A diary, a King, and a young girl's heart. Love Beads from Elvis: The Diary of Kathy Tatum I wasn't looking for it, but I found it just the same. The red leather covering is well worn, and the locking clasp that once kept my secrets safe from the world is missing. There is duct tape on the binding, and the page edges have yellowed over time, but it is, after all, almost fifty years old. A well-worn Polaroid photo slips out... I remember vividly the night it was taken, oh, to be held in his strong arms. He was beautiful then-his skin tanned to a golden brown, his jet black hair neatly combed straight back, how it felt when he gently kissed the back of my neck and sang softly into my ear...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Elvis Presley’s fiancée and last love tells her story and sets the record straight in this deeply personal memoir that reveals what really happened in the final years of the King of Rock n' Roll. Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in Ginger Alden’s life; after all, she was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy. For more than three decades Ginger has held the truth of their relationship close to her heart. Now she shares her unique story… In her own words, Ginger details their whirlwind romance—from first kiss to his stunning proposal of marriage. And for the very first time, she talks about the devastating end of it all and the fifty thousand mourners and reporters who descended on Graceland in 1977, exposing Ginger to the reality of living in the spotlight of a short yet immortal life. Above it all, Ginger rescues Elvis from the hearsay, rumors, and tabloid speculations of his final year by shedding a frank yet personal light on a very public legend. From a unique and intimate perspective, she reveals the man—complicated, romantic, fallible, and human—behind the myth, a superstar worshipped by millions and loved by Ginger Alden. INCLUDES PHOTOS

The stories behind the luck, inspiration, and timing that brought hits like "Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," "In the Ghetto," and "A Little Less Conversation" to life are told in this look at some of the world's most popular hits. Fans will be given the inside story of how these and other of the best known rock songs were written, why they were recorded, and how they became hits. Along the way, they will meet and get to know the men and women who wrote songs for the "King," follow the route these songs took to Elvis, and understand how he reshaped the songs to fit his vision. The author spent countless hours interviewing songwriters, digging through dusty charts, and listening to demos in order to uncover the great stories he tells here. Each song in this book is a commentary on where the world was and what was making it tick, making these songs as much a glimpse into the life of America as into the life of Elvis.

A “sympathetic and exceptionally well-written account” (USA Today), Ray Connolly’s biography of the King soars with “spontaneity and electricity” (Preston Lauterbach). Elvis Presley is a giant figure in American popular culture, a man whose talent and fame were matched only by his later excesses and tragic end. A godlike entity in the history of rock and roll, this twentieth-century icon with a dazzling voice blended gospel and traditionally black rhythm and blues with country to create a completely new kind of music and new way of expressing male sexuality, which simply blew the doors off a staid and repressed 1950s America. In Being Elvis veteran rock journalist Ray Connolly takes a fresh look at the career of the world’s most loved singer, placing him, forty years after his death, not exhaustively in the garish neon lights of Las Vegas but back in his mid-twentieth-century, distinctly southern world. For new and seasoned fans alike, Connolly, who interviewed Elvis in 1969, re-creates a man who sprang from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi, to unprecedented overnight fame, eclipsing Frank Sinatra and then inspiring the Beatles along the way. Juxtaposing the music, the songs, and the incendiary live concerts with a personal life that would later careen wildly out of control, Connolly demonstrates that Elvis’s amphetamine use began as early as his touring days of hysteria in the late 1950s, and that the financial needs that drove him in the beginning would return to plague him at the very end. With a narrative informed by interviews over many years with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, B. B. King, Sam Phillips, and Roy Orbison, among many others, Connolly creates one of the most nuanced and mature portraits of this cultural phenomenon to date. What distinguishes Being Elvis beyond the narrative itself is Connolly’s more subtle examinations of white poverty, class aspirations, and the prison that is extreme fame. As we reach the end of this poignant account, Elvis’s death at forty-two takes on the hue of a profoundly American tragedy. The creator of an American sound that resonates today, Elvis remains frozen in time, an enduring American icon who could “seamlessly soar into a falsetto of pleading and yearning” and capture an inner emotion, perhaps of eternal yearning, to which all of us can still relate. Intimate and unsparing, Being Elvis explores the extravagance and irrationality inherent in the Elvis mythology, ultimately offering a thoughtful celebration of an immortal life.

The king of rock-and-roll's #1 hit song "Love Me Tender" is now an endearing picture book Adapted from the unforgettable classic song, Elvis Presley's Love MeTender is a heartwarming ode to the special bond between children and the adults who love and care for them--be they parents, grandparents, adoptive parents, aunts, uncles, or guardians. With its simple, timeless message, Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender is destined to join Guess How Much I Love You as a baby shower staple. And the sweet, inclusive illustrations make it a book every family will treasure "all through the years, 'till the end of time."

''ELVIS & Kathy - Together at the Houston Summit ''76'' (dedicated to Kathy Westmoreland) is an A5 format soft cover numbering 188 pages. "I believe in God. I believe in Him with all my heart. I believe all good things come from God. The way I feel, being religious means that you are grateful for all He has given, and want to work for Him. I owe everything that''s happened to me to Him. God is all ways there to pick you up if you should fail. A heart and song upon your lips for God loves you. But He loves you best when you sing." - Elvis A. Presley It''s really sad Elvis'' own loyal fans blindly accept the officially-sanctioned storyline that he was "loaded" onstage before 17,500 Texans in the summer of ''76. Another anecdote purports Elvis accidentally took too many sleeping pills prior to walking on stage for his 2:30 Houston Summit matinee and thus performed whilst groggy and half asleep. This biography proves nothing could be further from the truth! Kathy Discusses Lisa Marie Presley and ELVIS Darrin Lee [abbrev. DL]: "How much would it hurt or disappoint Elvis if Lisa Marie believed the accusations in the bodyguard book and elsewhere?"Kathy Westmoreland: "I don''t believe Elvis would survive. He couldn''t live. I think it would just kill him. From my heart, I''m telling you it would crush him more than anything anyone could possibly imagine." DL: "There couldn''t be anything worse happen to him than for his daughter to believe the drug accusations?"Kathy Westmoreland: "No. There could be nothing worse happen to him. I can''t think of anything. There''s nothing else that would hurt him more and Lisa was the only thing he worried about." DL: "Did he pretty much say, ''What''s my girl gonna think?'' " Kathy Westmoreland: "Yeah. ''What''s Lisa gonna think? What''s gonna happen to her? What''s she gonna believe?'' That was his big concern. He was just beside himself on realizing that she would be subjected to trying to figure all this out." DL: "In all the years that you knew Elvis, Kathy, was this the most hurt - the biggest heartbreak - that you observed?"Kathy Westmoreland: "It''s the biggest one. It''s the one." DL: "Do you recall Elvis asking, ''What if the public turns against me because of the bodyguard book?'' "Kathy Westmoreland: "I think he did say something to that effect, but he knew that he couldn''t please everybody and he would be the first to tell you that. He cared about Lisa. Knowing that she would believe it and be affected by it for the rest of her life - Elvis couldn''t have handled it. He''d have an instant heart attack." - From Kathy and Darrin''s photo chat - DL: "The picture of him flipping the middle finger is from Houston. A heckler screamed out: ''Elvis, you''re really fat!'' And the photographer, Mr. Manny Chavez, heard the heckle and started snapping. Elvis flipped the heckler off."Kathy Westmoreland: "Good." DL: "Because you''re liable to think, ''Darrin, what are you doing putting [out] a picture of Elvis with the middle finger?'' "Kathy Westmoreland: "Okay. That''s what the photo is about." DL: "He is saying, ''F'' you to some jerk."Kathy Westmoreland: "Good. I love it. He needed to do that more often." DL: "For all the people in the media and elsewhere that have called Elvis ''fat'', now you know what he thinks of you."Kathy Westmoreland (laughs): "That''s perfect!" DL: "Because since 1977, he has not been able to respond to these people who have ripped Elvis for his weight."Kathy Westmoreland: "Uh-huh." DL: "He''s never responded, Kathy."Kathy Westmoreland: "Huh-uh. ''Now, here is what he thinks of you.'' It''s perfect." DL: "That''s what the middle finger salute photo is about."Kathy Westmoreland: "Good. If I could have done it myself, I would have. I don''t remember hearing it (the heckle) in Houston." This project is published IN HONOR of Keith and Marsha Alverson - loyal fans of Elvis Aaron Presley.

A personal introspective by the influential pop songwriter and performer traces his Liverpool upbringing, artistic influences, creative pursuit of original punk sounds, and emergence in the MTV world.