Good Rockin' Tonight: Twenty Years on the Road and on the Town With Elvis [Paperback]

Joe Esposito (Author), Elena Oumano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

The book Elvis fans have long awaited--the intimate, honest recollections of Presley's closest confidant and road manager, who was with him through the best and worst of times, and knew him better than anyone. The book contains 16 pages of rare photos from the author's private collection.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Esposito, who was Elvis's road manager, tells of his nearly 20 years of friendship with the King.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Even during his 1958-60 army stint, E (as close friends called Elvis) surrounded himself with a group of loyal male friends who were also his assistants. Esposito was quickly assimilated into this group of merry men, who soon became known as the Memphis Mafia. The name came about because Esposito was an Italian from Chicago, and Elvis was intrigued by the idea that he might be involved in organized crime (although he was not). After Elvis completed his tour of duty, Esposito served as his personal manager for almost 20 years, looking after every wide-ranging detail of his personal life. He made sure that Elvis was where he needed to be and that he was fed and comforted; Esposito was partly responsible for placing a constant stream of beautiful women at Elvis's disposal. In a crowded field, Esposito's book offers a unique view of Elvis's life and thus belongs in public libraries that can afford another Elvis biography.
Regina Beach, Mississippi State Univ. Lib., Mississippi State
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm); Reprint edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380726947
• ISBN-13: 978-0380726943
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shockingly candid, August 2, 2004

By 

A. T. Lindsey "americandreamers1995" (Monroe, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Rockin' Tonight: Twenty Years on the Road and on the Town with Elvis (Hardcover)

I have not read that many books about Elvis Presley, but I do consider myself an Elvis fan. Joe Esposito is more candid about Elvis' affairs with women than I had expected of him. You do realize that Elvis was flawed, but only because he was human. There were parts of the book that were almost shocking. Joe even talks briefly about some of Elvis' sexual practices. He picks up, in detail, about the very night he met Elvis and travels on to the day Elvis died, which is also in detail. Joe talks about the funeral arrangements and how he was in on the cover-up about the drugs. Among all the hundreds of books about Elvis, this one is worth the read. You just cannot dismiss Joe Esposito. He was really and truly as close to Elvis as anyone ever was. Joe has probably more first hand knowledge of Elvis than anyone.

It is very interesting to a casual Elvis fan such as me, but l would not recommend it to the die-hard fan.

I agree with another reviewer who spoke of Joe rationalizing the Colonel's treatment of Elvis. I strongly suspect that the Colonel and Joe treated Elvis about the same. They used him to get what they could out of him. Maybe I'm wrong, but the fact is Joe Esposito gained a lot from knowing Elvis and I doubt very seriously he ever would have done or said something that would put him out of favor with Elvis. Elvis was as much Joe's livelihood and he was the Colonel's. Joe does give a story about him and Elvis splitting up at one point, but in the last years Joe did not seem to do anything to help Elvis.

I want to comment on another reviewer's statements concerning Joe's exposure of J. D. Sumner and The Stamps' womanizing. I too love gospel quartets and I was a big J.D. fan, but I am not naïve. Singing, regardless of what genre it is, requires a lot of time on the road and that can easily lead to affairs especially when you happened to tour with Elvis Presley and all the "leftovers" to be had. I even saw J.D. two or three times during the late `80's and early `90's. I just want to say that I for one understand real life is ugly and no one is ever what they appear to be, particularly entertainers even the gospel ones. As far as Joe asking J.D. beforehand whether it was okay for Joe to expose J.D.'s affairs, I doubt too that he asked, but what do you think J.D. would have said, sure go ahead? I appreciated Joe's honesty. He gave plenty of evidence damning himself, but also provided a true picture of life with Elvis. For the record so to speak, J.D. never had a widow. His wife died a few years before him. As a matter of fact I think she died in 1992 or 1994, the year the book came out. J.D. died in November 1998. So although J.D. may have been aware of the book's existence, his wife probably never saw it. But with so many Elvis books out there, I am sure quite a few have mentioned J.D. and some were probably not kind in their remarks.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warm and honest portrayal of a celebrity friend, August 18, 2002

By 

Marsena Cook (Birmingham, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Rockin' Tonight: Twenty Years on the Road and on the Town With Elvis (Paperback)

I appreciate Mr. Esposito's warm and honest portayal of Elvis Presley as a complex, imperfect, yet sincere human being as well as a great performer. I especially appreciated his clarification of Elvis' relationship with blacks, and relieved to hear accounts from Myra, one of the members of the Sweet Inspirations (the black female group that did background with Elvis from the late 60s until his death) that Elvis was not a racist and treated blacks with respect, courtesy and admiration. (in fact, he appreciated black music as a child sneaking to black churches to hear the singing). The only thing that bothered me was his account of the late J.D. Sumner and the Stamps running around chasing women the same as Elvis did. Even if it were true, this must be very painful for his widow and children to hear, and I think Esposito should have at least spoken to J.D. before he published something of this nature about him (I believe that J.D. passed away after the book was published). I'm sure if Elvis (who deeply respected gospel music) were alive, he would be appalled. Other than that, the book was very good.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad Writin' Tonight, June 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Rockin' Tonight: Twenty Years on the Road and on the Town with Elvis (Hardcover)

Joe's book Good Rockin' Tonight is one of the most inaccurate books ever written on Elvis Presley. Though he has a few interesting personal stories to share, it's amazing how many things he got wrong when it came to Elvis' career. Most of the Memphis Mafia laughs at how bad Joe's memory is on alot of the personal stories too. Some much better books to get are: Elvis Aaron Presley - "Revelations Of The Memphis Mafia" or Marty Lacker's "Elvis - Portrait Of A Friend" ...