Return Of The King Elvis Presley's Great Comeback (Genuine Jawbone Books) [Paperback]

Gillian G. Gaar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2010 | Series: Genuine Jawbone Books

On January 1 1967 a contract between Colonel Tom Parker and his sole client Elvis Presley gave Parker a 50 percent cut of profits that Presley generated. It was a shameless grab for a bigger piece of a pie that had actually been shrinking for some time. Though Parker's plan to reestablish Presley as a star after he left the army proved successful at first (with the triumph of films like ÊG.I. BluesÊ and ÊBlue HawaiiÊ) by 1967 Presley's singles struggled to break the top 20 and he hadn't hit number one for six years. Amazingly by the end of 1968 he was artistically revitalized reemerging in a TV comeback special and slimmed down for the now-iconic black leather suit. It was the pivotal moment of the second great period of Presley's career which lasted through to the end of 1970 during which he recorded some of his most enduring records including Suspicious Minds and In the Ghetto. ÊReturn of the KingÊ document's Presley reclamation of his crown making an extraordinary transition from fading balladeer to engaged vital artist.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Return Of The King tells the story of a tumultuous period in the life
of Elvis Presley. By 1967, The King Of Rock’n’Roll was all but washed-
up, thanks to a string of bland movie roles and lackluster records.
But within a year he had roused himself, loosened the creative
shackles imposed by his grasping manager, ‘Colonel’ Tom Parker, and
reconnected with the rock audience through a riveting TV special.
There followed a glorious but all too brief artistic flowering, in
which he made some of his most enduring records, including
‘Suspicious Minds’ and ‘In The Ghetto.’ This meticulously researched
and elegantly written book, based on a string of new interviews with
colleagues, friends, fans, and observers of The King, sheds new light
on the events of Elvis’s great comeback.

About the Author

Gillian G. Gaar is the author of several books about music, including She's A Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll, Green Day: Rebels With A Cause and The Rough Guide To Nirvana. She has also written for Mojo, Rolling Stone, Record Collector, Goldmine, and the Experience Music Project museum, among others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jawbone Press (May 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906002282
• ISBN-13: 978-1906002282
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gillian G. Gaar is a Seattle-based author. Her first book, She's A Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll was published in 1992. In addition to her own books, she has appeared in various anthologies, including The Nirvana Companion, Trouble Girls: The Rolling Stone Guide to Women in Rock, Goldmine: The Beatles : Two Decades of Commentary. Digest (volumes one and two), Best of the Beatles Book, The Stranger Guide To Seattle, Music: The Little Black Book, 33 1/3 Greatest Hits Vol 2, A Survey of American Culture, and various editions of The Scribner Encylopedia of American Lives. She was editorial assistant for Krist Novoselic's book From Grunge To Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy! She has also written liner notes for collections by Laurie Anderson, Judy Collins, Heart, Pat Benatar, Paula Cole and Mat Kearney, among others. She was also a project consultant/liner note writer for Nirvana's box set "With The Lights Out." She has written for numerous magazines, including Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, Goldmine, The Seattle Times, The Stranger, Option, and No Depression, and was a senior editor at Seattle music paper The Rocket.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return of the King, July 21, 2010

By 

Mav'rik - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return Of The King Elvis Presley's Great Comeback (Genuine Jawbone Books) (Paperback)

A very interesting perspective of this pivotal point of Elvis' career. Very well rounded selection of interviews that bring a more intimate look at a story that's been well documented. I do have a few issues with this book. The Jerry Reed portion isn't quite accurate, although Elvis wasn't aware, they leaned on Jerry much harder than the book leads you to believe. Maybe a small point, but it's one of many things that I disliked about some of the people around him. There are a few people that all Elvis writers should be warned to stay away from at all costs. If your last name ends in Stanley or West you have no credibility, too many years of lies for anyone to start believing you now, to the author's credit, there's just the one quote. I was really hoping that the book would end around '71, unfortunately it didn't. Like the vast majority of books about Elvis, once you get past the Aloha from Hawaii portion, it gets convoluted and wildly inaccurate. This book follows that pattern. Listen to Jerry Schilling, Dr. Nick, to a degree Joe E when he speaks in less generalities. The last years of his life were filled with painful physical ailments, depression, fad diets, overwork, reliance on prescriptions (as a means of function), and loneliness, unless he was on a stage, and even then, there were times when that wasn't enough. It's not fair to bundle all that as due to an addiction and then trudge on to some other self-destructive point with no understanding or perspective of reference. Everything up to the American and Stax sessions was well thought out from a fresh perspective, detail oriented and a great read, from chapter 6 on, it's well, it's the exact opposite.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elvis' Last Stand, August 10, 2010

By 

Jym Cherry "Writing Under The Influence of Ro... (Wheaton, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Return Of The King Elvis Presley's Great Comeback (Genuine Jawbone Books) (Paperback)

By 1968 Elvis Presley was the King of Rock `n' Roll, and a has been. Rock music had moved beyond and transcended him. He spent his post army years making movies and movie soundtracks of lessening quality with each passing one. Gillian Gaar's "Return of the King: Elvis Presley's Great Comeback" spotlights Presley's December 1968 "comeback special" that revitalized Elvis and his career for a brief few years until Elvis fell back into old habits and relied on management that increasingly took for granted Elvis' creative needs, and an entourage of yes men.

The comeback special featured Elvis in production numbers and in what could be designated the first "unplugged" performance, Elvis on a small stage with Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana surrounded by fans as he and the boys reminisced in between playing Elvis' songs live. The show also introduced new songs that would soon become Elvis classics such as "Guitar Man" and In The Ghetto." The special not only proved to the world that Elvis was a force to be reckoned with, it bolstered Elvis' self-confidence and proved to himself that he could still be a vital and creative force in music.

In the aftermath of the special, Elvis felt a creative resurgence that led to some of Elvis' most creative and productive recording sessions at the American Studios in Memphis. Another after effect of the comeback special was Elvis' return to live performance the first of which would be in the newly built International Hotel where an excited Elvis assembled a band and back-up singers who challenged and enhanced Elvis' performances. As Elvis' manager Col. Tom Parker smelled the money in the air, the live performances quickly became a new kind of trap for Elvis.

It's clear that one of Elvis' major problems was his obsessive reliance on Col. Tom Parker. Parker, a former carny huckster should have been a transitional figure in Elvis' life. However Elvis felt indebted to Parker, and Parker took advantage of Elvis treating him like a serf. When Parker found projects that at first engaged Elvis and offered a creative outlet, like the movies and later the Vegas live shows, Parker jumped on it and ran it into the ground booking Elvis for the same type of engagements regardless of quality or the toll it took on Elvis until all Elvis could do is joyless parodies of his former self.

The other detrimental factor for Elvis was his entourage. A group that treated Elvis with kid gloves and encouraged the worst aspects of Elvis' personality. Ironically, it was with producers that challenged Elvis and told him the truth who got the better performances out of him.

Gillian Gaar does an excellent job of documenting this aspect of Elvis' career. Gaar interviewed the members of the comeback special's production team, the musicians and producers who recorded with Elvis and the musicians and singers who played live with Elvis (rarely were the groups the same). There are endnotes for each chapter, there's a comprehensive listing of all of Elvis' live performances between 1968 and 1970, and a selected discography and bibliography.

I'm not one to recommend a publisher or their whole catalog but Jawbone Press is publishing high quality books in both content and the actual physical book. If you're a rock fan I would highly recommend other Jawbone Press books such as "Forever Changes: Arthur Lee and the Book of Love" and "Becoming Elektra: The True Story of Jac Holzman's Visionary Record Label" as well as checking their catalog for other books that may be of interest. I've made a space in my bookcase for Jawbone Press books.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important addition to Elvis' literature, July 15, 2010

By 

Caldutti66 (Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return Of The King Elvis Presley's Great Comeback (Genuine Jawbone Books) (Paperback)

I'm rarely moved to review on Amazon, however this book about the '68 Comeback Special and its aftermath has done so. I consider myself well versed on the King, however this book has taught me a thing or two to say the least. It covers the period preceding the Singer Special and the time up until his decline...Well written and informative.