JOHNNY RAMONE’S BEST 10 ELVIS BOOKS

The late Johnny Ramone trashed, among other things, the stereotype of the rock musician as being ditzy on facts and figures, dates and detail. (As, in the world of the blues, did Blind Willie McTell.) Johnny Ramone even compiled lists in notebooks (“the black books”) detailing gigs played, films seen and, as reproduced here, his Top Ten of Elvis Presley books:

1. Last Train to Memphis
2. Careless Love
3. Elvis Up Close
4. Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations From the Memphis Mafia
5. That’s Alright Elvis
6. Elvis: What Happened?
7. All About Elvis
8. The Elvis Encyclopedia
9. Down at the End of Lonely Street
10. The Elvis Atlas

Yes, it’s another end of year list. My excuse is that I co-wrote The Elvis Atlas. I don’t spend time imagining which famous people don’t read my work (I don’t have that much time), but it came as a pleasant surprise to learn that a Ramone had been among the few who did.