Genre: Biography/Entertainers
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780785833031
Chartwell Books
224 Pages
$24.99 Amazon
October 17, 2017
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In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable and unparalleted career and photographer Alfred Wertheimer was asked by Presley's new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the rising star. With unimpeded access to the young performer, Wertheimer was able to capture the unguarded and everyday moments in Elvis' life during that crucial year.
This was a year that took Presley from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and to his coronation as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." As Alfred Wertheimer photographed Elvis during 1956, and again in 1958, he created classic images that are spontaneous, unrehearsed and completely without artifice.
Wertheimer's photgraphs of Elvis are extraordinary and he appears almost ethereal, whether reading a newspaper while waiting for a cab, or washing his hands during one of his many train trips. After 1958 and Elvis' induction into the army, the world seemingly forgot about Wertheimer's magical photographs - for nineteen years - until August 16, 1977, the day Elvis died and Time magazine called. "The phone hasn't really stopped ringing in the last thirty years," observes Wertheimer.
Many of the photographs in this visual treasury are previously unpublished and some have become almost as famous as the man himself.
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This is basically a book of photographs, so there isn't a lot to say about it. However, it is interesting to read Mr. Wertheimer's recollections of Elvis, before he was Elvis. At the time these photos were taken, he was a young 21-year-old man, who had no idea of the fame that lay in front of him. He was probably one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen, and these photos are raw, candid, heartfelt and exquisite; showing Elvis at his most vulnerable.
They show Elvis at one of his first television appearances, in a recording studio, at a concert, and at home in Tupelo. They show a young man who wants to be somebody, who stops and talks to people, always signing autographs and listening to them. A man who was attracted to and attractive to women, who loved his family and enjoyed being with them.
The photos of Elvis at home are particularly telling; they show him at his most relaxed, with family and friends surrounding him, and the gentle, courteous young man who was nice to everyone and didn't mind sharing his life. You can see in these photos the elemental soul of Elvis; watching him sleep, eat and read.
This is the Elvis who was; the Elvis before stardom hit and everything changed. The photographs are nothing if not incredible; for anyone who has ever listened to Elvis, ever watched one of his films, ever heard him speak - these will make you fall in love with him all over again. He was indeed remarkable and there will never be another like him. Highly recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Elvis-King-Making-Alfred-Wertheimer/dp/078583303X/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2286733018
More on Alfred Wertheimer: https://www.amazon.com/Alfred-Wertheimer/e/B001JOVR08
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