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The Colonel and the King by Peter Guralnick (Hardback)
£35.00
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9781399635295
Published:
05 Aug 2025
Format:
Hardback
Number of pages:
752 pages
Dimensions:
240x156mm
Weight:
0.000kgs
Author:
In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse, & headed south to investigate. Within days, Parker was sending out telegrams & letters to promoters & booking agents about the man who would become a global icon & legend: Elvis Presley. The close personal bond between Elvis & the Colonel proved impossible for outside observers to understand - not during their lifetimes, & not in the decades since. It was a long-standing, deeply committed relationship, founded on mutual admiration & support. From the outset, the Colonel defended Elvis fiercely against RCA executives, Elvis' own booking agents, & movie moguls. But in their final years together, the story grew darker, & the relationship strained, as the Colonel found himself unable to protect Elvis from himself or to control growing problems of his own.
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 agents about the man who would become a global icon and legend: Elvis Presley.
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. 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 groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between the iconic artist and his legendary manager and 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 before: with all of their brilliance, humour, and flaws on full display.
About the Author: Peter Guralnick is one of popular culture's greatest biographers and his 2-volume biography of Elvis is widely regarded as definitive.Visit the website for more www.peterguralnick.com, join on Facebook at www.facebook.com/peterguralnickofficial and follow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PeterGuralnick.
| Number of pages | 752 |
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We will despatch your order as quickly as we can. If, for whatever reason, a product is out of stock we will contact you to discuss the likely delivery time or an alternative product.
| First Item | 2 Items & Over | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £3.75 | £5.00 |
| EU | £15.00 | £30.00 |
| USA & Canada | £30.00 | £50.00 |
| Rest of the World | £45.00 | £60.00 |
| Collect in Store | free | free |
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First Item @ £30.00
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