Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Adam Victor on THE ELVIS ENCYCLOPEDIA

Adam Victor, author of The Elvis Encyclopedia, talks about the making of the most comprehensive work ever assembled on the life and times of Elvis Presley:

Q: What inspired you to tackle such a labor intensive research project on both of these figures, and what made the Elvis Encyclopedia in particular an even more Olympian task than the Marilyn project?
A: In 1996 I was approached to do the Marilyn Encyclopedia by Peter Mayer of Overlook, and was happy to say yes. If I had known how much work the project involved, I might not have taken on that book, but once I plunged into her exceptional life, I vowed to keep going until I produced an encyclopedia worthy of its subject. After Marilyn, I promised my wife that I would not do another icon encyclopedia. Initially, I declined my publisher’s suggestion to take on Elvis. In the end, I acquiesced because I figured that I already had a method, that my personal approach to putting together this kind of reference work had an appreciate audience, and that I knew how much work would be involved. Once again, to borrow a phrase, I mis-underestimated.
Q: Elvis is altogether a larger, more present figure than Marilyn – the only other comparable twentieth-century icon. The reason?
A: Well, in terms of compiling the Elvis Encyclopedia, apart from the general fact that music is a more pervasive presence in people’s everyday lives than movies, Elvis sang a thousand songs, gave thousands of concerts, starred in more movies than Marilyn, and has had an official body (the Elvis Presley Estate) looking after and developing his image and generally taking care of business for the last thirty years. If writing the Marilyn Encyclopedia was an Olympian task, the Elvis Encyclopedia was a Sisyphean one: a great many rocks needed to be rolled up the hill.

Q: While reviewers commented on your “insanely detailed” work and your lack of humor about Elvis, they all consistently admired the illustrations and photographs, the cross-referencing and your balanced reporting. What do you feel are the strengths of your encyclopedia?
A: I actually took the “lack of humor” comment as a compliment. I wrote an encyclopedia, not a joke book! In my final draft of the book, I actually weeded out the more flippant comments.
I’m gratified that reviewers found the book to be even-handed. Enough people have expressed their opinions on every possible facet of Elvis’s life and work; there was little need for me to add my two cents’ worth. This, I believe – along with its exhaustiveness… I prefer exhaustive or comprehensive to “insanely detailed” – is the strength of this book. Plus, it’s got heft. How many books out there weigh 6 pounds?

Q: What can even moderate fans or even a new generation that knows nothing about Elvis garner from an encyclopedia versus, say, the Life Magazine biography?
A: Once again, my hope – we’re dealing with authorial intention here, which does not always coincide with readers’ impressions – is that the Elvis Encyclopedia offers a kaleidoscopic view of the man, his life and his work. I made great efforts to include a balanced and varied selection of comments on Elvis’s life. Neophytes, and younger people still discovering the topography of modern music, may also appreciate entries on the background to Elvis’s life and times, broad-stroke entries on things as varied as “Rock ‘n’ Roll”, “Gospel”, “Memphis”, “Youth culture” etc., all of which have a bearing on or help to illuminate the subject of the book. There’s a lot of words in a 600 page encyclopedia, but in the end Elvis was about music—he was also about many other things, but really it was his unique voice, his compendium of music styles and trademark songs like “Hound Dog” that keep someone like myself returning to him as an artist, even as I must push aside the public kitschy archetypes of him to get to that original musician.

Q: What are your favorite Elvis songs and why? When did you first remember listening to Elvis? Do you still listen to Elvis? Indeed, did you ever listen to Elvis while working on the encyclopedia? Do you think Elvis will remain relevant for this next generation?
A: Yup, a nail-on-the-head statement if ever I’ve heard one. Elvis is, first and last, about music. A unique voice, a unique talent, a unique ability to touch people with his singing... I listened to Elvis constantly while I worked on the encyclopedia, and I continue to listen to him today. One of the greatest pleasures of doing this book was the opportunity to listen to songs I knew I loved, and to discover hundreds of Elvis tracks I had never heard. Then, when I’d gone through pretty much his whole vocal oeuvre, I started in on the outtakes, the alternates, the jam sessions – the things that fans treasure. I wish I had a favorite Elvis song or two in answer to this question, because it’s the one question I am always asked. I have Elvis periods that I listen to more frequently: his early years, of course; a great favourite of mine is the jam session at Sun Studio from December 1956, when he sang for hours with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and (though there is some controversy about this) Johnny Cash; I love the incredible urgency and power of Elvis in 1968 and 1969 – I find myself returning again and again to the material he recorded and rehearsed for his NBC TV Comeback Special, and the work he did at American Studio with Chips Moman for the albums he recorded immediately after that. The thing about Elvis is that because he effortlessly delivered such emotion and intensity in practically every song he performed or recorded, there are gems to be found even on his more forgettable albums. Unfortunately, I was too young ever to see him perform live; just watching DVDs of his performances shows what an incredible hold he had on an audience."

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