Backstage with the Young King

In 1956, photographer Alfred Wertheimer received a new assignment from an RCA Victor publicist: Shoot a young singer from Mississippi named Elvis Presley. “Elvis who?” Wertheimer responded. He spent the next two weeks shadowing the rising twenty-one-year-old, taking more than 2,500 photographs and getting the distinct sense that this charismatic Southern boy who grew up singing in church might be more than just a flash in the pan.

Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll, a hefty new photo book, presents more than 200 of those early images. The collection reveals candid personal moments—reading a newspaper or stealing a kiss backstage—of a man about to be elevated to god-like status. To Wertheimer, who died last October, the assignment was about capturing talent on the brink, and fading into the background as an artist crafted his identity for an adoring—and growing—audience. “Most of the time, Elvis never even knew I was taking his picture,” Wertheimer writes in the book’s introduction. “He was laser-focused on whatever he did, so I would wait until he was engaged—and he was always immersed in being Elvis.”

June 17, 2015

1 of 11

Starburst, Russwood Park, Memphis, Tennessee, July 4, 1956. A lucky accident, a flashbulb goes off in the crowd at the very moment the shutter of Wertheimer’s camera opens, creating a magnificent spray of backlight.

Alfred Wertheimer

2 of 11

Elvis performs during a Stand By, Stage Show rehearsal in New York City on March 17, 1956.

Alfred Wertheimer

3 of 11

Kneeling at the Mosque, Richmond, Virginia, June 30, 1956.

Alfred Wertheimer

4 of 11

No Gas in the Tank, Memphis, Tennessee, July 4, 1956. Elvis on his Harley-Davidson, wondering why it won’t start.

Alfred Wertheimer

5 of 11

Presley’s high-school sweetheart Barbara Hearn listens to his new recordings from an RCA Victor session, July 4, 1956.

Alfred Wertheimer

6 of 11

The Kiss, the Mosque Theater, Richmond, Virginia, June 30, 1956. Perhaps Wertheimer’s most iconic photograph of Elvis.

Alfred Wertheimer

7 of 11

At a Richmond, Virginia, restaurant Junior Smith places his order while his cousin prepares to turn on the charm with the waitress, June 1956.

Alfred Wertheimer

8 of 11

“Two Airliners Missing. 128 Aboard.” Elvis is absorbed by the story while waiting for a cab in New York City on July 1, 1956.

Alfred Wertheimer

9 of 11

Cue cards set the pace during a dress rehearsal for Stage Show on March 17, 1956 in New York.

Alfred Wertheimer

10 of 11

Elvis snarls during dress rehearsal for a skit on The Steve Allen Show, his first non-singing acting role on television, July 1, 1956.

Alfred Wertheimer

11 of 11

The cover of Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll features a picture of Presley singing for a Stage Show television audience in New York City, March 17, 1956.

Order the book here.

Alfred Wertheimer

Backstage with the Young King

Related Stories:

Trending Stories: