The Rise of an Unconventional Star

Peter Guralnick’s interpretation of Elvis’ rise to fame is based on a compilation of records from friends, family and a number of interviews between Elvis and the media throughout his career. Guralnick piles together Elvis’ early life and upbringing to show how he was in a category of his own. His music was not country but not rhythm and blues. Fame did not fall into his lap and he was not the Elvis that we have all come to know so well. This story, so far, allows us to get to know his back story and reconsider him as a person, not a brand. In the past when I have thought of Elvis, I’ve pictured impersonators at a 24 hour chapel on the side of the road in Las Vegas adorned in jeweled jumpsuits and fake sideburns. Elvis’ image has been branded and tied to the aura of the 1950’s culture and beyond. It has been interesting to read this biography because Guralnick’s portrayal casts a very different image, especially his demeanor as a performer early in his career.

Elvis’ first performance as a kid at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair left him scarred which led him to keeping his musical talents to himself. Throughout the book so far, Guralnick constantly mentions his shyness and hesitance on stage. He quotes Elvis on page 23, “’and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it, you know.’” This was surprising to me because the familiar image of Elvis is quite different. All the images and film footage of Elvis depicts him as a dreamy eyed confident pop star of the 1950s. However, he was unconventional and didn’t fit the mold of a pop star then. Instead he redefined music and entertainment.

Guralnick quotes Sam Phillips on page 43, “’He tried not to show it, but he felt so inferior. He reminded me of a black man in that way; his insecurity was so markedly like that of a black person.’” I found this particularly interesting because it reveals how Elvis was an outsider to his peers and people in the music world at first. He voice was “interesting” and his looks were even more so with his long hair and flashy apparel. As well as this, Guralnick mentions how Elvis could not be categorized, which probably brought him to the level fame he achieved. Guralnick shapes Elvis’ rise to fame around this idea that he was such an outrageous sensation because he was not like anyone else out there and was seen as edgy, almost dangerous, for the conservative 1950s culture.

The most famous image of Elvis is his gyrating performances that shook the conventional music of the time and brought sex appeal to the music world. I had always thought of Elvis as a confident performer but he did this out of nerves and not for entertaining anyone but himself. This is quoted on page 110, “’During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mike and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild, but he though they were actually making fun of him.’” When looking at images and film of Elvis performing it is hard to believe that he once only performed in the dark as Guralnick explains. As the book continues, it seems that Elvis is evolving into a skilled performer but much more for his own approval than anyone else’s. This is interesting since he becomes so recognized for behavior and appeal that he, at first, truly did for himself. It is crazy to think about Elvis as such a person when we have completely idealized him to the level of worldwide icon.

P.S. I enjoyed the biographer’s descriptive details of Elvis’ appearance even down to the numerous remarks about his pimply face. That too, was surprising that someone who becomes such a sex symbol had such a terrible case of acne!

Peter Guralnick’s interpretation of Elvis’ rise to fame is based on a compilation of records from friends, family and a number of interviews between Elvis and the media throughout his career. Guralnick piles together Elvis’ early life and upbringing to show how he was in a category of his own. His music was not country but not rhythm and blues. Fame did not fall into his lap and he was not the Elvis that we have all come to know so well. This story, so far, allows us to get to know his back story and reconsider him as a person, not a brand. In the past when I have thought of Elvis, I’ve pictured impersonators at a 24 hour chapel on the side of the road in Las Vegas adorned in jeweled jumpsuits and fake sideburns. Elvis’ image has been branded and tied to the aura of the 1950’s culture and beyond. It has been interesting to read this biography because Guralnick’s portrayal casts a very different image, especially his demeanor as a performer early in his career.

Elvis’ first performance as a kid at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair left him scarred which led him to keeping his musical talents to himself. Throughout the book so far, Guralnick constantly mentions his shyness and hesitance on stage. He quotes Elvis on page 23, “’and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it, you know.’” This was surprising to me because the familiar image of Elvis is quite different. All the images and film footage of Elvis depicts him as a dreamy eyed confident pop star of the 1950s. However, he was unconventional and didn’t fit the mold of a pop star then. Instead he redefined music and entertainment.

Guralnick quotes Sam Phillips on page 43, “’He tried not to show it, but he felt so inferior. He reminded me of a black man in that way; his insecurity was so markedly like that of a black person.’” I found this particularly interesting because it reveals how Elvis was an outsider to his peers and people in the music world at first. He voice was “interesting” and his looks were even more so with his long hair and flashy apparel. As well as this, Guralnick mentions how Elvis could not be categorized, which probably brought him to the level fame he achieved. Guralnick shapes Elvis’ rise to fame around this idea that he was such an outrageous sensation because he was not like anyone else out there and was seen as edgy, almost dangerous, for the conservative 1950s culture.

The most famous image of Elvis is his gyrating performances that shook the conventional music of the time and brought sex appeal to the music world. I had always thought of Elvis as a confident performer but he did this out of nerves and not for entertaining anyone but himself. This is quoted on page 110, “’During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mike and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild, but he though they were actually making fun of him.’” When looking at images and film of Elvis performing it is hard to believe that he once only performed in the dark as Guralnick explains. As the book continues, it seems that Elvis is evolving into a skilled performer but much more for his own approval than anyone else’s. This is interesting since he becomes so recognized for behavior and appeal that he, at first, truly did for himself. It is crazy to think about Elvis as such a person when we have completely idealized him to the level of worldwide icon.

P.S. I enjoyed the biographer’s descriptive details of Elvis’ appearance even down to the numerous remarks about his pimply face. That too, was surprising that someone who becomes such a sex symbol had such a terrible case of acne!