Synopses & Reviews
Nearly thirty-three years after his death, Elvis Presley's extraordinary physical appeal, timeless music, and sexual charisma continue to captivate, titillate, and excite. Though hundreds of books have been written about the King, no book has solely explored his relationships with women and how they influenced his music and life—until now.
Based largely on exclusive interviews with the many women who knew him in various roles—lover, sweetheart, friend, costar, and family member—Baby, Let's Play House explores Presley's love affairs with, among others, Ann-Margret, Linda Thompson, Sheila Ryan Caan, June Juanico, Joyce Bova, Barbara Leigh, Cybill Shepherd, and Priscilla Beaulieu, as well as his friendships with actresses Raquel Welch, Barbara Eden, Mary Ann Mobley, Yvonne Craig, and Celeste Yarnall.
The book also spotlights important early girlfriends and the women who dared to turn him down, including Cher, Petula Clark, and Karen Carpenter, as well as two women—Kay Wheeler and Tura Satana—who taught him dance moves he used onstage.
Baby, Let's Play House, named after the 1955 song that was his first to hit the national charts and his mother's favorite Elvis recording, presents Elvis in a new light—as a charming but wounded Lothario who bedded scores of women but seemed unable to maintain a lasting romantic relationship. While fully exploring the most famous romantic idol of the twentieth century, award-winning veteran music journalist Alanna Nash pulls back the covers on what Elvis really wanted in a woman—and was tragically never able to find.
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“An exhaustive and penetrating work that functions as an intimate personal profile, a family study and a psychosexual investigation of one of the 20th centurys true cultural icons.” Memphis Commercial Appeal
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“Deliciously gossipy but never mean, revealingly intimate but never leering, Baby, Lets Play House is a masterwork of psycho-sexual history neatly disguised as celebrity journalism.” David Hajdu, author of Positively 4th Street, music critic for The New Republic, and professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism David Hajdu, author of Positively 4th Street, music critic for The New Republic, and professor at Co
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“New girls slip between [Elvis] satin sheets on nearly every page...Combine that with an absorbing snapshot section, and [Baby, Lets Play House] will leave you all shook up.” BettyConfidential.com
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“A major new contribution to Presley lore...[Alanna Nashs] focus on Presleys relationships with women takes us on a long and often fascinating journey...Its a welcome and well-crafted addition to our understanding of his strange, triumphant and tragic life.” The Globe and Mail
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“Alanna Nash meticulously documents and explores all the relationships Elvis had with women that were ‘extremely special, as Ann-Margret so delightfully (and euphemistically) phrases it. I was delighted to see my stepmother, June Carter, make an appearance, as she always became uncharacteristically silent when Elvis name came up in conversation. Nash belongs in the pantheon of great music writers, and this book is a fascinating study Rosanne Cash
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“Whats left to say about Elvis? Plenty, if Alanna Nash is on the case. She rips the satin sheets right off the King, resulting in the most entertaining Elvis book ever. Ann-Margret! Raquel Welch! Barbara Eden! Tura Satana! This is very funny book.” Jimmy McDonough, New York Times bestselling author of Shakey: Neil Young's Biography
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“If anything, Baby, Lets Play House heightens the heartbreaking aspects of Presleys life.” Los Angeles Times
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“In this astounding look at the Kings unstoppable pursuit of women from his elementary school days until his untimely death at 42, hundreds of girls and women pass through the revolving doors of Elvis love life.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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“The most comprehensive work ever on how the women in Presleys life…influenced him and his music.” New York Newsday
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“By far the best study of Elvis Presley I have read. ‘The King emerges more clearly from this mosaic of his troubled love life than from any linear biography to date.Impressively researched, written--and felt.” Philip Norman, New York Times bestselling author of John Lennon and Shout!
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“Alanna Nash…turns her eye toward The Kings other women in a psychological history ...Among those who loved him tender - Ann-Margret and Cybill Shepherd. Those who turned him down include Cher and Karen Carpenter. And of course, theres plenty on the No. 1 woman in his life - Mom Gladys Presley.” New York Post
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“A frank and fascinating portrait of an essentially lonely man...[told] with grace and intelligence...The work of a master.” Louisville Courier Journal
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“Un-put-downabble.” Jezebel.com
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“Alanna Nashs long look at Elvis bizarre history with women...collect[s] all the madness, badness and sadness of the Elvis myth in one exhaustive and embarrassingly tempting volume.” New York Times
Synopsis
[Alanna] Nash belongs in the pantheon of great music writers, and [
Baby, Lets Play House] is a fascinating study.” —Rosanne Cash
Just in time for Elvis Presleys would-be 75th birthday comes a new book by Elvis expert, journalist, and Country Music Association Media Achievement Award winner Alanna Nash. Called "by far the best study of Presley I have ever read. . . Impressively researched written—and felt" by New York Times bestselling author Philip Norman (author of John Lennon and Shout!) and “the most entertaining Elvis book ever” by New York Times bestselling author Jimmy McDonough (Shakey: Neil Young's Biography), Baby, Lets Play House is the first-ever Elvis book to focus solely on his complex relationships with women, including celebrities such as Ann-Margret, Linda Thompson, Mary Ann Mobley, Cher, Raquel Welch, Barbara Eden, and Cybill Shepherd. Featuring dozens of exclusive interviews and scores of never-before-seen photos, Baby, Lets Play House is a must-have collectors item for fans of The King everywhere.
About the Author
Winner of the 2004 Country Music Association Media Achievement Award, Alanna Nash is the author of six books, including The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley, winner of the 2004 Belmont Award for the best book in music; Dolly: The Biography; Behind Closed Doors: Talking with the Legends of Country Music; and Elvis and the Memphis Mafia. She also coedited the Belmont Award-winning Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America, and is the recipient of the 2009 Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism. She has written about music for such publications as the New York Times, Vanity Fair, People, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, Ladies' Home Journal, USA Weekend, TV Guide, and Reader's Digest, where she was a contributing editor from 2004 to 2008. Nash, whom Esquire named one of the "Heavy 100 of Country Music," was the first journalist to see Elvis Presley in his casket. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky.