Elvis: A King in the Making

By Peter Guralnick and Alfred Wertheimer

Book Overview

This volume contains a true treasure trove of spontaneous and completely unrehearsed photographs of The King of Rock n Roll. Elvis both famous pictures and some that have never before been published.

In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable and unparalleled career and photographer Alfred Wertheimer was asked by Presley's new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the rising star. With unimpeded access to the young performer, Wertheimer was able to capture the unguarded and everyday moments in Elvis' life during that crucial year.

This was a year that took Presley from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and to his coronation as The King of Rock 'n' Roll." As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, and again in 1958, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and completely without artifice.

Wertheimer's photographs of Elvis are extraordinary and he appears almost ethereal, whether reading a newspaper while waiting for a cab, or washing his hands during one of his many train trips. After 1958 and Elvis' induction into the army, the world seemingly forgot about Wertheimer's magical photographs - for nineteen years - until Aug 16, 1977, the day Elvis died and Time Magazine called. "The phone hasn't really stopped ringing in the last thirty years," observes Wertheimer.

Many of the photographs in this visual treasury are previously unpublished and some have become almost as famous as the man himself.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078583303X
• ISBN13: 9780785833031
• Release Date: October 2017
• Publisher: Chartwell Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 3.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 10.2" x 12.5"

Customer Reviews

Elvis Before He Was King

The title of this book says it all: Elvis: A King In the Making. This is a wonderful book for any Elvis fan's collection. It shows off the King of Rock N' Roll as a young man on the verge of superstardom. This is a fabulous coffee table book showing tons of photos of Elvis at his leisure as well as in the midst of performing. A must-have book for anyone who loves anything Elvis!