9781845131289 / 1845131282

A monumental oral biography filled with raucous joy, aching loss and terrible poignancy, Elvis & the Memphis Mafia is the first book to capture the King  the man and the phenomenon  in his full complexity. Through revealing interviews with three of Elviss closest friends, who were also his protectors and rescuers, Nash achieves the first true mapping of Elviss psyche.

Billy Smith  Elviss first cousin and the person he reputedly loved most after his own mother  Marty Lacker  best man at his wedding and foreman of the Memphis Mafia, the Kings handpicked group of gatekeepers and confidants  and Lamar Fike  the touring crew member who accompanied him into the Army  were with Elvis from his teens to his final days and provide unique access to the greatest of all rock and roll legends. The revelations cut through every aspect of Elviss life, from the childhood seeds of his drug dependency, through his fear for his mothers life and his plan to change his identity, to his bizarre self-mutilation. No one who reads this symphonic blending of three proud, ribald, sad and ultimately wistful voices can fail to be profoundly moved.