Elvis and the Memphis Mafia

Elvis & the Memphis Mafia is a monumental oral biography, brimming with boisterous joy, profound loss, and terrible poignancy. It stands as the first book to capture the King – both the man and the phenomenon – in his full complexity. Through revealing interviews with three of Elvis's closest friends, who also served as his protectors and rescuers, Nash achieves the first genuine mapping of Elvis's psyche.

Billy Smith, Elvis's first cousin and reportedly the person he loved most after his own mother; Marty Lacker, best man at his wedding and foreman of the 'Memphis Mafia', the King's handpicked group of gatekeepers and confidants; and Lamar Fike, the touring crew member who accompanied him into the Army, were all with Elvis from his teenage years to his final days. They provide unparalleled insight into the greatest of all rock and roll legends. The revelations span every aspect of Elvis's life, from the childhood origins of his drug dependency and his fear for his mother's life, to his plan to change his identity and his bizarre self-mutilation. No one who reads this symphonic blend of three proud, ribald, sad, and ultimately wistful voices can fail to be profoundly moved.