What, an Elvis Biography Without ‘Clambake’?

Since Elvis Presley died in 1977, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll has also been the King of the Tab loids . . . the subject of spellbinding tales about drug use and claims that he’s still alive.

So how can the real story compete with all that sensationalism?

Even the writer who spent much of the past decade researching and writing that story isn’t sure.

“I may find out (that no one cares),” says Peter Guralnick, whose “Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley,” has just arrived in book stores from Little, Brown & Co.

Retailers believe that Guralnick may be pleasantly surprised.

Expectations are high, even though rock biographies have sold erratically in recent years and there are already enough Presley books on the market to fill a ballroom at Graceland.

“We expect it to do very well--it’s greatly anticipated,” says Donna Passannante, spokeswoman for the Barnes & Noble, Bookstar and B. Dalton chains. The nearly 500-page volume covers Presley’s life through his 1958 Army induction. A second volume, tracing the star’s reclusive “dark” years in the ‘60s and ‘70s, is expected in two to three years.

The book’s publisher shares the optimism. Initial hardcover press run: an impressive 100,000 copies.

“We’ve been very careful to stay away from the Elvis book syndrome,” says Amy Rhodes, Little, Brown’s director of marketing. “It’s really Peter Guralnick that we’re selling. He has a sound reputation and has never failed to be well-reviewed and widely reviewed.”

For his own part, Guralnick--a preeminent music biographer through such acclaimed books as “Sweet Soul Music,” “Lost Highway” and “Searching for Robert Johnson”--has done his best to steer clear of all the tabloid hype.

“If I paid attention to this sort of thing it would have stopped me from writing the book,” he says. “The need for Elvis as a continuing commodity is an unappetizing spectacle.”

Guralnick says that there are no shocking revelations in his book, no hidden secrets, wild speculation or allegations.

“I just wanted to portray the world as Elvis must have seen it, portray the characters as they come into the story, rather than as history came to judge them.”