Product Description

A profile of Elvis by his army companion, road manager, and personal confidante describes their whirlwind years of concerts, parties, women, and Hollywood, addressing previously unanswered questions about Presley's personal life and death. Reprint.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #953910 in Books
• Published on: 1996-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Esposito, who was Elvis's road manager, tells of his nearly 20 years of friendship with the King.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Even during his 1958-60 army stint, E (as close friends called Elvis) surrounded himself with a group of loyal male friends who were also his assistants. Esposito was quickly assimilated into this group of merry men, who soon became known as the Memphis Mafia. The name came about because Esposito was an Italian from Chicago, and Elvis was intrigued by the idea that he might be involved in organized crime (although he was not). After Elvis completed his tour of duty, Esposito served as his personal manager for almost 20 years, looking after every wide-ranging detail of his personal life. He made sure that Elvis was where he needed to be and that he was fed and comforted; Esposito was partly responsible for placing a constant stream of beautiful women at Elvis's disposal. In a crowded field, Esposito's book offers a unique view of Elvis's life and thus belongs in public libraries that can afford another Elvis biography.
Regina Beach, Mississippi State Univ. Lib., Mississippi State
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In 1958, Esposito, an Italian kid from Chicago, met Elvis Presley, then in the army near Bad Nauheim, Germany. He struck up a friendship that lasted until he helped remove Elvis' body from the bathroom off the master bedroom at Graceland. Elvis' road manager and right-hand man (Elvis named his entourage the Memphis Mafia in honor of Esposito's heritage), Esposito exhibits real love and respect for the King as he tries to set the record straight rather than exploit the Elvis bio market. He makes few revelations (well, maybe the only movie appearance of "Little Elvis" is one: while shooting a dance scene in Girls! Girls! Girls!, Elvis became aroused; nobody noticed, and the scene ended up in the final cut). Esposito doesn't flinch, though, when recording Elvis' drug addictions, and he defends Dr. Nick, who prescribed massive quantities of drugs for Elvis. He catalogs Elvis' numerous girlfriends (Elvis was afraid to sleep alone, he writes, because of a chronic sleepwalking condition) but represents Elvis' sex life as only a bit peculiar. Ultimately, Esposito adds little to Elvis studies (so to speak). Still, his account will be essential reading for avid fans. Benjamin Segedin

Customer Reviews

Shockingly candid
I have not read that many books about Elvis Presley, but I do consider myself an Elvis fan. Joe Esposito is more candid about Elvis' affairs with women than I had expected of him. You do realize that Elvis was flawed, but only because he was human. There were parts of the book that were almost shocking. Joe even talks briefly about some of Elvis' sexual practices. He picks up, in detail, about the very night he met Elvis and travels on to the day Elvis died, which is also in detail. Joe talks about the funeral arrangements and how he was in on the cover-up about the drugs. Among all the hundreds of books about Elvis, this one is worth the read. You just cannot dismiss Joe Esposito. He was really and truly as close to Elvis as anyone ever was. Joe has probably more first hand knowledge of Elvis than anyone.

It is very interesting to a casual Elvis fan such as me, but l would not recommend it to the die-hard fan.

I agree with another reviewer who spoke of Joe rationalizing the Colonel's treatment of Elvis. I strongly suspect that the Colonel and Joe treated Elvis about the same. They used him to get what they could out of him. Maybe I'm wrong, but the fact is Joe Esposito gained a lot from knowing Elvis and I doubt very seriously he ever would have done or said something that would put him out of favor with Elvis. Elvis was as much Joe's livelihood and he was the Colonel's. Joe does give a story about him and Elvis splitting up at one point, but in the last years Joe did not seem to do anything to help Elvis.

I want to comment on another reviewer's statements concerning Joe's exposure of J. D. Sumner and The Stamps' womanizing. I too love gospel quartets and I was a big J.D. fan, but I am not naïve. Singing, regardless of what genre it is, requires a lot of time on the road and that can easily lead to affairs especially when you happened to tour with Elvis Presley and all the "leftovers" to be had. I even saw J.D. two or three times during the late `80's and early `90's. I just want to say that I for one understand real life is ugly and no one is ever what they appear to be, particularly entertainers even the gospel ones. As far as Joe asking J.D. beforehand whether it was okay for Joe to expose J.D.'s affairs, I doubt too that he asked, but what do you think J.D. would have said, sure go ahead? I appreciated Joe's honesty. He gave plenty of evidence damning himself, but also provided a true picture of life with Elvis. For the record so to speak, J.D. never had a widow. His wife died a few years before him. As a matter of fact I think she died in 1992 or 1994, the year the book came out. J.D. died in November 1998. So although J.D. may have been aware of the book's existence, his wife probably never saw it. But with so many Elvis books out there, I am sure quite a few have mentioned J.D. and some were probably not kind in their remarks.

Warm and honest portrayal of a celebrity friend
I appreciate Mr. Esposito's warm and honest portayal of Elvis Presley as a complex, imperfect, yet sincere human being as well as a great performer. I especially appreciated his clarification of Elvis' relationship with blacks, and relieved to hear accounts from Myra, one of the members of the Sweet Inspirations (the black female group that did background with Elvis from the late 60s until his death) that Elvis was not a racist and treated blacks with respect, courtesy and admiration. (in fact, he appreciated black music as a child sneaking to black churches to hear the singing). The only thing that bothered me was his account of the late J.D. Sumner and the Stamps running around chasing women the same as Elvis did. Even if it were true, this must be very painful for his widow and children to hear, and I think Esposito should have at least spoken to J.D. before he published something of this nature about him (I believe that J.D. passed away after the book was published). I'm sure if Elvis (who deeply respected gospel music) were alive, he would be appalled. Other than that, the book was very good.

Bad Writin' Tonight
Joe's book Good Rockin' Tonight is one of the most inaccurate books ever written on Elvis Presley. Though he has a few interesting personal stories to share, it's amazing how many things he got wrong when it came to Elvis' career. Most of the Memphis Mafia laughs at how bad Joe's memory is on alot of the personal stories too. Some much better books to get are: Elvis Aaron Presley - "Revelations Of The Memphis Mafia" or Marty Lacker's "Elvis - Portrait Of A Friend" ...