Peter Guralnick

From the moment that he first shook up the world in the mid 1950s, Elvis Presley has been one of the most vivid and enduring myths of American culture.Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley is the first biography to go past that myth and present an Elvis beyond the legend. Based on hundreds of interviews and nearly a decade of research, it traces the evolution not just of the man but of the music and of the culture he left utterly transformed, creating a completely fresh portrait of Elvis and his world.This volume tracks the first twenty-four years of Elvis' life, covering his childhood, the stunning first recordings at Sun Records ("That's All Right," "Mystery Train"), and the early RCA hits ("Heartbreak Hotel," "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel"). These were the years of his improbable self-invention and unprecedented triumphs, when it seemed that everything that Elvis tried succeeded wildly. There was scarcely a cloud in sight through this period until, in 1958, he was drafted into the army and his mother died shortly thereafter. The book closes on that somber and poignant note.Last Train to Memphis takes us deep inside Elvis' life, exploring his lifelong passion for music of every sort (from blues and gospel to Bing Crosby and Mario Lanza), his compelling affection for his family, and his intimate relationships with girlfriends, mentors, band members, professional associates, and friends. It shows us the loneliness, the trustfulness, the voracious appetite for experience, and above all the unshakable, almost mystical faith that Elvis had in himself and his music. Drawing frequently on Elvis' own words and on the recollections of those closest to him, the book offers an emotional, complex portrait of young Elvis Presley with a depth and dimension that for the first time allow his extraordinary accomplishments to ring true.Peter Guralnick has given us a previously unseen world, a rich panoply of people and events that illuminate an achievement, a place, and a time as never revealed before. Written with grace, humor, and affection, Last Train to Memphis has been hailed as the definitive biography of Elvis Presley. It is the first to set aside the myths and focus on Elvis' humanity in a way that has yet to be duplicated.

Careless Love is the full, true, and mesmerizing story of Elvis Presley's last two decades, in the long-awaited second volume of Peter Guralnick's masterful two-part biography.Last Train to Memphis, the first part of Guralnick's two-volume life of Elvis Presley, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "a triumph of biographical art." This concluding volume recounts the second half of Elvis' life in rich and previously unimagined detail, and confirms Guralnick's status as one of the great biographers of our time.Beginning with Presley's army service in Germany in 1958 and ending with his death in Memphis in 1977, Careless Love chronicles the unravelling of the dream that once shone so brightly, homing in on the complex playing-out of Elvis' relationship with his Machiavellian manager, Colonel Tom Parker. It's a breathtaking revelatory drama that for the first time places the events of a too-often mistold tale in a fresh, believable, and understandable context.Elvis' changes during these years form a tragic mystery that Careless Love unlocks for the first time. This is the quintessential American story, encompassing elements of race, class, wealth, sex, music, religion, and personal transformation. Written with grace, sensitivity, and passion, Careless Love is a unique contribution to our understanding of American popular culture and the nature of success, giving us true insight at last into one of the most misunderstood public figures of our times.

A gripping narrative that captures the tumult and liberating energy of a nation in transition, Sweet Soul Music is an intimate portrait of the legendary performers--Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Al Green among them--who merged gospel and rhythm and blues to create Southern soul music. Through rare interviews and with unique insight, Peter Guralnick tells the definitive story of the songs that inspired a generation and forever changed the sound of American music.

From the author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the visionary genius who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records.The music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day.With extensive interviews and firsthand personal observations extending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Records artists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait of an American original as compelling in his own right as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, or Thomas Edison.

One of the most influential singers and songwriters of all time, Sam Cooke was among the first to blend gospel music and secular themes--the early foundation of soul music. He was the opposite of Elvis: a black performer who appealed to white audiences, who wrote his own songs, who controlled his own business destiny. No biography has previously been written that fully captures Sam Cooke's accomplishments, the importance of his contribution to American music, the drama that accompanied his rise in the early days of the civil rights movement, and the mystery that surrounds his death. Bestselling author Peter Guralnick tells this moving and significant story, from Cooke's childhood as a choirboy to an adulthood when he was anything but. With appearances by Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, James Brown, Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin, Fidel Castro, The Beatles, Sonny and Cher, Bob Dylan, and other central figures of this explosive era, DREAM BOOGIE is a compelling depiction of one man striving to achieve his vision despite all obstacles--and an epic portrait of America during the turbulent and hopeful 1950s and 1960s. The triumph of the book is the vividness with which Peter Guralnick conveys the astonishing richness of the black America of this era--the drama, force, and feeling of the story.

This masterful exploration of American roots music--country, rockabilly, and the blues--spotlights the artists who created a distinctly American sound, including Ernest Tubb, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, and Sleepy LaBeef. In incisive portraits based on searching interviews with these legendary performers, Peter Guralnick captures the boundless passion that drove these men to music-making and that kept them determinedly, and sometimes almost desperately, on the road.

Music critic, author, and screenwriter Peter Guarlnick illuminates the life and legend of blues guitarist Robert Johnson in this extended essay.He was probably the most influential of all bluesman. And yet Robert Johnson remained virtually unknown to a wider audience until the release of his complete recordings in 1990, fifty-two years after his death.Unquestionably the main influence on Muddy Waters and an entire generation of rock 'n' roll and blues musicians including Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones, Johnson is known for the ferocity and originality of his work, and for the tormented sensibility that lay behind it. Poisoned by a jealous husband at the age of twenty-seven, widely believed to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical gifts, Robert Johnson has long enjoyed a myth that has at times overshadowed his music.This brilliant ode to the “King of the Delta Blues” evokes the place and time that gave birth to the man and the myth and gracefully mirrors the world and artistry of Robert Johnson himself.“I finished the book feeling that, if only for a brief moment, Robert Johnson had stepped out of the mists.”— New York Times Book Review

This vivid celebration of blues and early rock 'n' roll includes some of the first and most illuminating profiles of such blues masters as Muddy Waters, Skip James, and Howlin' Wolf; excursions into the blues-based Memphis rock 'n' roll of Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, and the Sun record label; and a brilliant depiction of the bustling Chicago blues scene and the legendary Chess record label in its final days. With unique insight and unparalleled access, Peter Guralnick brings to life the people, the songs, and the performance that forever changed not only the American music scene but America itself.

By the bestselling author of Sam The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll and Last Train the The Rise of Elvis Presley , this dazzling new book of profiles is a culmination of Peter Guralnick’s remarkable work, which from the start has encompassed the full sweep of blues, gospel, country, and rock 'n' roll.It covers old ground from new perspectives, offering deeply felt, masterful, and strikingly personal portraits of creative artists, both musicians and writers, at the height of their powers.“You put the book down feeling that its sweep is vast, that you have read of giants who walked among us,” rock critic Lester Bangs wrote of Guralnick’s earlier work in words that could just as easily be applied to this new one. And yet, for all of the encomiums that Guralnick’s books have earned for their remarkable insights and depth of feeling, Looking to Get Lost is his most personal book yet. For readers who have grown up on Guralnick’s unique vision of the vast sweep of the American musical landscape, who have imbibed his loving and lively portraits and biographies of such titanic figures as Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, and Sam Phillips, there are multiple surprises and delights here, carrying on and extending all the themes, fascinations, and passions of his groundbreaking earlier work.One of NPR’s Best Books of 2020One of Kirkus Review/Rolling Stone ’s Top Music Books of 2020One of No Depression ’s Best Books of 2020

Rock & roll, jazz, R&B, hip-hop: Without question, today's most popular sounds owe an incalculable debt to that uniquely American musical creation -- The Blues. But the powerful influence of the blues, with its dramatic, artful storytelling about the elemental experience of being alive, is found in the works of some of our most important literary voices as well. This volume -- a companion to the groundbreaking seven-part documentary series "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" -- represents a literary sampler every bit as vibrant and original and diverse as the films and music that inspired it. Included in this stunning collection are newly commissioned essays by David Halberstam, Hilton Als, Suzan-Lori Parks, Elmore Leonard, Luc Sante, John Edgar Wideman, and others; timeless archival pieces by the likes of Stanley Booth, Paul Oliver, and Mack McCormick; evocative color illustrations and rare vintage photography; illuminating and in-depth conversations and portraits of musicians, ranging from Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith to John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton; lyrics of legendary blues compositions; personal essays by the series directors Martin Scorsese, Charles Burnett, Richard Pearce, Wim Wenders, Marc Levin, Mike Figgis, and Clint Eastwood; and excerpts from such literary masters as James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, Eudora Welty and Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and William Faulkner. The result is a unique and timeless celebration of the blues, from writers and artists as esteemed and revered as the music that moved them. In these pages one not only reads about the blues, one hears them, feels them, lives them. "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" is more than atimeless collection of great writing to be savored and shared: it is an unforgettable initiation into the very essence of American music and culture.

From the award-winning biographer of Elvis Presley, The Colonel and the King is a groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between the iconic artist and his legendary manager, Colonel Tom Parker, drawing on a wealth of Parker's never-before-seen correspondence to reveal that this oft-reviled figure was in fact a confidant, friend, and architect of his client's success. In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker—the manager of the number-one country musician of the day—heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse, and headed south to investigate. Within days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking “We have a new boy that is absolutely going to be one of the biggest things in the business in a very short time. His name is ELVIS PRESLEY.” Later that year, after signing with RCA, the young man sent a telegram of his “Dear Colonel, Words can never tell you how my folks and I appreciate what you did for me.... I love you like a father.” The close personal bond between Elvis and the Colonel proved impossible for outside observers to understand—not during their lifetimes, and not in the decades since. It was a long-standing, deeply committed relationship, founded on mutual admiration and support. As the Colonel wrote to Elvis in July 1973, several years before the star’s tragic “Without a doubt you are by far the greatest artist I have ever known, and can be even greater if you just believe in yourself half as much as I believe in you.” From the outset, the Colonel defended Elvis fiercely and indefatigably against RCA executives, Elvis’ own booking agents, and movie moguls. But in their final years together, the story grew darker, and the relationship strained, as the Colonel found himself unable to protect Elvis from himself—or to control growing problems of his own. Featuring troves of never-before-seen correspondence from the Colonel’s own archives, revelatory both for their insights and—particularly with respect to Elvis—their emotional depth, The Colonel and the King provides a unique perspective on not one but two American originals. A tale of the birth of the modern-day superstar (an invention almost entirely of Parker’s making) by the most acclaimed music writer of his generation, it presents these two misunderstood icons as they’ve never been seen with all of their brilliance, humor, and flaws on full display.

From Elvis' foremost biographer, Peter Guralnick, author of the bestselling two-volume biography, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love, and Ernst Jorgensen, the premier archivist and reissue producer of Elvis' recorded work, comes a unique chronicle of Elvis Presley's life and music. Granted unprecedented access to hundreds of thousands of photos, documents, letters, artifacts, and memorabilia by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Guralnick and Jorgensen present the King as you've never seen him before. Elvis Day by Day is a complete account of public, private, rare, forgotten, and renowned moments, captured with such detail and immediacy they read like diary entries in a life--from first steps to the first time the young "hillbilly cat" stepped on stage; from the creation of a revolutionary new sound to the last days of a universally known, tragically misunderstood music legend.Lavishly illustrated with more than three hundred color and black-and-white photographs, this one-of-a-kind volume features such hitherto unknown details of Elvis' childhood in Tupelo as a father's touching postcards from prison and the family's backbreaking struggle to make ends meet. It includes Elvis' first work application at eighteen in which he describes his leisure-time activities as "sing[ing], playing ball, working on car, going to movies." At last, the complete story of how Elvis met his legendary manager, Colonel Tom Parker, is revealed in detail, and long-debated mysteries like Elvis's famous lost tryout for the Arthur Godfrey show are finally put to rest. In addition, the reader will find an invaluable and reliable reference guide to every recording session, record release, song hit, movie, and live performance (including a number of shows not previously documented)--clearing up in the process many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Elvis' life.All the facts are here--from Elvis's unlikely visit with President Nixon in 1970 to his spontaneous articulation of patriotism and pride in a 1957 telegram to a marine private (coincidentally named Nixon). Within these facts are a story: funny, sad, sometimes uplifting, occasionally disturbing--but always fascinating for the disarmingly unbuttoned, behind-the-scenes view of a celebrated life.From private moments to public milestones, this is the first complete and accurate chronology of Elvis' life, in a form that offers instant accessibility to Elvis expert and casual reader alike. Elvis Day by Day is an extraordinary piece of American musical history, bringing the life and times of Elvis Presley into dazzling focus for the record--and for the ages.

A fascinating look at the history of Sun Records, the label that started Rock n’ Roll, told through 70 of its iconic recordings.In Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1950s, there was hard-edged blues playing on Beale Street, and hillbilly boogie on the outskirts of town. But at Sam Phillips’ Sun Records studio on Union Avenue, there was something different going on – a whole lotta shakin’, rockin’, and rollin’.This is where rock ’n’ roll was born.Sun the company that launched Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins. The label that brought the world, “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Breathless,” “I Walk the Line,” “Mystery Train,” “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” The Birth of Rock ’n’ 70 Years of Sun Records is the official history of this legendary label, and looks at its story in a unique through the lens of 70 of its most iconic recordings. From the early days with primal blues artists like Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King to long nights in the studio with Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, you will see how the label was shaped and how it redefined American music. Accompanying the recordings is the label’s origin story and a look at the mission of the label today, as well as “Sun Spot” sidebars—a fascinating dive into subjects such as how the iconic logo was created, the legendary Million Dollar Quartet sessions, and how the song “Harper Valley, PTA” funded the purchase of the label.Written by two of the most acclaimed music writers of our time, Peter Guralnick and Colin Escott, and featuring hundreds of rare images from the Sun archives as well as a foreword by music legend Jerry Lee Lewis, this is a one-of-a-kind book for anyone who wants to know where it all started.

Peter Guralnick—in this, his only novel to date—draws on his rich storytelling skills and his intimate knowledge of music to create an an unforgettable character, and to give us an "engrossing, evocative" ( Washington Post ) look at the blues life.The Screamin' Nighthawk is a legendary bluesman, an uncompromising musician, and a cantankerous old man awash in memories of road trips and one-night stands, recording sessions and barroom escapades, love affairs and driven, inspired, down-home music making. As Hawk travels back down Highway 61 to Yola, Mississippi, for what may be his last gig, the novel immerses us in the world of Hawk, his friends and family, the nursemaid manager he craftily evades, and the beautiful young blues singer who alone can crack Hawk's crusty exterior.

the listeners guides are a lively and original series of books about music of all types from chamber music to the blues

Le livre de référence sur la vie et l’œuvre de Presley n’avait jamais été traduit en France. En deux énormes tomes, Last Train To Memphis (paru en janvier 2008) et sa suite Careless Love, remarquablement documentés par des années d’enquêtes et illustrés par des photos rares, le grand journaliste américain Peter Guralnick retrace avec une incroyable précision la saga du King, de ses origines modestes à sa mort, le 16 août 1977. Au-delà de la biographie, qui se lit comme un fantastique roman aux allures d’épopée puis de tragédie, l’auteur nous offre une étonnante photographie des États-Unis durant plusieurs décades et une analyse de l’émergence d’une nouvelle culture populaire qui allait très vite conquérir le monde. Acclamé par la critique et devenu depuis un modèle du genre en matière de biographie, ce livre définitif sur Presley a été un immense best-seller à sa sortie aux États-Unis.« Elvis sort littéralement des pages de ce livre. Vous pouvez l’entendre respirer. Ce livre annule tous les autres. » (Bob Dylan)

Mister Downchild, Stories by Peter Guralnick

From Book 1: From the moment that he first shook up the world in the mid 1950s, Elvis Presley has been one of the most vivid and enduring myths of American culture.Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley is the first biography to go past that myth and present an Elvis beyond the legend. Based on hundreds of interviews and nearly a decade of research, it traces the evolution not just of the man but of the music and of the culture he left utterly transformed, creating a completely fresh portrait of Elvis and his world.This volume tracks the first twenty-four years of Elvis' life, covering his childhood, the stunning first recordings at Sun Records ("That's All Right," "Mystery Train"), and the early RCA hits ("Heartbreak Hotel," "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel"). These were the years of his improbable self-invention and unprecedented triumphs, when it seemed that everything that Elvis tried succeeded wildly. There was scarcely a cloud in sight through this period until, in 1958, he was drafted into the army and his mother died shortly thereafter. The book closes on that somber and poignant note.Last Train to Memphis takes us deep inside Elvis' life, exploring his lifelong passion for music of every sort (from blues and gospel to Bing Crosby and Mario Lanza), his compelling affection for his family, and his intimate relationships with girlfriends, mentors, band members, professional associates, and friends. It shows us the loneliness, the trustfulness, the voracious appetite for experience, and above all the unshakable, almost mystical faith that Elvis had in himself and his music. Drawing frequently on Elvis' own words and on the recollections of those closest to him, the book offers an emotional, complex portrait of young Elvis Presley with a depth and dimension that for the first time allow his extraordinary accomplishments to ring true.Peter Guralnick has given us a previously unseen world, a rich panoply of people and events that illuminate an achievement, a place, and a time as never revealed before. Written with grace, humor, and affection, Last Train to Memphis has been hailed as the definitive biography of Elvis Presley. It is the first to set aside the myths and focus on Elvis' humanity in a way that has yet to be duplicated.

almost grown and other stories by Peter Guralnick

5 Disc set featuring every original master take released during the 1950s and many additional performances by the legendary artist Elvis Presley. This set contains 5 CDs with separate artwork and jewel cases, a 88 page book containing loads of information and photos, a sheet of limited edition collectible stamps of Elvis Presley's 1950's RCA Records label covers. There are 144 songs.

Elvis Series 2-Book Collection Set delivers the definitive portrait of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Written by acclaimed biographer Peter Guralnick, this two-volume set captures the meteoric rise and the tragic fall of Elvis Presley with unmatched depth and sensitivity. Last Train to The Rise of Elvis Presley chronicles Elvis's early years and unprecedented ascent to fame, while Careless The Unmaking of Elvis Presley reveals the personal struggles and challenges that led to his downfall. Richly detailed and deeply human, these books offer an intimate and compelling account of one of music's most enduring icons.This Elvis Series 2-Book Collection Set Last Train to The Rise of Elvis Presley — 9780316332255 Careless The Unmaking of Elvis Presley — 9780316332972