Review - The Lisa Marie - The King's Flying Graceland

In his foreword for this book, Steve Barile wrote that he could not imagine a 400-page book on Elvis and (his) airplanes when he heard that Carlos Varrenti was working on his 'The Airplanes and The King' book. 

Following that thought, I assumed it would be impossible to do an even bigger book on just one of the King’s planes, but here I hold a 550-page hardcover book on Elvis’ "Flying Graceland".

This is the fourth book by Varrenti on Elvis and aviation. Let’s see what it has to offer compared to the other ones.

Design

The book is an 8.25 by 11-inch hardcover, prominently featuring an attractive drawing of the Lisa Marie mid-air on the cover. While most fans know the plane as being on display at Graceland or from the many candids of Elvis boarding it, this is the kind of image that shows the plane doing what it was made for, flying through the skies.

The book has a strong modern design with big fonts for easy reading and many relevant illustrations of the plane, paperwork, memorabilia, and more. Being as complete as possible, the author included a wide selection of photographs, many candids taken by bystanders. Therefore, a few are shown in low resolution, but for “historical accuracy.”

The author has a pleasant writing style, which makes it easy for the reader to absorb the large amount of information. The good alternation of text and illustrations contributes to this.

At 550 pages, it really is a big book, and it was only limited to that number of pages as Amazon doesn’t allow for a higher page count. The concept I proofread was 650 pages!

Content

As an aeronautical engineer and longtime Elvis Presley fan, Varrenti is probably the best-qualified author to write this book, combining his passion and knowledge. The upside is that this is the best-researched biography on the Lisa Marie; the downside is that this is the best-researched biography on a Convair 880 jet plane, the only aircraft of this type left in the world that is preserved properly. Both observations are a compliment, but they do impact the book as the amount of information can be overwhelming for part of the reader group.

The book has a long lead-in, going back to the birth of the plane and Delta Airlines, the original owner of the jet. It was interesting to read that a 1958 advertisement for the jet declared these sleek aircraft to be “Fit for a King.”

Elvis enters the story on page 50 when he first boards a Delta Convair 880 plane shortly after filming 'Wild in the Country'. Varrenti even found footage of that first encounter. 

Another 25 pages later, the book shifts to the Elvis years of Delta’s N8809E Convair 880, which he purchased after Delta retired it following 40,200 flight hours.

In his previous books, the author covered Elvis’ complex relationship with aviation, but over the years, he overcame his fears, and on April 17, 1975, he made the bold “rock star” move to acquire his own 100-person, four-engined plane as found by Joe Esposito and Lamar Fike at a Boeing deposit for the right price. 

When they phoned Elvis to inform him of their find of an interesting plane that met his requirements and price the singer replied: “Tell the agent I’ll take it.” Esposito answered “Elvis, don’t you think you should see it first?” to which Elvis responded: “I know what a large four engine jet looks like. Have him take some pictures and sent them to you. Give him daddy’s phone number so he’ll make arrangements for the financing”

And US$1,050,000 later, US$250,000 for the plane and another US$800,000 customizing it to his wishes, the 1960 Convair 880 was really “fit for a King!” Happy as a kid in a toy store, he said, “Do you believe anything this pretty can actually fly?” nicknaming it his “Flying Graceland.”

Varrenti found a wealth of information on the lead-up to the purchase, the customization of the plane - including some original sketches - paperwork on the plane’s registration, the media coverage of Elvis and his plane and of course Elvis using it "to go to work" or make fun trips. I saw many new (to these eyes) pictures. It doesn’t get much more complete than this.

It seems only natural for Elvis to own a plane like this. It suited his stature as an artist, and despite only using it for 19 months, it became an integral part of his legacy.

The main part of the book is the detailed and richly illustrated day-by-day overview of the approximately 209 flights aboard the Lisa Marie. Over 270 pages, we join Elvis crisscrossing the sky above America while on tour, on holiday, or simply to get a “Fool’s Gold Loaf,” as urban legends like that are covered too. You can follow Elvis on tour in the last part of this career.

There is some overlap with the previous books by the author, but since this is the complete biography of the jet, this information couldn’t be omitted. There is sone repetition in the images too, as many feature Elvis boarding his plane or descending the airplane stairs. 

As we’ve learned from his previous books, the author did his research, including every reference to Elvis and his plane- here focusing on the Lisa Marie, of course - from all available sources, including many quotes from Elvis’ entourage, livening up the documented history. 

We get all the flight details, including stops and miles flown, the destinations (mostly concerts, the Lisa Marie was also a means to go to work) almost all illustrated with pictures of Elvis boarding and disembarking the Lisa Marie, concerts, (press) coverage of the performances, paperwork, and more relevant pictures regarding each trip. There are many new details to discover on various aspects of Elvis' career and the Lisa Marie.

The remaining 170 pages cover, in much detail, the years after August 17, 1977, up to 2025. The pictures of the aircraft in Switzerland are nice to see and serve as a crude reminder that it (probably) was only thanks to the Colonel that Elvis didn’t visit Europe or other parts of the world, it was not that he lacked the means to set foot on other continents. 

The use of the plane for the 2023 Christmas Special, Riley Keough's first production as keeper of the legacy, illustrates that the Lisa Marie is more than a plane; it is part of Elvis’ heritage and continues to “fly” in the fans’ memory. The presence of the Lisa Marie in all the major flight simulators and the wide range of memorabilia presented in the last chapters of this book confirm this once more.

The book ends with a “to be continued,” so airplane enthusiasts may look forward to a book on the Hound Dog II somewhere down the line. 

Conclusion

The book covers the life of the Lisa Marie from birth up to today in great detail, covering every phase of its life - from its construction to retirement at Graceland and everything that happened in between - with meticulous detail and hundreds of relevant illustrations. So yes, it really is an illustrated biography in the true sense of the word.

Yes, there is a significant overlap with the previous books by this author on Elvis and his planes, but that doesn't change the conclusion that the book, with its additional details and illustrations, is a valuable addition to the broader depiction of the Elvis timeline, even if it is not directly about him.

The book is available from >>> Amazon (associate link).