"Elvis at 21"

Photojournalist Alfred Wertheimer tagged along on a tour with twenty-one year old Elvis Presley when the iconic singer was just beginning his rise to fame. The resulting photographs are an intimate portrait of young Elvis before the trappings of fame, fortune, alcohol, and drugs took their toll on one of the most influential entertainers of the twentieth century. The resulting images are a powerful testimony to the stratospheric rise of a simple country boy. Recognizing the impact he had on the future of recording artists such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones makes this exhibit of an innocent Elvis more poignant. I saw Elvis in concert at the Macon Coliseum just a few weeks prior to his death. Even in his overweight, drugged state, he still possessed tremendous presence on the stage combined with one of the most memorable and powerful voices in contemporary music. This exhibit has toured America, and now it launches internationally in Canberra, Australia. Link: http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/exhibition_subsite_elvis.php