August 05 - New Parker Biography Released (Updated)

Little Brown and Company published Peter Guralnick's new biography on Elvis' manager, 'The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley and the Partnership that Rocked the World'

In this book, the biographer draws from archival material to paint a fresh portrait of Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Publicity stated: In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker (the manager of the number-one country music star of the day) heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse and headed south to investigate. Within a matter of days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking agents: 'We have a new boy that is absolutely going to be one of the biggest things in the business in a very short time. His name is Elvis Presley.' 

The close personal bond between Elvis and the Colonel is something that has never been fully portrayed before. It was a relationship founded on mutual admiration and support. From the outset, the Colonel defended Elvis fiercely and indefatigably against RCA executives, Elvis' own booking agents and movie moguls. But in their final years together, the story grew darker, as the Colonel found himself unable to protect Elvis from himself - or to control growing problems of his own. 

Featuring troves of previously unpublished correspondence from the Colonel's own archives, revelatory for both their insights and their emotional depth, 'The Colonel and the King' provides a groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between the iconic artist and his legendary manager and a unique perspective on not one but two American originals. A tale of the birth of the modern-day superstar (an invention almost entirely of Parker's making) by the most acclaimed music writer of his generation, it presents these two misunderstood icons as they've never been seen before: with all of their brilliance, humour and flaws on full display.  

Little, Brown and Company will publish the 624-page book on August 5, 2025. The book is already available for pre-order from >>> Amazon (associate link).

Up Close: Colonel Parker's Promotional Jackets

Graceland shared the latest episode of its exclusive video series, Elvis: Up Close, offering fans a rare look at the king’s most memorable artifacts and the stories behind them.

This new installment spotlights two custom-made promotional jackets worn by Elvis’s legendary manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Designed as wearable advertisements, each jacket is covered in bright logos, co-star names, and film titles, turning Parker into a walking billboard for Elvis’s movie career.

One jacket highlights the 1964 film Roustabout, complete with Paramount Pictures branding. The other promotes Kissin’ Cousins and features the iconic MGM lion logo. Flashy, eccentric, and completely unique, these jackets reflect Parker’s bold marketing style and tireless dedication to keeping Elvis in the spotlight.

Searching for Elvis Presley in the Movies

Music expert Robert C. Gilbert, of the highly recommended 'Listening Sessions', has posted another article about Elvis. This time he looks at Elvis' movie recordings, trying to find the gold in Elvis' early-sixties soundtrack recordings.

He explains... It’s fair to say that the music that Elvis recorded for his movies in the sixties is one of the main reasons his legacy remains uneven and tainted by the compromises he made during his career. That said, his movie music from the early sixties, a real golden era for Elvis in my opinion, contains a lot of gems as well as recordings that come off way better than they have any right to be. 

Of course, the desire to become not just an actor but an accomplished one was Elvis’. The twisting of that wish for profit was one of the many sins of Col Parker but also a result of Elvis’ acquiescence to his manager. It is emblematic, certainly, of the compromises that led to Elvis’ uneven legacy... It may explain why his non-soundtrack recordings in Nashville during that time continue to languish in neglect, passed over each year by Sony Music for another repackaging of his music from the Sun era or from between 1969 to 1976.

In the article Gilbert praises movies and soundtrack songs. Such as ‘We’re Coming in Loaded’ "It has such an emphatic groove that one wishes Blackwell and Scott could have built it into a song rather than just the idea of one" and ‘Lonely Man’ "maybe a more authentic artefact of the years during which Elvis made some worthy music for the movies while he progressively lost his way doing them" - plus many others.

Go to the >>> 'Listening Sessions' for some "gold".

Elvis in Cinema

Gustavo Jiménez Limones published his 204-page Spanish paperback 'Elvis En El Cine' ('Elvis in Cinema').

Description: After conquering and revolutionizing the world of music, Elvis Presley wanted to increase his status as a cultural icon and emulate his admired James Dean and Marlon Brando by carving out a career in Hollywood. For 13 years he dedicated himself exclusively to working in cinema and his legacy consists of 31 films. 

In this book we review each one of them, their plots, the secrets of their production, the songs he performed in each one, his successes and also his stumbles. The King of Rock could not be respected as an actor as he wanted, but he left us unforgettable moments captured on celluloid that will live on forever.

Note: This could be an A.I. generated book.

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

(Source: Little Brown and Company / Graceland / Amazon)