Elvisin Print

The original book that later became "Elvis: His Life From A-Z". The publishers wanted something quick and decided to release this version earlier, much to the chagrin of the authors. Still plenty of information, but not a patch on its later incarnation. Nice curio.

Excellent! A not to be missed collection of what the author considers to be the best of Elvis in the following fields: Music, Movies, Personal Appearances, Public Elvis, fans, Legend. Includes entries for "Best Rumours and Myths", "Best Bumper Stickers", "Best Costumes", "Best Lines of Dialogue" and many more. Excellently printed and illustrated. But don't confuse with "The Best of Elvis", which is equally good, but utterly different!

33 chapters cover most aspects of Elvisology. Excellent reference, full of useful information and trivia, both serious and more tongue-in-cheek. Essays, book lists, video lists, website and email addresses, things to do, loads of photos (though not all are well reproduced); Elvis's films, cars, girlfriends, addresses, pets, guns, records, what to buy and where to buy it... It just goes on and on. Wonderful!

A relatively early attempt to put Elvis's life and career into the A to Z format (see also Worth and Tamerius). This is a very pleasant compilation, looking closely especially at Elvis's recordings and giving some very personal opinions on these and his films (including story summaries and reviews!). Other entries reveal the book's UK origins, including a list of disk-jockeys that includes Jimmy Savile and Tony Prince! But with all the films and record listings (all UK releases up to the time of publication), there's not too much room for anything else! Nicely illustrated and a great piece of Elvis publishing history!

Having had access to Graceland's archives, including the loads of material acquired from Tom Parker, this almost day by day account of Elvis's career is somewhat disapponting. The feeling is that a lot of interesting illustrations have been left out for future use. Still a good basic guide and it does contain some previously unpublished gems, too.

Subtitled "The Essential Guide to The Recorded Music of Elvis Presley," that just about sums this book up. Filled with hundreds of full-colour illustrations of LP and CD artwork, with tracklists and recording information for each release, too. Includes all official LP and CD titles up to the date of publication, plus a large number of "unofficial" releases. Must have been a labour of love for the author and a must for all collectors.

Encyclopaedic approach to everything Elvis. Some errors mar an otherwise fine attempt.

1975 reference magazine aimed at collectors. Sections on books (yes, there were quite a few books about Elvis, even in 1975!), clothes, songbooks, records (incl. bootlegs), Vegas souvenirs, and Elvis novelties! Also includes a list of fan clubs and a central 20-page "Elvis photo album". Great stuff! And then there's the advert for "The Beatles" book on the back cover!

Superb and deliciously tempting collection of Elvis memorabilia, lavishly illustrated and including price estimates. Items shown range from the almost everyday ("Elvis Monthly") to the unique (acetate of "I'll Never Stand In Your Way") -- something for everyone! You might not be able to afford all you see, but you'll certainly enjoy looking.

With this title, Jorgensen seems to round off the work he first started in the 1970's and originally published under the title Elvis Recording Sessions, with a later incarnation as Reconsider Baby (see relevant entry). Basically the same format, but generally better printed and with extended commentary, but remarks of special interest to collectors are dropped (presumably RCA have something against "collectors"). This is the origin of the Tunzi Recording Sessions books and contains far superior, more pertinent text!

Lists all sessions, indicating master serial and take numbers, together with released alternates and some unreleased material. Interesting comments point to locations of alternates which inadvertently found their way onto official releases. Also has full US discography. Illustrations could have been better. See also "Reconsider Baby" and "Elvis Presley: A Life In Music."

Magnificent catalogue of music that Elvis probably heard and perhaps played during his early life, together with detailed information about all music played, not always recorded, sometimes lost, at Sun. Also information about very early radio performances (dating back to 1944!) and personal appearances. Excellent source, shouldn't be missed. If you're interested in finding out what made Elvis tick musically, this is as good a place as any.

Another fairly superficial biography, but here interspersed with photos and brief descriptions of Elvis memorabilia, including a photo of the very first Elvis Monthly. There's even a photo of the "Elvis, King of Rock" board game! Must get one!!

Wonderfully complete bibliography, including over 1700 titles (as a comparison, "Printed Elvis" by Steven Opdyke contains little more than 400 titles and loads of errors!). Amongst these are over 300 foreign language titles, some of which are original titles, including Basque, Thai, and Welsh! If you're thinking of buying an Elvis book, buy this one first -- it might save you a lot of money! Excellent addition for both the casual reader and the avid collector.

Excellent guide to Elvis's Memphis. 129 locations are listed, complete with instructions on how to find each one and what to find there now (some have changed since Elvis's time). In addition, each location's connection with Elvis is explained, often accompanied by an anecdote. Fully illustrated (b/w), with maps and index. (By same authors as "The Best Of Elvis".)

Reprint of 1984 edition published under the title Elvis Recording Sessions. This is the origin of the Tunzi Recording Sessions books and contains far superior, more pertinent text! This is the US publication, containing an illustrated cover.

Reprint of 1984 edition published under the title Elvis Recording Sessions. This is the origin of the Tunzi Recording Sessions books and contains far superior, more pertinent text! This is the European edition. Perhaps it had a dustjacket originally, but my copy has plain cloth boards.

Limited edition (1,000) publication. Every 45, EP & LP released in Australia, every picture sleeve shown in full colour including over 130 examples of Oz memorabilia, sheet music, magazines, posters etc., all in colour photos. Detailed explanations of sleeve & label variations. Superb for dedicated collector and interested browser. Really well produced.

Actually, it's really a book that just looks like a magazine. Loads of illustrations and information about American record releases, TV appearances, concerts, etc.

Hardly complete, but contains some interesting articles covering various aspects of the Elvis phenomenon, some decent illustrations, and an A to Z look at his "life, music, films, people, places, and things." Given all this, it is not surprising that the accompanying comments are concise!

Written like a computer application manual (well, that's what it makes me think of), this book isn't as dumb as its title might suggest. Good basic Elvisology textbook, despite a couple of blunders, for new fans and good fun for us oldies. What's wrong with the cartoon at the beginning of chapter 4??

Beautifully presented and excellently illustrated effort to present a bounty of Elvis information in encyclopaedic form. Sadly, however, the content lets the book down very badly, being replete with errors, both in the typesetting and, disastrous for this type of work, in facts. The US-centric approach also diminishes any usefulness the book might otherwise have had.

Hardly encyclopaedic attempt at a chronological account of Elvis's life. Well printed, though, with a good selection of photos, full film synopses and discography, including complete song list.

A guide to hendreds (it seems like thousands) of Elvis-related places: where he lived, went to school, ate, performed, filmed, and almost every other activity known to humankind, in the USA and elsewhere. Better than might be expected from the author that gave us "I Am Elvis" (not included in this list). Just the book you need to plan your Elvis journey; just the book to take with you on your Elvis journey; just the book to have if you can't make your Elvis journey. Illustrated, too. Pity about the occasional poor historical research, epitomized by the tale of Elvis having won second place in the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in 1945.

This book formed the basis of the quite terrible Arena TV Special and David Adler was its associate producer. Strange, as the book is an interesting, respectful and pretty honest look at Elvis and the things he ate throughout his life (okay, Adler thinks Elvis was 44 when he died, but the rest is reasonably accurate). The recipes require some translation, as they often contain strange American ingredients, but they range from the homey (Miss Vertie's Corn Bread) to the military (recipes for 100 servings, including Baked Ham with Raisin Sauce).

Unfortunately deals only with American releases and trivia, but is probably a tad out of date by now, anyway.

Could this be the most error-ridden book about Elvis? (Apparently not -- see my comments about "The Elvis Film Encyclopedia") A pity, because the concept is good: to cover Elvis's life almost day by day. The execution, however, is poor, and the vast number of factual errors forces the reader to doubt everything else in the book.