Elvis 1956 – Photographs of Alfred Wertheimer (Welcome Books)

1956. It was the year My Fair Lady opened on Broadway; the year Jackson Pollock and Tommy Dorsey died as Sugar Ray Leonard and Johnny Rotten were born; the year Norma Jean Mortenson became Marilyn Monroe and the year of the chart debut of a 21 year old singer named Elvis Presley.

Now, in honor of the 75th anniversary of Elvis’ birth (and the opening of a Smithsonian Exhibition celebrating the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’) comes ‘Elvis 1956: Photographs of Alfred Wertheimer.‘ Like the Beatlemania that was to arrive on these shores eight years later, the rise of Elvis Presley from unknown singer to generational icon, emerged in its near entirety all in one year. From the release of his ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ single to his eponymous gold debut album to his still controversial hip-shaking appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis took the American music market by storm. It is that ascension that is so intimately chronicled in these photographs by Wertheimer; a photographer who had never heard of Presley when he was first hired and yet whose career would by inextricably tied to the singer’s forever.

By being along for the ride, Wertheimer was able to capture what would be off limits in the years to come. Elvis in repose, Elvis preparing for an appearance or simply Elvis walking down the street as yet unrecognized are amongst the subjects of Wertheimer’s work. Hired by the singer’s new label (he had just switched from Sun Records to the larger RCA), the twenty-six year old photographer ‘tagged along’ to come up with hundreds of photographs that would become a part of history in their own right. Never again would anyone have the same degree of inside access once the icon climbed to superstar status.

The book is part of a traveling exhibit (‘Elvis at 21′) that will visit ten cities over three years, including the Grammy Museum in L.A. For those who can’t get to the exhibit, ‘Elvis 1956′ will serve as a reminder of a more innocent time in the life of a man who still looms larger than life to this day.

View images from ‘Elvis 1956′.

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