ORION: THE LIVING SUPERSTAR OF SONG
Limited first edition and first trade edition of the novel that launched the "Elvis is alive" conspiracy, with a dramatic publishing history that reflects the struggles of feminine authority in authorship.
Very good plus overall.
Price: $250.00
ORION: THE LIVING SUPERSTAR OF SONG
"A scream formed within ORION until he cried aloud, 'Oh my God!' In a sterile coffin lay the body of ORION Eckley Darnell."
Infidelity, surreptitious alteration of documents, and multi-million-dollar lawsuits play a part in the publication story of ORION. Gail Brewer-Giorgio was not a particular fan of Elvis when she started the novel for which she is best known; "I owned no Elvis Presley records, had never seen his movies [...] and possessed only general media information on him," she recalled at the time she wrote ORION (Plasketes). Nevertheless, she said, "ORION began to write itself on the third day after the death of Elvis Presley" (Plasketes). At the same time, motivational speaker and Elvis fan Gene Arthur was developing a biography of the King in which the last chapter would assert that his death was a ruse, based on "some library research" (Plasketes). The two were brought together by a rather unlikely series of mutual connections, and the rest is history.
Or is it? The first limited edition of ORION bears Gene Arthur as a co-author (credited ahead of Brewer-Giorgio), while the first trade edition does not. After finding no mainstream publisher interest in the work, Arthur, Brewer-Giorgio, and three others formed a company to issue it. The problems started immediately. Despite not reading over the company's contracts, Arthur expected to hold a controlling interest, which, according to documentation, was actually held by Brewer-Giorgio; Arthur claimed he was swindled out of the position by an employee who was having an affair with Brewer-Giorgio. Meanwhile, Brewer-Giorgio registered her copyright of the ORION manuscript in June 1978, but was incensed to find that Arthur had gone back on his promise to send her promotional copies of the work. Arthur's (perhaps vengeful) gambit was revealed when the book hit the shelves: "[o]n the eve of the first printing run," he instructed the printer to list him as a co-author above Brewer-Giorgio, although he admitted his only contribution was the funding and (he claimed) the idea of Orion's faked death (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, 1C). "I didn't see it was necessary to inform her," he said in response to Brewer-Giorgio's outrage. She filed a $9 million lawsuit against Arthur, which ensured that all subsequent ORION publications bore her name as the sole author, and subsequently built a vibrant career around the conspiracy theories her novel stirred up.
The COCAINE AND RHINESTONES podcast notes that "shit [got] weird" among readers fairly quickly. The year of ORION's publication, Jimmy Ellis, a little-known singer with a voice (and hairstyle) undoubtedly similar to Elvis, began to wear a bedazzled mask that covered half his face, going by the name "Orion," and "refusing to directly say "no" when the media asks if he's secretly Elvis Presley" (COCAINE AND RHINESTONES). The media speculation on the topic of "Orion's" identity (could it really be the King himself?) cemented the "Elvis faked his own death and still walks among us" conspiracy theory in the minds of a passionate subset of music fans.
These first and first trade editions of ORION are the tangible origin of this prominent conspiracy, and an example of the triumph of a woman author over efforts to obscure her work. An evocative pair.
Read more: "Harper Valley PTA, Part 1: Shelby S. Singleton," Cocaine and Rhinestones episode 7; George Plasketes, True Disbelievers: Elvis Contagion.
The Object
Atlanta / (Atlanta): Golden Eagle Publishing Co. / (Capricorn Corporation), (1978) / (1979). Two volumes, 9.25'' x 5.75'' each. Limited first: Original gold paper binding with gilt stamping. Original unclipped (no price) color pictorial dust jacket, designed by Jennifer Miller Broadus. x, 330 pages. Jacket with light edgewear and a couple tiny closed tears, a hint of rubbing; mild foxing to flaps and reverse. Binding with a bit of bumping to spine ends and corners, small knock to upper edge; scattered foxing to edges of textblock. Endpapers with a touch of foxing, else sharp and clean. <br />First trade: Original white sheepskin binding with gilt-stamped lettering to front board and spine. Original unclipped ($12.95) dust jacket. viii, 272 pages. Jacket with some edgewear, two small (.75" and.5") closed tears; slight toning to top edge. Binding with mild edgewear, slight bumping to upper corners. Front hinge cracked but firm. Notably sharp and clean.
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