Elvis
No. 1: The Complete Chart History of Elvis Presley (Joseph
A. Tunzi)
JAT
Productions, Chicago, 2000, Softcover, 320 pages, Illustrated,
ISBN: 1-888464-06-2
|
"Elvis
No. 1" is a big book full of fascinating chart facts
and represents a much needed record of Elvis' huge
impact on USA music charts.
Everything
an Elvisphile will ever want to know about Elvis on
the US charts is here:
- History
of the Billboard Charts
- Pop
Singles Charts
- Under
the 100 Pop Singles
- Country
Singles
- Extended
Play Charts
|
 |
A
reproduction of The Billboard Hot 100 is also provided for
each release (corresponding to its peak position on the
chart).
The
inclusion of country, R&B, Easy Listening and Christmas
charts adds real meat to the book as against, what most
other publications do, concentrating on only the Billboard
Hot 100 chart.
In
so doing, Joseph Tunzi provides a much more effective and
comprehensive view of just how big Elvis' impact was on
the music scene, cutting across different music genres which
are by implication, often quite different music markets
to the mainstream "popular" sector. Joseph Tunzi's catalog
of Elvis' chart successes is simply staggering to consider
in its totality.
Many
fans will appreciate the consolidated listings of Elvis
releases on the various Cashbox charts. Cashbox once rivalled
Billboard as the music industry chart bible and is fondly
remembered by many non-USA fans as the American chart usually
printed in music magazines in countries like England (New
Musical Express; Melody Maker) and Australia (Go-Set). Sadly,
Cashbox ceased to exist in the late 1980s.
Elvis
No. 1 features many photographs in both color and black
& white. The full color pages are crystal clear but arguably
unnecessary in a book that is necessarily content based.
And given the high price of Elvis No. 1, I couldn't help
think that its price could have been reduced significantly
if most of the color visuals had been omitted. Alternatively,
including them throughout the book (rather than as a consolidated
"color section"), presentationally, may have been a better
option.
The
weakness of Elvis No. 1 is its relatively poor structural
design. It can be hard to follow the book's flow or easily
find certain information. I found myself having to regularly
refer back to the "Guide to Elvis No. 1". However, given
the substantial amount of valuable content in the book this
is only a minor concern.
Verdict:
Despite a relatively poor book design this is an important
book release recording Elvis' immense impact on the US music
charts.
Elvis
No. 1 is available from: www.elvisunlimited.com
Click
to comment on this review
