Wertheimer, Elvis, 2nd Ed.

The making of Elvis, behind the scenes.

“Elvis who?” was photographer Alfred Wertheimer’s response when, in early 1956, an RCA Victor publicist asked him to photograph an up-and-coming crooner from Memphis. Little did Wertheimer know that this would be the job of his life: just 21 years old, Elvis Presley was—as we now know—about to become a legend.

The Photographer
Alfred Wertheimer (1929-2014) was born in Germany, emigrated to America and settled in Brooklyn as a young boy. Wertheimer’s photographs, which first gained national attention after Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, capture the metamorphosis of pop music and the cultural transformation of America.

The Editor
Chris Murray has organized over 200 exhibitions of many of the leading artists of our time, from Andy Warhol in the 1970s to Annie Leibovitz’s first exhibition in 1984. He is co-curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibition Elvis at 21 and is the author or editor of over a dozen books.

Specs & Care

Hardcover, 8.8″ W x 12.4″ H, 5.22 lb, 336 pages