RAISED ON ROCK. Growing Up at Graceland.

David E. Stamley with Mark Bego.

ISBN 10: 1851588523 / ISBN 13: 9781851588527

Published by Mainstream Publishing, London, 1996

About this Item

A firm straight unmarked book and dust jacket, just out of long-term storage, almost as good as new. Spotless inside and out.

Seller Inventory # 041290

Bibliographic Details

• Title: RAISED ON ROCK. Growing Up at Graceland.
• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing, London
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1851588523
• ISBN 13: 9781851588527
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine in Mylar Sleeve

About this title

Synopsis

A step-brother's revealing memoirs of life with Elvis: from his childhood at Graceland and his later career as the singer's personal bodyguard to his immersion in Elvis' spiraling world of sex, drugs, and deception. Featuring 35 photos. David Stanley was four years-old when his mother married Elvis Presley's widowed father. Suddenly, life changed forever. The King of Rock and Roll had become his big brother, and for the next 17 years Elvis Presley was his family, his friend, and later his employer. David Stanley was part of the Presley phenomenon from the first moments of glory to the tragic end. Raised on Rock is his account of growing up--at Graceland, on the back lots of movie sets, and in recording studios--as well as his tumultuous career as Elvis' personal bodyguard. He also recounts the bizarre, circus-like atmosphere surrounding Elvis and the sex, drugs, and manipulation that fueled it. Raised on Rock is a unique portrait of life with a legend. It is also the story of David Stanley's struggle to come to terms with his brother's legacy of addiction and deception. 192 pp 6 x 9 35 b/w photos

Reviews

Stanley is the kind of Elvis person who holds that the King was a good, even beatific soul who was corrupted by a sleazy pop-music-godless-entertainment junta of sycophants, admirers, and money changers. Despite the occasional high-energy moral pronouncement, he offers an illuminating, beyond entertaining insider's perspective on the later kingdom (Stanley was among those who discovered the royal corpse in final repose on the throne). Thanks probably to Bego, the writing is crisp and well organized, and the little details explored are remarkably interesting, especially for those who find all things Elvoid interesting. For instance, "Elvis was fascinated with the SLA thing" in the 1970s, fearing for Lisa Marie's safety. (The Symbionese Liberation Army? You mean Elvis was paranoid?) Authoritative material on the King is always a pleasure, and on the irresistibility scale, this provider of it scores well into pop-cultural paradise territory. An excellent (maybe superior) companion to early girlfriend June Juanico's Elvis and another vital component of the cultural hologram of Elvis. Mike Tribby