Tap on the front cover to return to 1974 and on the back to return to 1976.

In 2007 FTD's book "Elvis Presley: Rockin' Across Texas" hit the market. It also could have been called "Elvis In Texas 2.0", because in general Stanley Oberst delivers an update of his previous quire. In comparison the new edition leaves a more high-grade impression. Print and paper are of very good quality and Paul N. Oxby's design looks appealing. As a bonus the hardcover book includes two compact discs with soundboard recordings.

The core of the oeuvre deals with the time beween October 1954 and October 1956. It offers a glimpse at the not too glamorous life on tour and quickly reveals, that the rise from an unknown youngster to the king of rock'n'roll wasn't as smooth and easy as some other books and documentaries want to make us believe. Besides the truckload of information "Rockin' Across Texas" also includes many photos, that show the young singer on and off stage. There are also pictures of the venues Elvis performed at as well as reprints of promo-posters for the shows, etc. Beginning with page number 200 the book deals with Elvis' military basic traing, which took place at Fort Hood in the summer of 1958. During that period the singer rented a house in Killeen and also spent quite a bit of his time in Waco, where his buddy Eddie Fadal was living. The radio dj even remodeled a room for his celebrity friend, so he could withdraw from the public whenever he pleased. From page 228 onwards we get to see photos from Elvis on stage, shot beween 1970 and 1977. The book closes with a list of the concerts the singer gave in Texas between 1954 and 1977.

Because the majority of the book deals with the years 1954 to 1956, one might expect the compact discs to feature accordant recordings. The material taped at the Eagle's Hall in Houston/Texas in March 1955 comes to mind. Unfortunately most Presley fans don't care for their idol's beginnings and prefer the flashy, jumpsuited mega star of the 1970s. And so Follow That Dream decided to add live recordings from June 19, 1974 and July 3, 1976. Both shows took place in Texas, but that's the only connection to the content of this book. In 2009 Follow That Dream Records re-released the audio material on a double album, which was called "Rockin' Across Texas", too.

For a review of the concert recordings just tap on the links.

1974: Amarillo/Texas    1976: Fort Worth/Texas