May 15 - Birth of Rock And Roll And Dead Of the Blues

The book "Elvis and The Birth of Rock and Roll" will be released in June. In 1956, professional photographer Wertheimer took nearly 3.000 photographs of Presley that year, creating a penetrating portrait of a man poised on the brink of superstardom. 

Extraordinary in its intimacy and unparalleled in its scope, Wertheimer's Elvis project immortalized a young man in the very process of making history. Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll collects Wertheimer's most remarkable Elvis shots from that magical year, along with a selection of his historic 1958 pictures of the star being shipped off to an army base in Germany. Nearly half of the photographs in this book have never been published before.
Each chapter is illustrated with a poster by Hatch Show Print, one of the oldest letterpress print shops in America, which created many early Elvis posters in the fifties.

From the publisher:
“Elvis who?” was photographer Alfred Wertheimer’s response when, in early 1956, an RCA Victor publicist asked him to photograph an up-and-coming crooner from Memphis. Little did Wertheimer know that this would be the job of his life: just 21 years old, Elvis Presley was—as we now know—about to become a legend.

Trailing Presley like a shadow, Wertheimer took nearly 3,000 photographs of Presley that year, creating a penetrating portrait of a man poised on the brink of superstardom. Extraordinary in its intimacy and unparalleled in its scope, Wertheimer's Elvis project immortalized a young man in the very process of making history.

Now available as a TASCHEN standard edition, Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll collects Wertheimer’s most remarkable Elvis shots from that magical year, along with a selection of his historic 1958 pictures of the star being shipped off to an army base in Germany. Each chapter is illustrated with a poster by Hatch Show Print, one of the oldest letterpress print shops in America, which created many early Elvis posters in the 1950s. The photographer:
Alfred Wertheimer (1929-2014) was born in Germany, emigrated to America and settled in Brooklyn as a young boy. Wertheimer’s photographs, which first gained national attention after Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, capture the metamorphosis of pop music and the cultural transformation of America.

The editor:
Chris Murray has organized over 200 exhibitions of many of the leading artists of our time, from Andy Warhol in the 1970s to Annie Leibovitz’s first exhibition in 1984. He is co-curator of the Smithsonian Institution's exhibition Elvis at 21 and is the author or editor of over a dozen books.

The contributing author:

Robert Santelli is the executive director of the Grammy Museum and former CEO/artistic director of the Experience Music Project. He is the author of nearly a dozen books and a contributor to magazines such as Rolling Stone.

Blues legend BB King passes away at 89
 

Legendary Blues singer and guitarist BB King has died aged 89. King died in his sleep in Las Vegas, his lawyer said. The star had recently returned home from hospital where he was being treated for dehydration, which was linked to his Type II diabetes. It comes just a week after he insisted he was well again after falling ill.

The 89-year-old musician was taken to the facility near his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to health concerns although his daughter Claudette King soon admitted he was already feeling "much better" when asked about his condition last Monday. On the picture Elvis and BB King in Memphis on December 7,1956. BB King who was born Riley B. King and is often referred to as the King of Blues.

(Source: ElvisMatters / Taschen)