A dual portrait of the relationship between the Elvis Presley and his legendary manager—drawing on a wealth of the Colonel's never-before-seen correspondence to reveal that this oft-reviled figure was in fact a confidant, friend, and architect of his client's success.
Engaging ... Outlandish, tension-filled and brimming with a mystery that lingers long after the last page has been turned ... Guralnick had access to Parker’s vast archives; if he came up with evidence that his subject was more venal or unscrupulous than anyone else in the business, he isn’t telling.
Mammoth ... Comprehensive ... The book isn’t hagiography, because Guralnick does so much research and reporting for every book that he’s incapable of writing a one-sided account of any subject. That said, The Colonel and the King often reads like a Parker apologia, or at least a concentrated effort to set some records straight ... One can admire Guralnick’s thoroughness and sense of mission while also wishing for tighter results. I found the arc of Parker’s story quite intriguing, even as I got a little tired of it.
The focus in the new book is on Parker’s side of the relationship, a story that has rarely been told. And when it has been, the tellers have tended to cast Parker as the villain in Presley’s story — a Machiavellian figure always pushing Elvis further from his gifts. The Colonel and The King is a tirelessly researched counterargument.
