourself!

British fan club annual. Read all about when Albert and Phyllis Hand meet Elvis on the "Kid Galahad" film set.

British fan club annual. Most specials contain fairly predictable Elvis photos, but there's an interesting series from "Elvis's Personal Album."

British fan club annual. The first issue to include colour photos -- five full-page plates from the sixties.

Back to a full black-and-white content, following 1970's introduction of colour photos. Good selection of photos from the "personal album" of Elvis, along with the more usual publicity shots and film stills. Also included are some pics from the Fan Conventions held in the preceding years -- great to have! Peter Jones provides the three best articles and an early attempt at Elvis sleuthdom, mixed with science-fiction, is presented in the story, "Good Grief!!! Flying Sucers!" by Virginia Coons. Todd Slaughter lambasts Tom Parker in an open letter, imploring him to let Elvis visit Britain. 118 pages for the die-hard fans!

Albert Hand looks forward in his editorial to Elvis's visit to Europe and Great Britan in particular ("this treat will not now be long delayed"). Albert was always an optimist! Terry Mailey Jr. does a stirling effort in providing a large part of the articles, backed up by Peter Jones and just a few others. Wayne Stierle does an excellent job of transforming Edgar Allan Poe's "Never More" poem (was it called "The Crow"?) into an Elvis context -- a decent fan poem for once! -- and the whole is, as usual, filled out with a good selection of EL-pictures! Be honest, where would we have been without Elvis Monthly and Elvis Special?

Albert Hand, long-time stalwart of the British Elvis movement, editor of Elvis Monthly and compiler of Elvis Special, died shortly after having compiled this edition of the Elvis Special annual. An excellent edition to go out on, with 94 pages of Elvis photos and fan articles, including a couple by Peter Jones, journalist and editor of "Record Mirror," one of the best pop weeklies (good article about B.B King), and Tony Neale. Todd Slaughter had already taken over the OEPFC by this time and writes of the problems involved, little knowing that soon he would also be confronted with getting out the next edition of Elvis Special. Also in this 1973 Special, a pic of Dave Kay and the Dykons performing!

Elvis in full concert belt-it-out mode on the cover of a mammoth 94-page Special. Peter Jones and Terry Mailey make big contributions, but Tony Neale does the best of a not very inspired collection of articles with "From Country To Blues."

A surprisingly good collection of fan articles, marred perhaps by some of the worst concert photos possible, especially the one on page 29!

A fairly predictable collection, but still including some interesting stuff, such as the unusual "Elvis and Myth" by Kay Parley, a look at the career of James Burton in "Play It James" by Tony Neale and, given the events to come, the unfortunately titled "Changes Ahead For Elvis?" by Peter Jones.

A somewhat different-looking Special for 1977, with a collage of Elvis-in-concert photos on the cover, as opposed to the usual head-and-shoulders, and no colour on the inside. This is certainly not a drawback, however, as this must be one of the best Specials ever printed. Better than average articles, including one on the architectural history of Graceland! An added bonus is formed by the three cartoons by Dutch superfan Ger Rijff. Yep, one of the very best Specials, but what a year it would prove to be!

British fan club annual. Printing had obviously been completed before Elvis's death, as there are details of the planned 1978 visit to the USA with "the chance to see Elvis appearing live." Lots of colour pics, a review of all Elvis's films and a complete RCA catalogue are included, together with a number of articles from fans.

The first new edition of the Special to be completed after Elvis's death (the 1978 issue had been slightly amended after its dated edition and reissued with no date). Surprisingly upbeat issue, with no heart-rending, just good articles looking forward (as far as 2077!) and back. Some unusual pics, too, making this a very special Special.

British fan club annual. Wow! You'd think Elvis had never left the building! Better paper, a great selection of photos and some good articles, with stalwarts of Elvis Monthly, such as Terry Mailey and Anne Nixon still providing the goods. The shape of things to come is covered in a couple of pieces, especially "Collectormania" and "Two British Rarities."

British fan club annual. Back to a slightly poorer quality of paper, but Terry Mailey continues his huge input and the crossword is back (it disappeared in 1980)! The prize for the most interesting article, though, must go to Dave Whitehead's "Behind Closed Doors," which looks at supposedly unreleased Elvis numbers. Some have appeared in the intervening time, some we now know were never recorded, and others seem to be lost forever. But at the time it gave us hope for far less than we have since received!

The silver jubilee year of the OEPFC of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, but a standard issue 62-page Special. Lots of colour and Terry Mailey, but interesting, too, for the look back at 25 years of the fan club, the first Miss Elvis Presley Fan Club, a premonition of a fan club convention in 2003 (fairly accurate, too, other than the "new" De Montfort Hall!) and a review of Roy Hamilton's career by Tony Neale (another Neale!).

British fan club annual. Fairly lean issue of the the annual Special put out by the OEPFC of GB. Illustrations in both b/w and colour include one seldom seen portrait of Elvis and a pic of Billy Fury at the Pontins gathering of 1982, which makes the book of particular interest to fans of the late British singer. Articles are predictable, except for one about the making of the 8-LP set, "Elvis Aron Presley," by RCA's own Joan Deary.

The 23rd annual Elvis Special to roll off the presses and a pretty good one at that, even if (or just because?) it follows the tried and tested formula. 16 pages of full colour are included in the full 62 this time. A reprint of an early 70s interview with Scotty Moore, a look back at the '61 Hawaii concert, and several pages of seldom-seen b/w pics are the highlights.

British fan club annual, "An Elvis Monthly Special." By now an institution, and this edition celebrates what would have been Elvis's 50th birthday. Excellent editorial by Slaughter and the usual mixture of fan articles, poems and puzzles. Terry Mailey Jr is again a major contributor, with a fair input from Anne E. Nixon, too. Very well illustrated in b/w and colour.

Fan's look at Elvis, 10 years after his death.

Rambling look at many aspect of Elvis and his career. Roy is justified in his relentless criticism of Albert Goldman's biography of Elvis and provides much to think about. Unfortunately, I find the writing style is awkward. Illustrated, but poorly so.

Not the UK magazine "Elvis, The Man And His Music" (one of the best Elvis mags, incidentally), but a somewhat belated compendium of articles and photographs, both colour and black-and-white, that had previously been printed in the Elvis Special annuals. Almost 200 pages of opinion, comment and photos! probably hard to find, so if you come across it, get it as a real piece of Elvis fandom history -- much cheaper than a complete set of individual Specials!

Title means "Why me, Lord?" which is also the title of one of Elvis's numerous gospel recordings. First original Polish book about Elvis, comes with first original Polish-pressed Elvis CD! Text covers Elvis's religious background and his love of gospel music. Did this contradict his worldly success and how did this conflict affect him? Looks at the possibility of an Elvis cult. Excellently printed on pink paper: makes heads turn when you "read" it on the train!

Pretty superficial account of Elvis and the world of gospel music. I'd expected better.

Collection of a series of scholarly essays by various authors and academics on Elvis. For years the only serious study of Elvis available. Extremely interesting compilation, offering a very different look at the phenomenon of Elvis.

Tiny 8 by 10 centimetre book with a lenticular image on the cover and little else going for it for the well-worn Elvis fan. A curiosity more than a reading book.

Was Elvis murdered by the Mafia? Well, it makes for a different story, but other than that, there's not a lot going for the book! Same book as The Secret Files.

"Fifty Fabulous Years in Words and Pictures" is the subtitle of this book, produced with the help of the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain and "Elvis Monthly." Plenty of black-and-white potos, along with a fairly sparse colour section. Some photos unusual and some articles decent enough. Good effort.

Was Elvis murdered by the Mafia? Well, it makes for a different story, but other than that, there's not a lot going for the book! Same book as "Murdered By The Mob."

Great little book, full of handy, interesting facts, trivia and things you really should know about Elvis. Good read, not expensive, superb for older and newer fans and even for non-fans!

Excellent book, basically in two parts (career and house) and with each chapter of the parts almost forming an article in its own right. Nice cynical style. Definitely one of the better ones!

This is the book that Matthew-Walker's "A Study In Music" was meant to be. The author finally persuaded a publisher to print the whole thing and just as well, for this is a generally excellent look at Elvis's life and career, though, of course, it concentrates largely on the music. With more careful research and proofing, this could have been a real gem of a book. Nevertheless, it remains one of the very best commentaries. Sadly out of print, I believe.

Excellent review of Elvis's huge impact in areas of American culture: music, literature, film, art, sport, television, together with a fascinating look at events surrounding the launch of the Elvis stamp and his involvement in the 1992 Presidential election.

Set of fairly scholarly papers from The University of Mississippi International Conference on Elvis, held in 1995. Some interesting reading, some unusual angles to the Elvis phenomenon. Certainly more worthy of reading than a lot of other books. Don't be put off by the overly intellectual introduction!

Interviews with famous (well, famous in Belgium and France) personalities and with Elvis fans. In the middle of the interviews are several chapters offering a very Gallic view of Elvis's place in history and why, if France had been the power the US is, Edith Piaf or Johnny Halliday would have been the world star... Well, that's just about what it boils down to, anyway. At least it will improve your French. Colour illustrations excellent, black and white poorly printed.

"Prayers of Elvis" is more a Christian pamphlet than a book. As well as some brief biographical information, the booklet looks at Christian influences in Elvis's life, his own beliefs and struggles. In addition, some of his gospel numbers are examined. The booklet can be ordered from Amazon.co.uk and from the Elvis Gospel Fan Club

One of the very earliest magazine-type specials devoted exclusively to Elvis. Includes general articles, facts and statistics about Elvis himself, lavishly illustrated in black-and-white, as well as "a comparitive and searching study of the three men who have captured and fired the imagination of many of the teenagers across the country", namely Elvis, Marlon Brando, and James Dean, entitled "Two Men and a Myth".

The new paperback edition of this scholarly study of the influence of rock'n'roll in general and Elvis in particular on the breakdown of segregation and loosening of racial tensions in the Southern states of the USA during the 1950s. Excellently researched, powerfully argumented, well indexed and referenced. A must for anyone interested in the real importance of rock'n'roll, cultural history, sociology, and, of course, Elvis!

Scholarly study of the influence of rock'n'roll in general and Elvis in particular on the breakdown of segregation and loosening of racial tensions in the Southern states of the USA during the 1950s. Excellently researched, powerfully argumented, well indexed and referenced. A must for anyone interested in the real importance of rock'n'roll, cultural history, sociology, and, of course, Elvis!

Excellent locator for Elvis places in North America and Europe. Well illustrated with relevant maps, some posters and a better than usual selection of photos. Text is to the point and contains good essays about Elvis's gospel work and comments on Parker's less than successful management. Definitley buyable!

"A must for every Elvis fans," it says on the cover -- and it probably was in 1960! One of the first books about Elvis, but it is, in fact, a collection of articles that appeared in the Movieland and TV Times magazine between 1957 and 1960. Includes articles "authored" by Anita Wood and Cliff Gleaves, as well as "An advance peek at Elvis' new movie, G.I. Blues". Those were the days...

A basic introduction into Elvis's interest and love of gospel music, unfortunately offering insufficient detail and insufficient background information. Suitable for those who know nothing about this aspect of Elvis's life and career, but disappointingly lacking for fans, who will probably already know a lot more than is included here. The author was a member of the Imperials, a gospel quartet that accompanied Elvis for several years when he returned to live performing at the end of the 1960s.

Very interesting psychological analysis of Elvis, concentrating on his being a twinless twin and his early dominance by Gladys. Includes some good detail about early career and some sharp criticism of Tom Parker's "management." Well researched, making use of existing literature and many interviews with friends and acquaintances of Elvis's. One of the good ones!

This is the second edition of one of the best little books (and big ones!) about Elvis. A slightly larger format than its predecessor, and with updated information. Don't be put of by the apparently small size of this gem -- it is a magnificent trove of information about just about every aspect of Elvis's life and career. The text is clear, concise and fair, offering various viewpoints to the more controversial discussion points, and allowing the reader to be the final judge. Call it an Elvis Almanac and you won't be far wrong -- a MUST buy for anyone remotely interested in Elvis.

Don't be put of by the apparently small size of this gem -- it is a magnificent trove of information about just about every aspect of Elvis's life and career. The text is clear, concise and fair, offering various viewpoints to the more controversial discussion points, and allowing the reader to be the final judge. Call it an Elvis Almanac and you won't be far wrong -- a MUST buy for anyone remotely interested in Elvis.

Don't be put off by the cover! An excellent book that provokes further thought. 42 Taoist concepts are presented in relation to Elvis, each with quotes from Tao masters, Elvis friends and acquaintances, and Elvis himself, together with a commentary by the author.

A selection of Elvis quotes from throughout his career, grouped into sections and with commentary added by the author. Dawson claims that by studying the relatively small amount of public pronouncements Elvis made will allow you to "improve your confidence, social, and communication skills. You can find the fast track to reaching your dreams. You can develop your personal and professional life." Includes introduction by David Stanley.

Excellent analysis of the impact of Elvis's death on news media. The lack of realisation of the impact his death would have and the efforts to get the stories make for a very good read. Again, a look at a different aspect of the Elvis phenomenon which pays dividends. If you study Elvis's cultural impact, this book is a must.