The International Conference on Elvis Presley, convened at the University of Mississippi in August, transformed a rock and roll icon into a scholarly phenomenon. Educators, artists, and Elvis aficionados from across the world? plus over one hundred internationally based reporters? collected on Oxford, Mississippi, soil to analyze and celebrate Elvis' impact on the world stage. From this conference, which became front page New York Times Magazine news, springs this book, the best and brightest essays and artwork swirling around the cultural, social, political, and iconographic figure of Elvis Presley. Discussed within are such topics as Elvis as Southerner, Elvis as sign system, Elvis' multicultural audiences, Elvis and rockabilly, Elvis as redneck, the Elvis oeuvre, and Elvis' religious roots. Taken together, In Search of Elvis represents a daring and groundbreaking academic analysis. Richly illustrated with original Elvis-inspired artwork, this book captures the subterranean essence of one of the most phenomenal artists to have ever lived.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction -- Music -- Country Elvis -- Rethinking Elvis and the Rockabilly Moment -- From Denmark to RCA -- Elvis as Anthology -- Race -- Elvis as Southerner -- Elvis Presley as Redneck -- Elvis's Man Friday -- A Revolutionary Sexual Persona -- Art -- "It Ain't No Hound Dog, Maybe, But I Believe It's Some Kinda Critter Anyway" -- In Search of Elvis -- Everything Elvis -- Why I'm the World's Number One Elvis Fan -- Generation E -- In Search of the Young Elvis -- Religion -- Dead Elvis as Other Jesus -- Sermon on Alvis -- Epilogue -- When Elvis Died
