The Louisville author on the resurgence of his book about Elvis’ manager

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) — The recent Elvis movie has sparked renewed interest in Elvis’ manager, the man known as “The Colonel.” A Louisville author wrote about their relationship in a book that even recently sold out on Amazon, even though it was first published years ago.

Alanna Nash was working at the Courier Journal when Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977. She was one of several dozen reporters who saw his body in the coffin at Graceland.

“At first I thought, ‘I’m not sure that’s Elvis Presley,'” Nash said. “He looked very waxy, and I don’t know what I thought he’d be wearing. I didn’t know if I thought he’d be in a jumpsuit. But he was wearing a white suit and that threw me like that. nothing but a light blue shirt and a long silver tie.

Nash also noticed his manager – the Colonel, Tom Parker.

“He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt,” Nash recalled. “There’s no denying that Elvis Presley wouldn’t have been as big of a star as him if it hadn’t been for Colonel Parker, especially at the start. He was quite an extraordinary promoter.

Nash, who had obtained a signed photo of Parker through a friend, wanted to write a book about the relationship between the man and the king. She heard that Parker was going to be at a cafe in Las Vegas. The colonel invited him to sit down.

“I had three meetings with him in the last years of his life,” Nash said. “And I used to sit across from him and think, ‘Who are you? Who are you really?'”

The finished product, The colonel, cost Nash $250,000 to research and six years to write. Parker was here illegally, never becoming an American citizen.

“I had to go to Holland to meet his family and do some research there. I paid for two people who knew his family,” Nash said.

Simon and Schuster released the hardcover in 2003. Now, nearly 20 years later, it’s sought after again.

“It’s really gratifying because I think it’s my best book ever,” Nash said. “(It was) a real test of everything I had as a journalist, researcher and writer at the time.”

Nash’s first book was about Dolly Parton.

“At the time, I was like ‘is she really going to last as a star or is she going to fade away quickly and am I going to look silly for my first book picking this woman? “, Nash said.

Nash also wrote Golden Girl: The Jessica Savitch Story. The rights were purchased and made into the Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford film, Up Close and Personal.

“I have to say, it’s fun to see your name appear in the credits,” Nash said with a smile.

Nash also wrote what fans consider the Elvis bible. An oral history with three members of the King’s entourage. The Colonel declined to be a part of it, but gave Nash a glimpse into his life.

“When he died, there were tears in my life and I thought we would never know this story,” Nash said.

Colonel Parker died in 1997 at the age of 87.

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