Elvis Religion: The Cult of the King [Paperback]

Gregory L. Reece (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2006

The cult of Elvis Presley has, since his death, become ever more pervasive in American culture. From Graceland to Las Vegas, from fans to impersonators, from novels, films and popular music to websites, outsider art and tabloid conspiracy theories, Elvis Religion explores this frequently bizarre phenomenon and investigates how the King of Rock 'n' Roll became a god-like figure. Elvis, we discover, is found everywhere. Not just an icon for late night lonely hearts in Memphis, or Elvis impersonators on a Vegas stage, he is the inspiration behind the violence of movies like Mystery Train and Wild at Heart, the kitsch sanctuary of Graceland Too, the music of Kirsty MacColl and Paul Simon, and the Internet church for whom he is a supernatural being dwelling in the constellation of Orion.
Gregory L. Reece makes a journey to discover the Jumpsuit Jesus for himself, taking him into the heart of fan obsession. Along the way, he discovers that if Elvis Saves, it is because the Memphis Messiah seems like a prophet for our times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Even Elvis was only human," philosophy professor Reece says near the end of his book on the religious nature of Elvis worship. And so it is that the King is destined to remain a pop culture-and not a religious-icon. Reece takes on nonfiction and fiction works that argue Elvis was a deity or that his large, cult-like fanbase may one day blossom into a full-fledged religion, noting Graceland pilgrims are generally members of fan clubs who collect memorabilia-hardly the basis for a burgeoning faith. With admirable restraint, Reece sifts through the absurd publications prophesying Elvis's return or claiming he was the long-awaited messiah whose reappearance will signal the defeat of Satan. Informal, chatty prose makes for a pleasant read as Reece recounts hanging out with Elvis fanatics at the Heartbreak Hotel during happy hour and attending the Elvis Expo in Las Vegas. Though it's not likely to change believers' minds, Reece's survey is a fun read that should appeal to Elvis fans not awaiting the King's second coming.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"This touching personal portrayal touches the blurred line between sincerity and irony that characterises Elvis fandom...Reece's journey takes him away from the loving hoards in Memphis towards an increasingly kooky range of texts that parody the Elvis phenomenon as a cruel joke about obsession, the South, working class humility and taste. - Mark Duffett, Senior Lecturer in Media, University College, Chester"

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845111648
• ISBN-13: 978-1845111649
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The King of Irony, June 3, 2011

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Ashtar Command "Seeker" (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvis Religion: The Cult of the King (Hardcover)

I was somewhat disappointed by this book. To be honest, I had expected a detailed description of crackpot Elvis cultists who venerate The King as a literal Messiah. Instead, Gregory Reece has written a rather boring, almost encyclopedic treatment of Elvis Aron Presley's influence on American populare culture.

That influence is, of course, considerable. Elvis has never *really* left the building, has he?

Some scholars of comparative religion claim that the celebrity cult around Elvis is rapidly evolving into something like a new religion, but Reece (who is himself a scholar specializing in new religious movements) begs to disagree. After visiting Graceland, Las Vegas and other Elvis-related places, interviewing impersonators and analyzed everything from the novel "Orion" to the movie "True Romance", the author reaches the conclusion that while Elvis afecionados might be a bit "out there", their actions don't resemble religious rituals, nor do they see themselves as acting out a new religion. There are some exceptions, especially on the web, where Reece has found a number of Elvis-worshipping "religions", but most of them seem to be jokes! Indeed, irony seems to be a big part of the Elvis fandom phenomenon, and it's not always easy to see the difference between real admiration and said irony. But then, there is no necessary contradiction either. I mean, why should there be?

Sometimes, the Elvis phenomenon is intriguing. For instance, the singer Orion (Jimmy Ellis) was named after a fiction character which resembles Elvis Presley. Orion himself attempted to mimic Elvis after the pop icon's death, and some fans actually believed that Orion *was* Elvis. Even stranger, the author of the original novel about the fictitious Orion, Gail Brewer-Giorgio, believes that the King is still alive, and that her book was stopped by the publisher because she came too close to the truth...

Still, "Elvis Religion" feels like something of a let-down. I had expected Presleyans to be crazier than this! But perhaps it's good to get a reality check from time to time? However, I admit that I prefer Raymond Moody's "Elvis after life", which actually is about people who reported supernatural occurances related to Elvis Presley.