That's All Right, Mama

by Gerald Duff

Overview

Did Elvis's identical twin, Jesse Garon Presley, really die at birth? Not according to Lance Lee, the hero of Gerald Duff's darkly comic dissection of fame and rock 'n' roll.

Lee, who makes his living as an Elvis imitator, claims to be the long-presumed dead twin. In a style that faithfully reproduces Elvis's plaintive bravado, Lance-Jesse recounts being hidden away and passed off as Elvis's "cousin" until he needs to impersonate Elvis to stave off bullies at school; later, he is obliged to "play Elvis" every time The King has an attack of nerves. As performing substitute, Jesse has had a lifetime to enjoy being a goodtiming, honeyloving, non-drug-dependent Elvis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781942531173
Publisher:	The Devault-Graves Agency
Publication date:	02/15/2016
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.55(d)

Editorial Reviews

Serious literary fiction about Elvis? You bet! Duff's (Graveyard Working) transcendent prose swings and sways, whoops and moans in pulsating cadences reminiscent of the King. The hilariously pedantic introduction is a setup for the ``manuscript'' that follows: the wry, gritty and profoundly moving autobiography of Elvis's identical twin brother, who allegedly died at birth. Jesse Garon Presley relates how, from his earliest childhood, half-crazy mother Gladys lavished all her attention and affection on Elvis. Brought up as Elvis's ``cousin'' (although Mama calls on Jesse to stand in for his twin from time to time), Jesse is left to his own devices-tinkering with cars and, later, hanging out in juke joints in Memphis and nearby Alabama. Jesse tells how it was he, not Elvis, who made the first recording at Sun Studio, and how, much the better dancer, he doubled for the burned-out ``Bubba'' on the Ed Sullivan Show and in the performance of the title song in Jailhouse Rock. Although he hides from Elvis for years at a time, Jesse can't keep from filling in for him-even as a husband to Priscilla-when asked. The ultimate irony is that, after his famous twin dies, Jesse is still not free to be himself: he ends up as an Elvis impersonator. A rich and well-realized tale, even for readers to whom August 16 (Elvis's death date) is just another day. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly