The book closes on that somber and poignant note. There was scarecely a cloud in sight through this period until, in 1958, he was drafted into the army and his mother died shortly thereafter. These were the years of his improbable self-invention and unprecedented triumphs, when it seemed that everything that Elvis tried succeeded wildly. This volume tracks the first twenty-four years of Elvis' life, covering his childhood, the stunning first recordings at Sun Records ('That's All Right,' 'Mystery Train') and the early RCA hits ('Heartbreak Hotel,' 'Hound Dog,' 'Don't Be Cruel'). Based on hundreds of interviews and nearly a decade of research, it traces the evolution not just of the man but of the music and of the culture he left utterly transformed, creating a completely fresh portrait of Elvis and his world. Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley is the first biography to go past that myth and present an Elvis beyond the legend. 'From the moment that he first shook up the world in the mid 1950s, Elvis Presley has been one of the most vivid and enduring myths of American culture. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, a double-page frontispiece map of Memphis dated 1954, and a black-and-white portrait frontispiece. Includes Praise for Last Train to Memphis Author Dedication Author's Note Prologue: Memphis, 1950 Notes Bibliography Discographical Note Acknowledgments and Index. RE: LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS: THE RISE OF ELVIS PRESLEY, First Paperback Edition, Fifth Printing (1994), 560 pages, National Bestseller. New condition two volume black-and-white photographic softcover wraps contained in a new condition color photographic slipcase designed by Michael Ian Kaye. Marsh, Susan (book design) Kaye, Michael Ian (cover design) (illustrator).

Last train to memphis book