Scan barcode
A review by booksnguitars
Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick
5.0
Worthy companion to the author's "Last Train to Memphis", beginning when Elvis nears the end of his service in the army. Lot to be sad about, we see the roots of his drug addiction that troubled him for the rest of his life, womanizing, and the assembling of a crew of thugs, hangers-on, & leeches.
The book is copiously researched, with loads of financial & contractual figures, and has a nice recommendation article for the author's picks for the essential music collections - in the end, that's what matters anyway, with the films being merely a money grab, other than serving as evidence toward Elvis' charisma being enough to carry the flimsy roles & the cheap productions.
Before reading this, I'd assumed that the Colonel was the worst thing that happened to Elvis, but I think they kind of enabled each other, and he simultaneously made him the biggest star in the world, and possibly held him back from even greater successes, as well as artistic integrity.
I think Sam Phillips said it best, when he said that if Elvis (also Jerry Lee & Johnny, etc.) would have stayed with Sun, they'd all have been poorer but maybe a lot happier.
The book is copiously researched, with loads of financial & contractual figures, and has a nice recommendation article for the author's picks for the essential music collections - in the end, that's what matters anyway, with the films being merely a money grab, other than serving as evidence toward Elvis' charisma being enough to carry the flimsy roles & the cheap productions.
Before reading this, I'd assumed that the Colonel was the worst thing that happened to Elvis, but I think they kind of enabled each other, and he simultaneously made him the biggest star in the world, and possibly held him back from even greater successes, as well as artistic integrity.
I think Sam Phillips said it best, when he said that if Elvis (also Jerry Lee & Johnny, etc.) would have stayed with Sun, they'd all have been poorer but maybe a lot happier.