Publicity stated: An intimate look at one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century, the King of Rock 'n' Roll, through 100 personal and iconic objects from the archives of Elvis’s beloved home, Graceland, a never-before-seen collection, until now.
For the first time, fans will see Elvis’s remarkable life through his treasured personal items, as well as the items that marked iconic milestones in his life, including:
- Elvis’ first performance guitar
- The Presley family bible and family mementos
- The famous “tablecloth contract” for his International Hotel residency
- Elvis and Priscilla’s personal photo album, featuring unseen pictures of them with Lisa Marie
- Iconic stage clothing as well as his favorite off-stage wear
- Personal effects, including his wallet and favorite jewelry
- His script from Jailhouse Rock
These treasures and so much more paint a picture of one of the greatest performers of our time.
An intimate look: at the life and times of Elvis Presley, through personal pieces that were collected by Elvis and insightfully annotated by music journalist, Gillian Gaar.
Never before seen: Many items featured in Elvis Presley Treasures have been supplied by Graceland’s private archives and have never been seen in print.
Iconic pieces: From the gold suit of Elvis's early career, the black leather wristband from the ‘68 Comeback Special and his iconic caped jumpsuit worn at the Aloha from Hawaii performance, to his private plane the Lisa Marie and his pink Cadillac, Elvis’s most iconic and memorable pieces are on display in this book.
Official account: Created in collaboration with the Elvis Presley estate and Graceland, fans of Elvis will get an exclusive look into the life of one of America’s most iconic figures.
Nigel Patterson noted: It appears this release is a variation, but with more pages, of some of the author’s other books: 'Elvis Remembered 1935-1977: The Authorized Box Set from The Graceland Archives' (2012, 120 pages), 'Elvis the King: The Authorized Book from The Graceland Archives' (2014, 64 pages) and 'Elvis the Legend: The Authorized Book from The Graceland Archives' (2017, 192 pages).
On Facebook the author posted: "The book that was originally published as 'Elvis Remembered' came with facsimile memorabilia you could take out and look at. Subsequent publications eliminated the memorabilia. That book also told Elvis's story with various highlights, like a focus on a particular album.
This book is completely different. You' get an image of something from the archives, the original mailbox from Graceland for example. Then there's a short caption describing it.
I did not see the final layout, but I had the impression that the items would be presented in generally chronological order."
The book is available from the >>> Amazon webshop (associate link).
Perhaps more astonishing than the above is that this 'Elvis Presley 1956 U.S. Magazine' signed by Elvis sold at auction for US$15,000.
Described as: This 1956 Elvis Presley magazine is signed by Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, D. J. Fontana, Bill Black, Jimmy Snow, and Lou Williams and represents a true piece of history from the start of Rock and Roll. What makes this magazine ultra rare is that this one is an RCA stamped promotional copy of the magazine. Each of the autographs are signed on the portrait photo of Elvis on the back side, and Elvis' signature is stunningly fine. The magazine is also signed by singer Jimmy Snow, son of the legendary Hank Snow. The last signature is Lou Williams, signed "To one of the best, Cousin Lou Williams".
No April Fool's Joke
On April 1, 2024, Elvis Presley was featured on the cover of the U.K. Daily Star tabloid, announcing a new Elvis Special from his stepbrother David Stanley. A day later The Mirror tabloid did a follow-up with more details from David Stanley on the new Elvis Presley screen project which should feature "unseen stories from final years of life". The untitled 6-show project, based on Stanley's book 'My Brother Elvis', is currently being shopped to streaming networks to see if they are interested.
The tabloid wrote: A new project is set to highlight untold stories from the final years of Elvis Presley's wild life after his hit movie biopic according to his step-brother David Stanley.
David has spent several years working on the show and admits that he is not concerned whether some fans likely may not enjoy the content. He feels that his late brother would have given his seal of approval for the project, which is being shopped to streaming networks.
David said: “It's going to focus on myself, but obviously Priscilla, Elvis, the whole crew. I think people are going to love Elvis more within the structure of the new series. It's not an Elvis movie. It's not the next big Elvis picture. It's a unique story that I think people will learn from and enjoy and it's only Rock and Roll, but I like it."
“It's a six part mini series every year. 72 is one series, 73, 74, 75, 76, and 77. It's a journey in my life with Elvis. It is going to be about my life with Elvis based on the book, 'My Brother Elvis', the final years, and it's just on the last five years. It is going to fade back into the early years and flashbacks and montages of the early years, but it's basically going to be my experience with Elvis.
"I just feel like that I've had the opportunity to write books and tell stories, but this is a big opportunity that created many, many years ago, and it's finally coming into focus. It's going to be great." David expects that the "controversial" subject matter to upset some of Elvis' fans. "The fans that send me the hate mail they do all the time. They do all of us, but they never lived it. Their favorite song is, 'walk my shoes, don't criticize and abuse'. Listen to the song, don't criticize those who live there. We're telling our truth and our truth is what Elvis wanted.
"Elvis would want us to be who we are, why we are, and how we can affect somebody else's life. I mean, the best way I can talk about the fishbowl is I'm the last fish or two in it now. Riley's coming along, the granddaughter, she's never lived in the fishbowl. "She's out of the fishbowl. Everything she'll do will be speculation or history written by somebody like me or somebody else in the family. I think when you're brought into a family and you're an Elvis Presley that has anything he wants - access to anything and anywhere or anybody that he wants, that you are in a situation to where you lose accountability.
“When you lose accountability, you lose the will to live, and I've been at that point to where I got to be. It's my way of getting out of the fishbowl and dealing with the realities that were part of my life." David lives as an ambassador at The Westgate Hotel, formerly The International where Elvis headlines his Vegas residency.
He has monthly fan meet and greets with fans, including a presentation, tour of the venue and a question and answer session. “I've lived at this resort now for three and a half years, and we started doing the 'My Brother Elvis an evening with David Stanley' about six, seven months ago.
“The fans sit in a very intimate situation, tour the facility, but they come out and they sit and I talking Gordy from the PR group at the Westgate, we sit and have a conversation and people are just fascinated by it. And I'm more fascinated than they are. I'm sitting on the stage that Elvis did 626 shows up.
"I'm sitting on the stage that I saw when I was 13 years old when he came out and dominated Vegas. I'm sitting here and I'm looking at these people and I'm going, wow, the sustaining power of Elvis Presley. Nobody's negative. I do get controversy. You know me well enough, excuse me well enough to know that I'll call it like it is. And sometimes I do it when I talk to these people and they just love it. “They want to know more about him. That's why I decided to do the 'Surviving Elvis' book. What happened after? Why is it still this way and why is it seem to be getting bigger.”
(Source: Facebook / The Mirror / Nigel Patterson)