Arguably rock and roll's most iconic figure, Elvis Presley's talent and fame were matched only by his later excesses and tragic end. Taking a fresh look at the career of the King, Ray Connolly traces his rise from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi, to unprecedented stardom, and examines how his amphetamine abuse enabled him to cope with his fame even as he descended into eccentricity. While drawing from a 1969 interview he conducted with Presley, Connolly also cites discussions with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Sam Phillips, and Roy Orbison.