Two faces of Elvis
Elvis. By Albert Goldman. Penguin, 1983. 720 pp. Illustrations, index. $7.95. To those who enjoy the music of Elvis Presley, nothing among the millions of words written about the singer’s life can really destroy the pleasure. Elvis dead has a double personality: he is remembered as the unquestioned king of the early years of rock music, and as the sad, fat, drugged caricature of the later years. This long biography deals with “the fabulous legend and the tragic truth” of Presley. It is brilliantly written and displays both parts of the Elvis legend. On the later years it is sad and sombre. Presley, saturated by drugs, was appointed a special agent of the Bureau of Narcotics by President Nixon. Thanks to his access to drugs on prescription, Presley never saw himself as an addict and, in fact, dreamed up elaborate, ineffectual schemes to assassinate drug dealers. Goldman tells a very good story about the boy from a shack in northern Mississippi. — Literary Editor.
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Press, 2 July 1983, Page 18
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167Two faces of Elvis Press, 2 July 1983, Page 18
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