Elvis Presley biography becomes bestseller after “Elvis” movie

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Alanna Nash’s 2010 biography of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley has become a #1 bestseller on Amazon following Baz Luhrmann’s new “Elvis” biopic which premiered this past weekend.

While Luhrmann claims his film isn’t based on the acclaimed music journalist’s 2010 book, he used research from Colonel Presley’s biography, considered one of the most authoritative accounts of Presley’s relationship with his infamous manager.

Unlike most books about The King, The Colonel explores how Elvis became such a phenomenon, not through the artist himself, but through the life of Thomas Andrew Parker, a mysterious figure known for being one of the most controlling to be the manager of music history. Parker joined Presley in 1955 and is considered one of the key architects in Presley’s career.

Nash began her reporting after attending Presley’s funeral in 1977. She was one of the few journalists who had the opportunity to see Elvis’ remains, but it was the sight of The Colonel, who was dressed in a Hawaiian t-shirt and baseball cap at the funeral. that piqued her interest.

In her 448-page tome, Nash reveals never-before-seen documents that unearth Parker’s greatest secrets, many of which explain the strange choices he made throughout Presley’s career. Why didn’t he ever allow Elvis to perform in Europe? Why didn’t he help him through his drug and drug abuse? What about all those mediocre movies? Through masterful reporting, Nash uncovers army records, psychiatric records, and even an original police report on an unsolved murder, all designed to provide a deeper understanding. Read the author’s breakdown of what was fact and what was fiction in the new “Elvis” movie in this updated article diversity Interview.

The newfound interest in the Colonel makes sense. Luhrmann’s box office-slumping last weekend follows Austin Butler’s Elvis, who becomes a busy showhorse for the Colonel, played by Tom Hanks.

Writing about how the relationship is portrayed in the film, diversity Film critic Owen Gleiberman writes, “No matter how much he sees through the Colonel’s machinations, he can’t bring himself to leave him. Yet he spends the rest of his life rebelling against him.”

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“The Colonel” by Alanna Nash

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