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Peter Guralnick

Biography

Peter Guralnick

New York Times bestselling author Peter Guralnick has been called “a national resource” by critic Nat Hentoff for work that has argued passionately and persuasively for the vitality of this country’s intertwined black and white musical traditions.

His books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS and CARELESS LOVE. Of the first, Bob Dylan wrote, “Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe. This book cancels out all others.” He won a Grammy for his liner notes for Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club and wrote and coproduced 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. He is an inductee in the Blues Hall of Fame.

Other books include an acclaimed trilogy on American roots music: SWEET SOUL MUSIC, LOST HIGHWAY and FEEL LIKE GOING HOME; the biographical inquiry SEARCHING FOR ROBERT JOHNSON; the novel NIGHTHAWK BLUES; definitive biographies of two preeminent figures in 20th-century American music: DREAM BOOGIE: The Triumph of Sam Cooke and SAM PHILLIPS: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll; and a reflection on creativity, LOOKING TO GET LOST: Adventures in Music & Writing.

His latest book, THE COLONEL AND THE KING: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership that Rocked the World, is a groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between the iconic artist and his legendary manager --- drawing on a wealth of the Colonel’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.

Peter Guralnick

Books by Peter Guralnick

by Peter Guralnick - Biography, Nonfiction

In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse and headed south to investigate. Within days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking agents: “We have a new boy that is absolutely going to be one of the biggest things in the business in a very short time. His name is ELVIS PRESLEY.” Later that year, after signing with RCA, the young man sent a telegram of his own: “Dear Colonel, Words can never tell you how my folks and I appreciate what you did for me.... I love you like a father.” The close personal bond between Elvis and the Colonel has never been fully portrayed before. Featuring troves of previously unpublished correspondence, THE COLONEL AND THE KING provides a unique perspective on not one but two American originals.