Esteemed Elvis Presley biographer and music historian Peter Guralnick for The Colonel and the King, a groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between Elvis Presley and his legendary manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
About the book
From the award-winning biographer of Elvis Presley, comes 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. 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 before: with all of their brilliance, humor, and flaws on full display.
About the author
Peter Guralnick’s books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to
Memphis and Careless Love; an acclaimed trilogy on American roots music, Feel Like Going Home, Lost
Highway, and Sweet Soul Music; the biographical inquiry Searching for Robert Johnson; and Dream
Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke.
Guralnick won a Grammy for his liner notes for Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, wrote and
co-produced the documentary Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll, as well as writing the
scripts for the Grammy-winning documentary Sam Cooke/Legend and Martin Scorsese’s Blues
documentary Feel Like Going Home.
His 2015 book Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll was a finalist for the Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year, awarded by the Biographers International Organization. His most recent book is Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing.
About the conversation partner
Ace Atkins is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels and
numerous short stories. A former college football player and newspaper reporter, he’s a recent recipient of
the Richard Wright Award for excellence in Southern Literature and a member of the Alabama Writers
Hall of Fame. He lives with his wife Angela and two children in Oxford, Mississippi.
The Colonel and the King
by Peter Guralnick
$38.00
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 9780316399449
About the Author
