Design
The 256-page letter-size paperback is well written and richly illustrated. The author covers the Colonel’s life and association with Elvis Presley. Starting with his birth in The Netherlands, trying to escape the poverty as an illegal alien in the US, but not really succeeding, until he stumbled on a real golden ticket to fame and fortune - like the ones Willy Wonka gave-away - in the person of the new and upcoming artist names Elvis Presley, only to wreck the “chocolate factory” in the 22 years that followed.
Belard has a pleasant writing style, taking the reader by the hand. The 23 short chapters read as short stories but form a whole. The many quotes, references and re-use of interviews with those who worked with the Colonel, had done business with him, who were “snowed”, and even loved the Colonel, underline the research that lay at the basis of this book.
I was surprised by the number of photographs of (Elvis and) the Colonel the author found with the help of Dutch author Robert van Beek. On some the Dutchman even looked good, a rare thing to find.
Content
The book is written by a man with a mission, and his goal is to strip the façade of the Colonel and show the world who Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk really was. In the words of the author, a Jester. In the preface Belard states:
“The King & The Jester is a book about power, vanity, greed and dishonesty ... It is intended to be a clear-eyed, balanced account of Parker, supported by facts, the manager of one of the greatest stars in the music field the world has ever known, who some have said, remained a star in spite of his manager’s actions. … This book will endeavor to assess Parker’s achievements, often against the hypotheses of what a reasonably skilled manager would have done had he been in his place.”
This leads to the main question Paul Belard tries to answer in this book: “would Elvis have been as famous as he became without the help of Tom Parker?” Parker, in what must have been an unguarded moment, candidly answered the question for all of us: “Elvis had such an incredible talent that anyone could have made him a star.”
This book describes how despite the incredible talent of “his boy”, Parker did manage to make Elvis a “falling star”.
Belard states: “Parker didn’t find a total unknown and made him a star; he managed to elbow his way into a career that was clearly going places and rising to the top. Parker was not the only person who could have made Elvis a success. Many others could have done as good or a much better job.”
In this book we learn how the cunning fox lured in his victim and held his victim in a death grip with his claws. A hold that experienced lawyers were still impressed by in the early 1980s and could only wrest the inheritance of its victim with the greatest possible difficulty.
Belard stated: “Parker was jealous of the adulation Elvis received. The Dutchman once conceded, “I have to be honest. He was the success I always wanted.” So the narcissist experienced adoration through Elvis, participating vicariously in the star’s actions, always entering his life to obtain some of the thrills he would never have gotten on his own.”
A 1963 Christmas card from Elvis and the Colonel illustrates this all too well: we only see Parker and aSnowman, no Elvis!
As we all know, Parker never shied away from being a hustler. He even appeared to derive some pride from the fact that he was addicted to being duplicitous, so much so that he called himself “The Snowman” with his own “The Snowmen's League of America”. The author noted “a clever play on the word showman replacing the first syllable show with snow, in the world of con men, snow is a slangy word for swindle, scam, hoax or trick”.
Despite his obvious dislike for the “snowman”, Belard also has an eye for some of the good business decision his subject made. For example, putting Elvis, an unknown in most of the country, on national television, andbooking him on the Frank Sinatra TV show, displaying the rebel that was tamed by the Army as well as the change of generations; the era of Frank Sinatra was over, there was a new King in town.
The same goes for Elvis's (and his father's) shortcomings. Ultimately, Elvis was responsible for his own life and the choices he made. Elvis never forgot his beginnings, when the family was often living off the charity of others. Perhaps the worst was not even to do business with Parker, trusting him in everything, but to not surround himself with skilled people who would stand up for his interests. The fear that his success and accompanying wealth could abruptly be taken away terrified him. The fact that despite the bad business decisions, the money was coming in, giving him the comfort and safety he had longed for since his early youth.
To underline his case, Belard illustrated some of the examples of what other artists from Elvis’ era did with the help of their respective managers. “A more astute manager would have tried acquiring Elvis’ masters from RCA. Granted, most artists did not own the masters in the 1950s. But a few tried with some success to change this; Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles come to mind. At RCA, Parker had an example he could follow. In the early 60s, Sam Cooke had negotiated a deal with RCA regarding the ownership of his masters. … Parker was not a forward-thinking man; he only lived in the present, his mind fixed only a few inches in front of him, where the dollars could be clearly in view and within reach.” I would like to add that unfortunately Elvis was agreeingwith him.
Quoting Lisa Marie in an interview, the author writes that Elvis and his father Vernon “were afraid of returning to abject poverty when they did not even have two spare dimes to rub together. Lisa Marie said it well, “My father never once forgot what it was like to want, to need, to do without.” Incapable of realistic and level-headed thinking, both quickly capitulated. It is a sad observation on how gullible and trusting individuals, often ignorant or lacking proper education, will always be the target of scammers who know which buttons to push. As painful as it is to admit it, Elvis was his own worst enemy. He never developed a thick skin. In 1973, it seems he had reached a point where he did not have the will or the strength to resist his manager.”
Eventually, of course, as noted by Richard Harrington, a reporter for The Washington Post in an article about Parker’s life, “the dancing chickens came home to roost”. This time, however, it was the bogus colonel’s feet which were held to the fire.”
Only in 1979, 2 years after Elvis’ death, when the time came to approve the existing agreement, Memphis judge Joseph W. Evans, in charge of the process, was intrigued by the extent of the fees Parker was receiving for his work. He appointed a lawyer with the task to review Parker’s commissions, as well as other questionable elements of his contracts in order to protect Lisa Marie’s interests. His report did not spare any of the characters of this drama.
He demonstrated that Parker acted improperly with regard to Elvis’ professional career. The manager was found guilty of “self-dealing and overreaching” and having “violated his duty to Elvis and the estate”, particularly by failing to strike the best deals for his client during the singer’s lifetime and of not organizing Presley’s finances to minimize his taxes”. But Elvis too was admonished for his submissive attitude in accepting his manager’s arrangements: “Elvis was naive, shy and unassertive. Parker was aggressive, shrewd and tough. His strong personality dominated Elvis, his father and all others in Elvis’ entourage.”
The book ends with a “what if” chapter as the epilogue, but reading all these (possible) great opportunities for Elvis made me even more sad …
Conclusion
After last year’s ‘Elvis and the Colonel’ book by Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill, which was way too positive on the Colonel, this book by Paul Belard puts the scales back on balance. I do believe that the Big Boss Man was taking care of his own business at the expense of his only client but in the end, we can only blame Elvis for not taking care of his business.
Belard did not only strip away the façade from the biggest crook in showbusiness, but in doing so (rightfully) also the façade of the biggest talent in showbusiness. A sad, but true conclusion.
Does that make this a sad book to read? No, the easy writing style, the entertaining stories and quotes and the valid observations keep you engrossed. The many illustrations and references help to build a strong case, one we all knew, but understand even better after reading this book.
Content
The book is written by a man with a mission, and his goal is to strip the façade of the Colonel and show the world who Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk really was. In the words of the author, a Jester. In the preface Belard states:
“The King & The Jester is a book about power, vanity, greed and dishonesty ... It is intended to be a clear-eyed, balanced account of Parker, supported by facts, the manager of one of the greatest stars in the music field the world has ever known, who some have said, remained a star in spite of his manager’s actions. … This book will endeavor to assess Parker’s achievements, often against the hypotheses of what a reasonably skilled manager would have done had he been in his place.”
This leads to the main question Paul Belard tries to answer in this book: “would Elvis have been as famous as he became without the help of Tom Parker?” Parker, in what must have been an unguarded moment, candidly answered the question for all of us: “Elvis had such an incredible talent that anyone could have made him a star.”
This book describes how despite the incredible talent of “his boy”, Parker did manage to make Elvis a “falling star”.
Belard states: “Parker didn’t find a total unknown and made him a star; he managed to elbow his way into a career that was clearly going places and rising to the top. Parker was not the only person who could have made Elvis a success. Many others could have done as good or a much better job.”
In this book we learn how the cunning fox lured in his victim and held his victim in a death grip with his claws. A hold that experienced lawyers were still impressed by in the early 1980s and could only wrest the inheritance of its victim with the greatest possible difficulty.
Belard stated: “Parker was jealous of the adulation Elvis received. The Dutchman once conceded, “I have to be honest. He was the success I always wanted.” So the narcissist experienced adoration through Elvis, participating vicariously in the star’s actions, always entering his life to obtain some of the thrills he would never have gotten on his own.”
As we all know, Parker never shied away from being a hustler. He even appeared to derive some pride from the fact that he was addicted to being duplicitous, so much so that he called himself “The Snowman” with his own “The Snowmen's League of America”. The author noted “a clever play on the word showman replacing the first syllable show with snow, in the world of con men, snow is a slangy word for swindle, scam, hoax or trick”.
The same goes for Elvis's (and his father's) shortcomings. Ultimately, Elvis was responsible for his own life and the choices he made. Elvis never forgot his beginnings, when the family was often living off the charity of others. Perhaps the worst was not even to do business with Parker, trusting him in everything, but to not surround himself with skilled people who would stand up for his interests. The fear that his success and accompanying wealth could abruptly be taken away terrified him. The fact that despite the bad business decisions, the money was coming in, giving him the comfort and safety he had longed for since his early youth.
To underline his case, Belard illustrated some of the examples of what other artists from Elvis’ era did with the help of their respective managers. “A more astute manager would have tried acquiring Elvis’ masters from RCA. Granted, most artists did not own the masters in the 1950s. But a few tried with some success to change this; Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles come to mind. At RCA, Parker had an example he could follow. In the early 60s, Sam Cooke had negotiated a deal with RCA regarding the ownership of his masters. … Parker was not a forward-thinking man; he only lived in the present, his mind fixed only a few inches in front of him, where the dollars could be clearly in view and within reach.” I would like to add that unfortunately Elvis was agreeingwith him.
Quoting Lisa Marie in an interview, the author writes that Elvis and his father Vernon “were afraid of returning to abject poverty when they did not even have two spare dimes to rub together. Lisa Marie said it well, “My father never once forgot what it was like to want, to need, to do without.” Incapable of realistic and level-headed thinking, both quickly capitulated. It is a sad observation on how gullible and trusting individuals, often ignorant or lacking proper education, will always be the target of scammers who know which buttons to push. As painful as it is to admit it, Elvis was his own worst enemy. He never developed a thick skin. In 1973, it seems he had reached a point where he did not have the will or the strength to resist his manager.”
Eventually, of course, as noted by Richard Harrington, a reporter for The Washington Post in an article about Parker’s life, “the dancing chickens came home to roost”. This time, however, it was the bogus colonel’s feet which were held to the fire.”
Only in 1979, 2 years after Elvis’ death, when the time came to approve the existing agreement, Memphis judge Joseph W. Evans, in charge of the process, was intrigued by the extent of the fees Parker was receiving for his work. He appointed a lawyer with the task to review Parker’s commissions, as well as other questionable elements of his contracts in order to protect Lisa Marie’s interests. His report did not spare any of the characters of this drama.
He demonstrated that Parker acted improperly with regard to Elvis’ professional career. The manager was found guilty of “self-dealing and overreaching” and having “violated his duty to Elvis and the estate”, particularly by failing to strike the best deals for his client during the singer’s lifetime and of not organizing Presley’s finances to minimize his taxes”. But Elvis too was admonished for his submissive attitude in accepting his manager’s arrangements: “Elvis was naive, shy and unassertive. Parker was aggressive, shrewd and tough. His strong personality dominated Elvis, his father and all others in Elvis’ entourage.”
Conclusion
After last year’s ‘Elvis and the Colonel’ book by Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill, which was way too positive on the Colonel, this book by Paul Belard puts the scales back on balance. I do believe that the Big Boss Man was taking care of his own business at the expense of his only client but in the end, we can only blame Elvis for not taking care of his business.
Belard did not only strip away the façade from the biggest crook in showbusiness, but in doing so (rightfully) also the façade of the biggest talent in showbusiness. A sad, but true conclusion.
Does that make this a sad book to read? No, the easy writing style, the entertaining stories and quotes and the valid observations keep you engrossed. The many illustrations and references help to build a strong case, one we all knew, but understand even better after reading this book.
The book is available from >>>Amazon (associate link) or directly from the author, you can >>> contact him here by mail.
You can read an interview with Paul Belard on this book on the >>> Elvis Information Network.