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COLONEL TOM PARKER
The Curious Life of Elvis Presley's Eccentric Manager
RIGHTS TO THIS BOOK RECENTLY ACQUIRED BY MAJOR HOLLYWOOD
MOVIE STUDIO FOR BIGGEST ELVIS MOVIE EVER!
Based on unprecedented, original research and interviews with insiders, this authoritative biography of Colonel Tom Parker (1909-1997), Elvis Presley’s lifelong manager, includes new revelations and insights into the music industry’s most notorious and mysterious manager. Investigative journalist and music writer James L. Dickerson looks at topics such as Parker’s illegal entry into the United States, his work as a carny with Royal American Shows, and his management of country singer Eddy Arnold, his partnership with Hank Snow, and how he manipulated Elvis Presley and his family to seize control of the singer’s career.
The book examines Parker’s greed, his indebtedness to behind-the-scenes players in Las Vegas, his gambling addiction, and his fear of deportation played a role in ruining Elvis’s career. Because Colonel Parker was always there with Elvis, gazing ominously over his shoulder, the book presents behind-the-scenes glimpses of the entertainer’s career that you will read nowhere else, thanks in part to the author’s personal and professional relationship with Elvis’s first guitarist, Scotty Moore, with whom the author wrote two revealing books.
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What Others Are Saying About This book “A rare glimpse into the underbelly of the music biz.”—Los Angeles Daily News “[A] stunning biography . . . A sad but enlightening, behind-the-scenes look into the life of the King and the man who put him on the throne.”—Nashville Tennessean “This intriguing, meticulously researched biography of Presley’s Svengali could be a manual of how not to take care of your client . . . Dickerson has painted a riveting portrait of an especially unsavory character.”—Billboard “This jaw-dropping biography . . . is a model of research, assembled with crafty objectivity and humor.”—Hal Kanter, director of the Elvis film Loving You “Dickerson is tough but fair with his slippery subject . . . This is a well-presented biography of Colonel Tom Parker (1909-1997), who, through gall and cunning, created the ultimate celebrity icon. Recommended.”—Library Journal “Dickerson has done his homework The wealth of detail that he gathers and lucidly imparts is never less than utterly compelling . . . He skillfully reduces a labyrinthine saga to simple component parts that make it easy to digest [and] impossible to put down.”—Mojo magazine “An incendiary, powerful investigative account . . . An explanation, finally, of the twisted, corrupt relationship between Elvis and Colonel Parker.”—Joe Eszterhas, screenwriter of Basic Instinct |
About the AuthorAfter a career as a journalist for three Pulitzer Prize winning dailies, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, the Clarion Ledger-Jackson Daily News, and the Delta Democrat-Times of Greenville (MS), he began a career as a full-time author. His book Mojo Triangle: Birthplace of Country, Blues, Jazz and Rock ‘n’ Roll earned a first place award from the Independent Publishers Association, and two music-related books, Goin’ Back to Memphis (since republished as Memphis Going Down) and That’s Alright, Elvis, co-written with Elvis Presley’s first guitarist, Scotty Moore, were finalists for the prestigious Gleason award. He co-wrote a second book with Moore titled Scotty & Elvis. Dickerson lives in the Metro Jackson, Mississippi, area. This is his first movie rights sale. |
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morphed into Booker T. & the MGs, working with Leon Russell, Freddie King, and many others.
To celebrate the publication of his memoir Memphis Man: Living High, Laying Low, Stax Museum hosted a sold-out book signing for Nix, who performed at the event. A longtime friend of Beatle George Harrison, Nix also wrote about their friendship and his visits to Harrison's mansion in England.
HanaLena also will have book signings in Nashville (October 2 at Parnassus Books at 6:30 p.m.), in St. Louis (September 12 at the Focal Point), in McComb (September 19 at the McComb Theater), in Charleston, Mississippi (September 20 at the Gateway Music Fest), in Starkville (October 24 at Book Mart at 3 p.m.), in Kosciusko (October 24 at Josephine's Gifts at 11 a.m.), in Rolling Fork (at the Great Delta Bear Affair), and again in Jackson (October 25 at Smokin' on the Rez).
The Sun Records sessions of Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore and Bill Black have been selected by the Library of Congress for permanent archiving in the nation's library because the recordings have been "deemed so vital to the history of America." These recordings will join those made by Thomas Edison and the "Fireside Chats" recorded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Under the watchful eye of Mona Lisa, Annie Oeth surveys a line of eager readers with books in hand.
