cover image Shake, Rattle and Turn That Noise Down! How Elvis Shook Up Music, Me and Mom

Shake, Rattle and Turn That Noise Down! How Elvis Shook Up Music, Me and Mom

Mark Alan Stamaty, . . Knopf, $17.99 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-375-84685-4

In this comic book–style trip down memory lane, circa 1955–1957, Stamaty (Who Needs Donuts? ) recalls his conversion to rock ’n’ roll. For a while, “my favorite songs were often gentle melodies that put a sweet smile on Mom’s face,” he recalls. As times change, a panel presents a pantheon of rock and blues musicians from Bill Haley to Bo Diddley. Stamaty pictures integration without naming it, and a delirious spread, crowded with the oversize lyrics to “Hound Dog” (“Youainnuthinbuttahounddogcrockinallatime”), pictures him physically bowled over by Elvis Presley. His distraught mother reluctantly allows him to buy the 45-rpm single for “Love Me Tender,” never reckoning on the raucous B-side. When Stamaty gives his classmates pompadours and performs as Elvis for a talent show, today’s High School Musical fans may see common ground. Stamaty doesn’t say what he sang or explain his title reference, but an amazing afterword (with photos) verifies his childhood hairstyle and impersonation, plus a 1990s reprise for President Clinton. The energetic color comics present Stamaty’s nostalgic memories in an engaging, albeit quaint way: grandparents can share this with the MP3 generation. Ages 5–8. (Jan.)