Colonel Tom Parker: Encyclopedia II - Colonel Tom Parker - Finding Elvis

Colonel Tom Parker - Finding Elvis

Parker's involvement in the music industry began as a music promoter in the late 1940s, working with such country music stars as Minnie Pearl, Hank Snow, and Eddy Arnold, as well as film star Tom Mix. During this time he received the honorary title of "Colonel" in 1948 from Jimmie Davis, the governor of Louisiana. His involvement with Elvis Presley began when he booked Presley as the opening act for Canadian singer Snow. On August 18, 1955, Parker became Presley's manager officially, by contract, and in 1956 he convinced RCA Records to buy Presley out from Sun Records for $35,000, big money for its time. With his first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel," Presley graduated from rumour to bona-fide recording star.

It's debatable whether Presley would have become the superstar he became without Parker, and it's likewise debatable to what extent Parker's management of the King of Rock and Roll was Svengali-like. Parker held the reins of Presley's singing and acting career for the rest of Presley's life and was said to be instrumental in virtually every business decision that Presley made---including his decision to cut back on recording and stop touring after returning from his stint in the United States Army in 1960, in favour of a film career (from 1960 to 1967-68) that was lucrative in terms of his bank account but, to many critics and no few fans, bankrupting in terms of Presley's music quality. It took the energetic 1968 television special, Elvis, and a subsequent series of stellar recording sessions in Memphis, Tennessee, to restore Elvis Presley's musical reputation. To his credit, though it's open as to whether he was allowed much choice in the matter, Parker allowed both to happen with little impediment.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Finding Elvis", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki