Raised On Rock Growing Up at Graceland

David E. Stanley with Mark Bego

Mainstream Publishing Projects Ltd, Edinburgh, ISBN: 1851588523, Illustrated.

Raised On Rock is the autobiography of Elvis Presley's youngest step-brother, David Stanley. It is a no-holds barred memoir that the author himself describes as a cathartic experience. From 1960 to Elvis' death in 1977, David was there growing up in the shadow of the King of Rock & Roll, growing up with in the face of dialectical elents - treasures and torments beyond most people's imagination.

But it is not just about the bad times...there are many happy times recorded in David's story, including one of his favorite Elvis memories:

"I was just nine years old, and I stood quietly behind those drapes [in Graceland] and listened to big brother Elvis playing the piano and singing just for the sheer joy of it. It was a wonderful sight, and an exciting musical experience that was witnessed by noone but me. He was in incredible voice and he wasn't singing to impress anyone, he was singing because that is what he loved to do."

David Stanley vividly explores his own demons, from the drugs and sexual encounters to the internal struggle he experienced between touring with Elvis or remaining home with his then wife, Angie. He offers many insights into Elvis' complex personality: his control mentality, the need to be the center of attention and the great love he offered. For the reader it soon becomes apparent that Elvis and life inside Graceland or on the road was a Jekkyl and Hyde experience. There are many great stories within Raised On Rock's 190 pages. As one of Elvis' bodyguards David was there when The King met superstars like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elton John and John Wayne. These meetings, Elvis' relationship with Priscilla, the Bodyguard book and many other incidents are an important, personal narrative (from someone who was there), about the phenomenon that was, and still is, Elvis Aaron Presley.

It is in Raised On Rock that David published his account of the final few days including the controversial: "The last day I saw Elvis was during his last 48 hours. Our last conversation was on 14 August 1977. Among the things we discussed was that Angie was divorcing me. The last thing that he said to me was, 'David, I want to say goodbye.' I said to him, 'What do you mean?' And he answered, 'The next time you see me, I will be in a different place, a higher plane.' I didn't take him seriously, I figured that it was just another bout of his drug-induced rambling."

On the final years of Elvis' life, David Stanley makes an observation sure to cause fervent debate among fans:

"In the 1970s there began to emerge an impending sense of self-destruction about Elvis....From the time he turned 40 he just couldn't handle it anymore....It was almost as if he hade sure it was over: he doubled up on the drugs, he doubled up on indulging himself with too much food. His demise from that point forward, became totally self-induced."

With rich accounts of important events, numerous black & white photographs and episodes of broad humor, readers will find Raised On Rock a satisfying experience. There is also an expression of pain and dishonor in Raised On Rock, no more exemplified than when David met his biological father again for the first time in four years. It is a theme that we know still haunts David Stanley today. In the book David offers his father's account of that meeting:

'Dad was later to recount the reunion by stating, " We arrived in Memphis about noon on a Saturday, visiting for several hours. Vernon and Dee were cordial to us. We spent most of the time visiting the boys. I noticed they hesitantly called me "Bill" now, and referred to Vernon as "Daddy". The transfer of affection was complete. Somehow I felt like a stranger. It seemed Dee had accomplished her dream.'

There are many other powerful moments in Raised On Rock. I recommend fans read its final chapter, I Am My Father's Son, more than once. It offers an important sense of a person seeking redemption.

Verdict: Much has been written about the Stanley family and their series of books about life around their "big brother" Elvis Presley.

And much of what has been written has questioned the changing stories over time. Regardless of this, Raised On Rock stands as a powerful record of what it was like to be Elvis' step-brother.

From being hopelessly spoiled by a big brother he worshipped (at the age of four David was given the entire contents of a toy shop and as a teenager Elvis saw to his adult education by hiring five hookers) to a personal struggle with the legacy of drugs and deception in his adult years, David Stanley has written a powerful and absorbing rollercoaster life story that you will find hard to put down. After reading Raised On Rock you will understand why the author refers to his writing of the book as a cathartic experience.

Click to comment on this review

David Stanley talks to EIN (2004)

David Stanley talks to Madeleine Wilson (2003)

David Stanley talks to EIN (2002)

EIN's reviews of other books by David Stanley:

Elvis We Love You Tender

Life With Elvis

The Elvis Encyclopedia