The Colonel and the King

by Peter Guralnick

ISBN: 9781399635295

Published: 2025-08-05

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...