Download Free Las Vegas Elvis Presley Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Las Vegas Elvis Presley and write the review.

“Outstanding pop-culture history.” —Newsday The “smart and zippy account” (The Wall Street Journal) of how Las Vegas saved Elvis and Elvis saved Las Vegas in the greatest musical comeback of all time. Elvis’s 1969 opening night in Vegas was his first time back on a live stage in more than eight years. His career had gone sour—bad movies, mediocre pop songs that no longer made the charts—and he’d been dismissed by most critics as over-the-hill. But in Vegas he played the biggest showroom in the biggest hotel in the city, drawing more people for his four-week engagement than any other show in Vegas history. His performance got rave reviews; “Suspicious Minds,” the song he introduced there, gave him his first number-one hit in seven years; and Elvis became Vegas’s biggest star. Over the next seven years, he performed more than 600 shows there, and sold out every one. Las Vegas was changed, too. By the end of the ‘60s, Vegas’ golden age—when the Rat Pack led a glittering array of stars who made it the nation’s premier live-entertainment center—was losing its luster. Elvis created a new kind of Vegas show: an over-the-top, rock-concert extravaganza. He set a new bar for Vegas performers, with the biggest salary, the biggest musical production, and the biggest promotion campaign the city had ever seen. He opened the door to a new generation of pop/rock artists and brought a new audience to Vegas—not the traditional well-heeled older gamblers, but a mass audience from Middle America that Vegas depends on for its success to this day. At once “a fascinating history of Vegas as gambling capital, celebrity playground, mob hangout, [and] entertainment Valhalla” (Rolling Stone) and the incredible “tale of how the King got his groove back” (Associated Press), Elvis in Vegas is a classic feel-good story for the ages.
July 31, 1969 marks an historic milestone in Elvis's career. Bolstered by the runaway success of the '68 Comeback show and energized by productive recording sessions at American Sound Studios, which would spawn such timeless hits as "Suspicious Minds", "In The Ghetto" and "Don't Cry Daddy," Elvis launched his return to live performance at Las Vegas's International Hotel in the summer of 1969. "Elvis: Vegas '69" commemorates the 40th anniversary of Elvis's historic return to live performance. Written by Ken Sharp, the book tells the remarkable story of Elvis's return to the concert stage told through first-hand accounts by those lucky enough to be on hand to witness Elvis's miraculous artistic and creative rebirth. Culling 100 new interviews, the 60,000 word text offers a gripping account of this seminal event told by the people who were there including Priscilla Presley, Elvis's TCB bandmates, the Sweet Inspirations, the Imperials, the Memphis Mafia, celebrities in attendance, International hotel personnel including owner Kirk Kerkorian, hotel President Alex Shoofey, publicity and showroom staff, security, international media and much more. Learn the backstory behind what led to Elvis's triumphant return to live performance. You'll go behind closed doors with Elvis and the band in pre-show rehearsals and revel in the excitement and anticipation of opening night. We'll also exhaustively chronicle the opening show on July 31, 1969 through the eyes of the people that were there, press conference, after show celebration and more. Packed with over 150 stunning full color and B&W images, many culled from the Graceland archives, vintage Vegas/Elvis concert memorabilia, a '69 show index and much more, the book will transport the reader back to the Strip for one of the most electrifying moments in Elvis's monumental career.
Las Vegas has witnessed the triumphs and tragedies of Elvis Presley's life, from his first appearance at 21 to his marriage to Priscilla in 1967. With hundreds of never-before-seen photographs of Elvis' Vegas years, this book is the key volume in any Elvis aficionado's collection.
Hailed as "a masterwork" by the Wall Street Journal, Careless Loveis 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. Winner of the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award 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.
When Elvis crooned "Bright light city . . . gonna set my soul on fire," he voiced and embraced the siren call of a glittering urban utopia that continues to mesmerize millions. Call it Sin City or Lost Wages, Las Vegas definitely deserves its rapturous "Viva!" Larry Gragg, however, invites readers to view Las Vegas in an entirely new way. While countless other authors have focused on its history or gaming industry or entertainment ties, Gragg considers how popular culture has depicted the city and its powerful allure over its first century. Drawing on hundreds of films, television programs, novels, and articles, Gragg identifies changing trends in the city's portraits. Until the 1940s, boosters promoted it as the "last frontier town," a place where prospectors and cowboys enjoyed liquor, women, and wide-open gambling. Then in the early 1950s commentators increasingly characterized Las Vegas as a sophisticated resort city in the desert, and ever since then journalists, filmmakers, and novelists have depicted a city largely built by organized crime and featuring non-stop entertainment, gambling, luxury, and, of course, beautiful-and available-women. In Gragg's narrative, these images form a kaleidoscope of lights, sounds, characters, and ultimately amazement about this neon oasis. In these pages, readers will meet gangsters like Bugsy Siegel, Tony Spilotro, and Lefty Rosenthal, as well as Las Vegas's most popular entertainers: Elvis Presley, Sinatra's Rat Pack, Liberace, and Wayne Newton, not to mention the Folies Bergere showgirls. And Gragg's skillful interweaving of fictional and journalistic accounts of organized crime shows just how mutually reinforcing they have become over the years. Vegas will always make people's eyes light up as bright as the Strip, witness the new TV show Vegas or the recent film The Hangover. For everyone entranced by its glitter and glamour, Bright Light City is a must read boasting color photos and bursting with insider details: an eclectic blend of stories, people, sights, and sounds that together make up this desert city's extraordinary appeal.
Elvis Presley rocketed from oblivion and became one of the greatest influences of the 20th Century. It is the story of what happened.Without a doubt, in early 1954, Elvis Presley was the least likely to achieve stardom. A poor teenage truck driver for a local electric company, coming from a Memphis housing project. In 1954, Rock and Roll music was just in its embryo stage, not yet defined as a musical genre. Evolving from black music emanating from the black-owned nightclubs in the southern United States. It was Called Rhythm and Blues (R&B,) and had a very limited following. 1950s teenagers yearning for a different sound of their own were obliged by local Memphis DJ - Dewey Phillips. Playing R&B through his successful local WHBQ radio show called Red Hot and Blue, emanating from Memphis, Tennessee, it could be heard in many neighboring states. Dewey's influence was legendary; he became the "Midwife of Rock and Roll Music(tm)."Dewey's influence on Elvis and other contemporaries such as Buddy Holly and others has, to date, been overlooked in contemporary history.On July 5th, 1954, Elvis Presley arrived at the Memphis Recording Studios to perform a demo for owner and record producer Sam Phillips (no relation to Dewey). At that moment, Elvis had not sung a single note professionally. He auditioned for hours without any success or glimmer of hope. On the brink of ending his first recording session without success, a nervous, scared teenager paced the floor during a late break. Nervously, he just started to play chords to an old blues song called "That's All Right Mama," with a slight alteration of tempo and style.That was when Lightning Struck!Nervous young Elvis Presley playing to pass time, thought no one was listening. Playing the song in a slightly different way caught Sam Phillips. by surprise. Another person in the control room that night than Sam Phillips, it is questionable if young Elvis Presley's career would have even started! The book describes the early career of Elvis Presley. The lightning storm started on July 5th, 1954. and its terminal velocity on September 9th, 1956. During the Ed Sullivan Show, over 60 million people watched the coronation of Elvis Presley as the definitive King of Rock and Roll. First coined by High school friend and local DJ Memphis Disc Jockey George Klein (GK) as "The King of Rock and Roll." It was an innocent but truthful description of what transpired the first two years of his career (1954-1956). But the road to the title had pitfalls. Elvis: The King of Rock and Roll describes why Elvis Presley earned and deserved this title. Altering a trajectory of history in a single moment. On July 5th, 1954. Elvis Presley started a firestorm that transformed popular music while forever changing the landscape of the music industry. A firestorm, which would transform the world. Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll puts the reader in the midst of it. Within three years, Elvis Presley went from the brink of a failed audition to the largest-selling recording artist in the world! The musical genre pioneered by Elvis and his contemporaries presented Rock & Roll to a new audience. Arguably helping bridge a cultural divide and would be a catalyst of change for generations.You will feel the emotions of the young teenager and understand what caused the world's transformation. Focusing primarily on the music, events, and people around him. all catalysts to his success. The unassuming public persona and demeanor of young Elvis Presley, giving him the capacity to usher in the music of Rock & Roll, and changing the world forever! Elvis Presley achieved fame with raw talent alone, without any musical or financial pedigree.In 2017 George Klein -GK Reading my book excerpts in the Sirius XM Elvis Radio Studio said: "Frank, no one has written this book the way you are writing it! It has to be written!" This the story, that has yet to be shared!
Written with grace, humour, and affection, Last Train to Memphis has been hailed as the definitive biography of Elvis Presley 'Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe' BOB DYLAN 'Wonderful' RODDY DOYLE 'Soars above all other accounts of Elvis' Guardian 'A triumph of biographical art... profound and moving' New York Times Last Train to Memphis is arguably the first serious biography that refuses to dwell on the myth of Elvis. Aiming instead to portray in vivid, dramatic terms the life and career of this outstanding artistic and cultural phenomenon, it draws together a plethora of documentary and interview material to create a superbly coherent and plausible narrative. The first of two volumes, covering Presley's rise to prominence up to his departure for Germany in 1958, Last Train to Memphis is undoubtedly the benchmark by which other biographies of him are judged.
Miscellaneous Percussion Music - Mixed Levels
A mystery, starring Elvis Presley as detective