Last Train to Memphis

Guralnick, Peter. Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley. New York: Little Brown, 1994. Print

First Sentences:

Vernon Presley was never particularly well regarded in Tupelo. 

He was a man of few words and little ambition, and even in the separate municipality of East Tupelo, where he lived with his family "above the highway," a tiny warren of houses clustered together on five unpaved streets running off the Old Saltillo Road, he was seen as something of a vacant, if good-looking, even handsome, ne'er-do-well.

Description:

Maybe everyone knows the general background of Elvis Presley: poverty-stricken childhood, early influence of gospel music, gift of a used guitar, meteoric rise to fame as a rock singer, army service, Las Vegas fixture, and eventual fall into drugs and early death. 

But the details behind those events and influences are fascinating to learn about. The era he lived in, the people surrounding him, the mechanizations of getting a record on the radio, the frenzy of a live concert, and the loneliness of the life of a superstar are all painstakingly researched and clearly presented in the breath-taking biography by Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley. 

Incredible as it is to write, this 560-page book is a page-turner, sinking readers deeper and deeper into the details of Presley's life from birth up to his entry into the army and the death of his mother (1935-1958). (Note: This is just the first of a two-book biographical Presley series by Guralnick. The second, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, is a whopping 796 pages covering the last two decades of Elvis' life.)

Elvis was Elvis from an early age. After receiving a guitar for a birthday gift (he's wanted a bike), he picked out a few chords and, by the seventh grade, starting bringing his guitar to school every day and singing at recess. According to a childhood friend, Elvis' clothing choices set him apart as well:

He would wear dress pants to school every day -- everybody else wore jeans, but he wore dress pants. And he would wear a coat and fashion a scarf like an ascot tie, as if he were a movie star...he stood out like a sore thumb.

Of course, his hair was much longer than any other child's and required three different types of hair products to style it just so.

He hung out on Beale Street in Mempis, a predominately Black area full of bars, live music, and clothing shops. He was a student of all kinds of music, especially listening to the gospel songs from nearby tent shows and the melodies from blues singers. Eventually, he combined these two styles, added his famous body twitching, and became a local star in a completely new kind of performance, jumping into the quiet music world of Pat Boone and twangy country western music. 

He started performing any place that would give him a chance. As he described his onstage feeling to one of his steady girlfriends, June Juanico:

It's like your whole body gets goose bumps, but it's not goose bumps. It's not a chill either. It's like a surge of electricity going through you. It's almost like making love, but it's even stronger than that...I don't calm down till two or three hours after I leave the stage. Sometimes I think my heart is going to explode.

Detail after detail about his rise to fame are recounted by author Guralnick, researched from original newspaper articles, promotional playbills, and interviews with hundreds of friends, family, and promoters, giving this bio a compelling, immersion into Elvis's world and the current business of music production. And, of course, it details the resistance he faced.

It was becoming all too clear that rock 'n' roll now served as a lightning rod for a more and more sharply divided society. Denounced from the pulpit, derided in the press, increasingly linked to the race issue, and even subject to congressional hearings, the music was being used to stigmatize a generation.

We read about the girls he almost married, his interactions with radio DJs and recording producers, his solid family life and encompassing love for his mother, the loneliness of the tours, and his first few movies where he played serious roles (with occasional songs). In his early films, Elvis received praise from directors and fellow actors for his honesty, dedication to the craft, desire to learn, and quick memory. Many people remember only his later song-filled quickie films, but his early work was notable, if now forgotten. He knew and was friends with Natalie Wood, Vince Edwards, Marlon Brando, Robert Mitchem, Rita Moreno, and Dennis Hopper. According to Grelun Landon, a music publisher,

He knew what he was doing at all times. I really believe he was like a novelist -- he studied and watched what was going on. It was really just second nature with him.

"Hound Dog," Graceland, Colonel Parker, the army, Beale Street, Sun Records, Ed Sullivan, the Jordanaires, gospel, pink Cadillacs, and screaming fans are all here in this mesmerizing  book, all flowing together as influential roles in Elvis' life. 

What I took away from this book was a new respect for the struggles and perseverance Elvis displayed throughout his life, as well as his genuine humility, honesty, and devotion to his family and religion. During these years, he neither smoked nor drank, called both his mother and current girlfriend every night, was loyal to his original backup group of musicians and singers, and showed a complete mastery of musical production in the recording studio.

I also learned what it was like to take a tour and face screaming fans nightly who threatened to tear you apart out of joy. I finally could understand the need for an accompanying entourage of friends on such a tour, a group who did nothing except remind the star of his normal life, joke around with, eat with, and provide a safe haven with whom to unwind. Never thought about that before.

Yes, this is a long book, with another volume on his later life waiting for you in the wings. But such attention to detail by Guralnik is a worthy reward for picking up this book. He brings an iconic figure to life, with all the trials, triumphs and influencing factors in Elvis' world carefully laid out.

This nice, polite, well-mannered boy became transformed onstage in a manner that seemed to contradict everything that you might discern about his private personality. His energy was fierce; his sense of competitive fire seemed to overwhelm the shy, deferential kid within; every minute he was onstage was like an incendiary explosion.

I was deeply, deeply involved with this book, constantly grabbing at any time I could scrounge up to read it, even if only in small snatches. I fell into the previously unknown (to me) world of music in the 1950's, and  Elvis Presley. Even if you are not a fan, Last Train to Memphis is a revealing look into the earliest years of rock 'n' roll and the people who shaped it. Highly recommended, but please don't be put off by its length. You won't be sorry.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Ronstadt, Linda. Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir 

An absolutely stunning autobiography of Linda Ronstadt that follows her career from singing Spanish songs with family and friends to rock and roll fame, and even singing Gilbert and Sullivan light opera. What a voice she had and what a musical life she led.  (previously reviewed here)