Review: Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley (Peter Guralnick, 1994)

Most Americans my age or older already know the basic facts of Elvis Presley’s early life: Gladys and Vernon, Tupelo, Memphis, Sun Records, Colonel Tom, Uncle Miltie, meteoric super-stardom, the girls, Hollywood, Graceland, Momma’s death and the Army. Peter Guralnick not only adds historical detail and perspective to this well-known story, he also succeeds in stripping away the mythology that often obscures the historical Elvis.

Guralnick is primarily a music writer, and his passion for the music that he is writing about is what really propels this book. He also applies the rigor of a conscientious historian with an exhaustive survey of the mountains of primary and secondary source materials. Fresh, candid interviews with many of Elvis’s friends and colleagues serve to breathe new life into the story.

Guralnick’s rich descriptions of Elvis, Scotty Moore, Bill Black and Sam Phillips in the studio brought me back to the music. I’ve probably heard ‘Mystery Train’ more than a thousand times in my life, but Guralnick helped me listen to it through fresh ears. What were the musical influences? How did the arrangement evolve? What worked in the studio, and what didn’t work? I felt like a fly on the wall in Sun Studios.

After barely putting this book down for a week, I enthusiastically ordered Guralnick’s second volume. Unfortunately, we all know that part of the story too — I hope that Guralnick’s style and passion for detail will reinvigorate the tragic second act of the King’s life.