Elvis: Word for Word by Jerry Osborne
© Michelle Troutman
November 2000
ISBN #: 0-609-60803-7
$29.95, hardcover
340 pages, illustrations (revised edition)
In Elvis: Word for Word, the King of Rock 'n Roll doesn't reflect about the TV screens he shot or his love of fried banana sandwiches. During interviews he often fielded questions on his favorite singers and songs he recorded (Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra; I Was the One, Don't, Don't Be Cruel), how many cars he owned when he became famous (four), and how much he weighed then (180 pounds).
In place of the biography Elvis never wrote, the book is a collection of his own words transcribed from interviews, TV show appearances, audio recordings, concerts, and letters only from verifiable sources.
The transcriptions are in chronological order, from a brief interview during his first radio show performance on October 16, 1954 to his personal correspondence over his final days in August 1977. Above each transcription, headings list the location, the date, the interviewer's names (if any) and the source. Black and white photos, many taken around the time of the transcriptions, appear throughout the pages. Photocopies of some of the letters and telegrams are near their transcribed text.
The first third of the book is mainly comprised of Elvis's radio interviews in 1956, the year of his stardom. He had a mostly teenage following, so many questions weren't substantial, and neither were Elvis's answers. It's not the type of book to read at one sitting; it's best in small doses because the questions and answers are often the same, centering on his next album, his gold records, how he started singing, his cars, and his then important sideburns. My favorite odd interview question, asked by a teenage girl: "Are you a dope fiend?"
Elvis also denied many rumors, such as his purported engagement to girlfriend June Juanico, stories about him shooting his mother, and a "fight" with Pat Boone.
Nitpickers will love spotting the changes in his answers over time. Some of his recollections were inconsistent; for instance, he mentioned different ages when he first sang publicly at a local fair (seven or eight, ten or eleven, eleven).
One of his best early interviews was for TV Guide, a lengthier one than usual in which he further explained his disagreements with his critics. Another great piece is a long letter to his fans in the special Elvis Answers Back Magazine, an attempt to show them his appreciation and commiserate with them over adults' criticism of his music and his pelvic gyrations. His interviews for his last concert movie Elvis on Tour (1972) also provide good insight into his personal philosophies.
Among the transcriptions of public record are private correspondence, telegrams and love letters he sent to
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