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Peter Guralnick

ピーター・グラルニック

Pītā Guralnick

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-12-15 （Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Boston, Massachusetts → Cambridge, Massachusetts → Nashville, Tennessee → Wolfeboro, New Hampshire (Camp Alton)

Career

Occupations
Author, Music critic, Screenwriter, Album notes writer, University lecturer
Active Years
1971-
Affiliations
Vanderbilt University (faculty)
Nominations
1984 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (Big Maybelle: The Okeh Sessions) — Nominated, 1988 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (Elvis Presley: The Complete Sun Sessions) — Nominated, 1993 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (Elvis: The King of Rock 'N' Roll - The Complete 50's Masters) — Nominated, 1994 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (Elvis: From Nashville to Memphis, The Essential 60's Masters I) — Nominated, 1995 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story) — Nominated

Education

Boston University College of Arts and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences / Creative Writing
Degree: Master's degree in Creative Writing
Period: 〜1971
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: United States
Earned an M.A. in creative writing in 1971. Later worked as a music biographer and critic.

Awards

Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
1986
Work: Sam Cooke: Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963
Category: 最優秀アルバム・ノート
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: Won
Blues Hall of Fame (Induction)
2010
Work: Body of work (designated as blues literature classics)
Organization: Blues Foundation
Result: Inducted
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
1984
Work: Big Maybelle: The Okeh Sessions
Category: 最優秀アルバム・ノート
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
1988
Work: Elvis Presley: The Complete Sun Sessions
Category: 最優秀アルバム・ノート
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
1993
Work: Elvis: The King of Rock 'N' Roll - The Complete 50's Masters
Category: 最優秀アルバム・ノート
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
1994
Work: Elvis: From Nashville to Memphis, The Essential 60's Masters I
Category: 最優秀アルバム・ノート
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
1995
Work: Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story
Category: 最優秀アルバム・ノート
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: Nominated

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Almost Grown

1964 Short story collection

An early collection of short stories published by Larry Stark Press.

Coming of ageEveryday observation

Mister Downchild

1967 Short story collection

Another early short story collection published by Larry Stark Press.

Character studiesShort fiction

Feel Like Going Home: Portraits in Blues, Country, and Rock 'n' Roll

1971 Non-fiction (music criticism/portraits)

Portraits and essays on blues, country, and rock'n'roll musicians.

Music historyPortraits of musiciansSouthern American music
Adaptations
  • [Documentary (script)] Feel Like Going Home (documentary) / Martin Scorsese

Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom

1986 Non-fiction (music history)

A history of rhythm & blues and soul music and their social context.

Rhythm & bluesMusic and the civil rights movement

Searching for Robert Johnson

1989 Non-fiction (music research)

A study and search into the life and legend of bluesman Robert Johnson.

Legend vs. realityBlues scholarship

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley

1994 Biography (music history)

The first volume of a two-part biography chronicling Elvis Presley's rise, based on extensive research.

Elvis PresleyBirth of rock'n'roll

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley

1999 Biography (music history)

The second volume completing the biography of Elvis Presley, covering his decline.

Effects of fameMusic and commercialism

Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke

2005 Biography (music)

A biography of Sam Cooke that examines his life and musical legacy.

Gospel and popular musicHistory of Black music
Adaptations
  • [Documentary (script)] Sam Cooke – Portrait of a Legend / Sam Cooke: Legend

Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock'n'Roll

2015 Biography (music producer) 727 pages

A detailed biography of record producer Sam Phillips. Guralnick also wrote the script for an A&E documentary of the same name.

Role of the producerHistory of the recording industry
Adaptations
  • [Documentary (TV)] Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll (documentary)

Looking to Get Lost

2020 Essays / Criticism

A collection of essays about creativity featuring songwriters, musicians, and writers.

CreativityProfile essays

The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley and the Partnership that Rocked the World

2025 Biography / History

A biography re-examining the relationship between Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley, based on previously unpublished archival material.

Management and the entertainment industryElvis studies

Bibliography

  • Almost Grown (1964)
  • Mister Downchild (1967)
  • Feel Like Going Home (1971)
  • Lost Highway: Journeys & Arrivals of American Musicians (1979)
  • Nighthawk Blues: A Novel (1980)
  • The Listener's Guide to The Blues (1982)
  • Sweet Soul Music (1986)
  • Searching for Robert Johnson (1989)
  • Last Train to Memphis (1994)
  • Careless Love (1999)
  • Elvis Day by Day (1999, co-authored)
  • Dream Boogie (2005)
  • Sam Phillips (2015)
  • Looking to Get Lost (2020)
  • The Colonel and the King (2025)

Adaptations

  • A&E documentary based on Sam Phillips (script and co-produced)
  • Documentary about Sam Cooke (script)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Colloquial, accessible narrative voiceDetail-oriented, archival research based proseFact-driven biographical nonfiction style
Recurring Motifs
American music historyOrigins of blues and rockPortraits of musicians

Legacy

Peter Guralnick is a highly regarded author who made major contributions to biographies and histories of rock'n'roll and the blues, sometimes called "the dean of rock 'n' roll storytellers." He taught at Vanderbilt University, his works have been designated as classics by the Blues Hall of Fame, and his collection is housed at the Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library, UNC Chapel Hill.

Academic Societies

  • Blues Hall of Fame

Archives

  • Peter Guralnick Collection (Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

In Popular Culture

  • Film project based on Sam Phillips with reports that Leonardo DiCaprio will portray Sam Phillips

Quotes

  • …a national treasure;
    Source: Comment by Nat Hentoff (music critic)
  • Last Train to Memphis "cancels out all others."
    Source: Quotation attributed to Bob Dylan

Trivia

  • His father was Dr. Walter Guralnick, a dentist involved in establishing dental insurance in Massachusetts.
  • In 1971 he succeeded his grandfather as director of Camp Alton, which closed in 1992.
  • Married to Alexandra for over 45 years; has two children, Jacob and Nina.
  • Multiple Grammy nominations; won the Grammy for Best Album Notes in 1986.
  • His collected papers are held at the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC Chapel Hill.