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Elvis: Dlaczego ja, Panie
Author: Janusz Plonski
Published in hardback by Przygotowalnia - Prostar, Warsaw, Poland
ISBN 83-908389-0-7
As far as I am aware, until recently only one original Polish book about Elvis had been published. Simply titled "Elvis," it was written by L.C. Strzeszewski and published in 1986.
1998 now sees the publication of the second original Polish book, "Elvis: Dlaczego ja, Panie" ("Elvis: Why Me, Lord") by Janusz Plonski.
What makes this book especially interesting for Elvis collectors, however, is not just the fact that it is written in Polish, but that it is sold together with a CD of the same title, purported to be the very first official Elvis CD to have been pressed in Poland.
As indicated above, the book's title means "Why me, Lord?" which is also the title of one of Elvis's numerous gospel recordings. Indeed, the text covers Elvis's religious background and his love of gospel music. It asks if his religious leanings contradicted his worldly success and examines how this conflict affected him. In addition, the book studies the possible development of an Elvis cult.
The book is hardbound and excellently printed on pink glossy paper of good quality. Furthermore it is richly illustrated in colour and black and white. Elvis art lovers might be interested to know that an Elvis painting by Polish artist Wojciech Janusz is used to illustrate both the cover of the book and the CD insert, and that numerous other paintings by the same artist are reproduced in the book. A nice touch is that each chapter heading includes a photo of a piece of graffiti from the Graceland wall.
The CD is an official BMG Poland pressing, number 74321552662. It is marked, "Especially produced for Janusz Plonski's book 'Why Me, Lord?' to be sold exclusively with the book." As such, it is likely to become quite a collector's item! The 17 tracks on the CD are: Why Me, Lord; How Great Thou Art; Amazing Grace; Peace In The Valley; Farther Along; Merry Christmas Baby; Joshua Fit The Battle; Crying In The Chapel; Santa Claus Is Back In Town; Stand By Me; So High; Where Could I Go But To The Lord; By And By; Lead Me, Guide Me; There Is No God But God; If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side; Swing Down Sweet Chariot.
The inclusion of "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Santa Claus is Back in Town" on what is otherwise a Gospel compilation is somewhat puzzling, but presumably the author had a hand in the selection of the tracks and had his own perfectly good reason for wanting these numbers.
So why buy a book that you probably can't read? Well, you'll be supporting Elvis in Poland, you'll possess what is likely to be a highly collectable CD, you'll have a good-looking addition to your Elvis library, and, if you get the book out on the train to work and pretend to read it, you'll probably turn a few heads, too!
For more information on purchasing the book, contact the author, Janusz Plonski, at his email address, JanuszPlonski.
David Neale
Copyright June 1996