Elvis: Truth, Myth & Beyond

ELVIS:  TRUTH, MYTH & BEYOND is a book of intimate recollections from a 23-year friendship that attempts to answer a single question:  what was it like to be Elvis Presley?

Memphis Mafia charter member Lamar Fike’s connection with Elvis dated from early 1954 (just before Elvis’ first history-making Sun records) until the day Elvis died in 1977. Lamar was there for the entire ride:  Hollywood, the Army, Las Vegas and everything in-between.

Yet until ELVIS:  TRUTH, MYTH & BEYOND, Lamar never had the chance to tell the full story — one-on-one — of his remarkable friendship with the world’s greatest music star.

ELVIS:  TRUTH, MYTH & BEYOND contains 41,000 words about Elvis spoken by a man who knew Elvis before and after he became an icon, a commodity, a legend.

400 questions about Elvis, and as much truth about The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll as you’re ready to handle.

Are you ready?

NEARLY 40 YEARS after his death, Elvis Presley remains one of the most intriguing human beings of the last century.

Millions of people still want to know intimate details of Elvis’ life:  What did he think about his music? What did he really do behind the gates of Graceland? What were his final thoughts the day he died?

We have the answers here.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN from these 400 questions about Elvis answered by Lamar Fike?

First, that it took guts to be Elvis.

As bizarre as today’s Elvis impersonators might appear to current audiences, imagine the mental pressure cooker the Real Elvis endured as he underwent the sometimes rapturous, sometimes strained metamorphosis of an average face-in-the-crowd Memphis teenager into The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Number Two, that being Elvis required the dedicated help and support of a close circle of friends and family who believed in him. As a performer. As a person.

Lamar Fike was one of those friends.

Sit down here a while, and he’ll tell you about the Elvis Presley you thought you already knew. At the peak of his popularity. At the depth of his despair.

You’ll also learn about that little bit of Elvis we carry around inside, each and every one of us.

Elvis may have left the building, but his voice is still in our soul.

More info at www.silverspearpublications.com

L.E. McCULLOUGH has worked as a journalist, musicologist, script and stage writer with 52 books published in fiction, non-fiction, drama, essay and audiobook fields. He has published hundreds of articles on music and the music industry in Billboard, Vista, Living Blues, Singout, Texas Highways, Goldmine, La Prensa, New Groves Dictionary of Music in the U.S. and served as music columnist for Austin American-Statesman, Austin Chronicle, 901 Magazine and Music Row. His stage play on legendary blues pianist Leroy Carr, Blues for Miss Buttercup, debuted in New York City in June, 1995, and won the Urban Stages Emerging Playwrights Award. Dr. McCullough holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. www.lemccullough.com

HAROLD F. EGGERS, JR. of Austin, Texas, is a music industry executive of 40 years’ experience who first met Lamar Fike when he and Mr. Fike were working with legendary singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Mr. Eggers worked with Van Zandt for 20 years, co-owning and co-producing eight Townes Van Zandt albums including the Nashville Nammy-nominated Road Songs album that featured a track used in the Coen Brothers’ film The Big Lebowski. Mr. Eggers also managed Whitey Shafer, a prolific singer/songwriter who wrote numerous chart hits for George Jones, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Kenny Chesney and other country stars. Co-owner of Donovan/Eggers Music Publishing & Recordings, Mr. Eggers was the literary manager of record for bringing to publication Susie Nelson’s Heartworn Memories: A Daughter's Personal Biography of Willie Nelson (Simon & Schuster), Stevie Ray: Soul to Soul by Keri Leigh (Taylor) and The Nashville Family Album by Alan Mayor (St. Martin’s). www.townesvanzandt20yearshfe.com