Product Description

When a friend of 17-year-old June Juanico invited her to a concert, she almost didn't go. The featured singer was Elvis Presley. And when his eye caught hers, they both got all shook up. So began a summer idyll of romance and fun in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1951. This memoir of an American icon is bathed in the light of remembered love. 23 previously unpublished photos of Elvis.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #782862 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
In 1956, when the King was still the crown prince, he was dating a virginal teenage girl from Biloxi, Mississippi. This is their story, touching, tender and romantic, as the girl remained innocent and Elvis grew up fast on the road and in Hollywood. And like many romances, it had a sad ending. Told here for the first time, it is not only the story of a love affair, but of a brief time in America's history just before the dream was tainted forever. (Kirkus UK)

Juanico, the King's purported first love, offers a portrait of the young Presley that is intriguing, even touching, yet finally unbelievable. Juanico recalls her relationship with Elvis, from 1955 to '57, with bittersweet humor and good nature. She offers further detail on his fascination with fast cars, describes her tour of Florida with him, and includes her recollections of his infamous first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. All of this is told with an eye toward detail, apparently derived from Juanico's habit of keeping journals. However, certain aspects of her tale don't jibe with those of other biographers (one of whom, Peter Guralnick, offers an introduction to this volume). For instance, in three separate incidents Juanico seems to suggest that Elvis was deeply aware of (and uncomfortable about) the nature of life for blacks in the Jim Crow South. The incidents include a bowling match in Memphis against a black team from Detroit, where Juanico states that she was "determined to show the Northern team what true Southern hospitality was all about." What's strange about these references to racial turmoil is not only that they seem completely out of context, but that most other books on Presley have noted his casual use of the "n-word." Juanico either conveniently forgets this or just plain omits it in her account, in the interest of a more desirable portrait. In fact, Presley is depicted as downright prudish in many situations, despite all the indications that he was at heart a wild-eyed southern boy. Finally, after tolerating countless implications of affairs - not the least of which concerned the young Natalie Wood - Juanico abruptly broke off her unconsummated relationship with Elvis, having come to realize that his life left little room for a wife and family. Elvis is undoubtedly a must-read for die-hard devotees of the King, but it doesn't rival previous portraits of the man in depth or originality. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Great Book! Highly Recommend!
I really enjoyed this book a lot! Out of all of Elvis' girlfriends June seems the most "real" of all of them! I have seen her on TV and she seems like a great woman! The times she shared with Elvis are so innocent and he treated her with such respect. It was the Elvis before he was touched by Col. Parker, Hollywood and Vegas. He was a semi-regular guy, Elvis, his mammas son. I was actually suprised how liberal Gladys was with June going into his bedroom in her home. She must have trusted her son a lot and June was a nice girl too. Gladys also seem to have loved June like a daughter. It is too bad his friends and fame had to come between them. I know Elvis had great works ahead of him, despite that it would have been nice if he could have had a real life like a normal person. He had such a good heart and tried so hard to treat others well. June has a wonderful book and I highly recommend this! You will not be unhappy, but more of an Elvis fan than ever!

Summer Elvis-Loving At It's Best!
June Juanico's book is the stuff that summer reading dreams are made of! This book looks back to the happy, simple life of a young Elvis Presley in love--before his hectic life of drugs and fame would send him spinning out of control. This page-turner will make you melt as June describes her passionate tales of love with Elvis, and readers will find themselves falling in love with the often funny, always tender young man. One wonders if June would have stuck around if Elvis would still be alive today. She seems to have had just enough spunk and life to have been able to keep him grounded, and it is clear that she still loves him very much today.

a refreshingly new insight looking back at a golden time.
A refreshing, affectionate, funny and ultimately sad look back at what in Elvis' own words were 'the best years of my life'. June takes us on a golden trip down memory lane to a place that we all sometimes like to visit which is what gives the book such a hold...we can all relate to it on some level. Coupled with that June gives a new humanity to a man who has been picked at and slandered from almost every angle over the years. We see them on a day to day level facing the almost impossible rollercoaster ride that was everyday life for Elvis. June conveys so well the enormous pressures that Elvis must have been under for so long without being at all judgemental. The story ends too suddenly with no insight into the feelings that were and must still be left behind. June mentions briefly her sorrow at hearing 'Unchained Melody' being played on the radio the night he died, a song he had sung specially for her 20 years previously and one that she had been waiting for to appear on a record for all those years between. You are left with the feeling that maybe June Juanico, had she stuck around, might have been one person who cared enough and had enough clout to have made a differnce to a man who was so talented and yet lived such a lonely life with no one to really guide him through the turmoil that was his every day existence until the day he died.

An excellent book. A very valuable addition to what must be by now an enormous library of books on the King.

Glasgow, March '99