Alanna Kay Nash (born August 16, 1950) is an American
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and
biographer
Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography.
Biographers
Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...
.
Born in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, Nash holds a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
from the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...
and is the author of several acclaimed books.
She is a 1972 graduate of
Stephens College
Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...
. A feature writer for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
Stereo Review
''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...
'', ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
,'' and ''
USA Weekend
''USA Weekend'' was an American weekend newspaper magazine published from 1953 to 2014.
Founded as ''Family Weekly,'' it was purchased in 1985 by the Gannett Company, which turned it into a sister publication to Gannett's flagship newspaper '' ...
'', she was named the
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...
' National Member of the Year in 1994. In 1977, Nash's job afforded her the opportunity to become one of the journalists to view the remains of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. In her dust jacket biography for her book ''Baby, Let's Play House'', she was described as "the first journalist to see Elvis Presley in his casket".
Dolly Parton
Nash's much-reprinted 1978 biography of
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
included material gathered from a long interview with its subject, that took place over the course of several days. The biography, ''Dolly'', was published just as Parton reached mainstream appeal outside of the country music world, via her now-famous pop-music crossover. Nash has closely followed Parton's career since, having also written numerous magazine articles about her and reviewing a number of Parton's albums.
Other projects
In 1988 Nash received acclaim for her book on
Jessica Savitch, ''Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch'', which was the basis for the 1996
motion picture
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...
''
Up Close & Personal'',
as well as a made-for-television movie named ''Almost Golden''. In the 1990s Nash began researching the life of Elvis Presley in order to write a book. Although there were already several hundred Presley books on the market, her 1995 book, ''Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia'', provided what ''Entertainment Weekly'' called "stunning allegations". As a result of Nash being able to get the collaboration of employees Marty Lacker, Lamar Fike, and Presley's first cousin, Billy Smith who lived and worked with Presley throughout his life, she provided a look at Presley not previously published.
Colonel Tom Parker
Her research into Presley led to a second book on
Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997) was a Dutch people, Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley.
Parker was born in the Netherlands and Il ...
. While covering Presley's death, Alanna Nash had seen what most of the throng of reporters there at the time considered as somewhat bizarre decorum by Parker when he came to the funeral dressed in a
Hawaiian shirt and
baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap, hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front.
The front of the hat typically displays a design or a logo (historically, usually only a sports team, namely a baseball team, or names of releva ...
. For her 1995 book, Nash had interviewed Colonel Parker but her examination into his life kept unfolding with so many twists and turns that it led to six years of exhaustive research including travel to his birthplace
Breda
Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...
in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
for documents and interviews. Her book, ''The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley'', was published on July 15, 2003, to acclaim. ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' called it a "classic of music industry reporting". Other positive reviews came from ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...
'', ''
Variety'', and ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'', among others. In the UK, ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'' music magazine said her book was "the most incisive and comprehensive look at the life of the elusive Colonel available" and the reviewer for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' lauded the book as "perhaps the most thoroughly researched music book ever written" — before adding that "sadly most of the story has been told before. Nash simply adds layer after layer of padding."
For her reporting on Colonel Parker, Nash was voted one of the "Heavy 100 of Country Music" by ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine and earned the 2004
CMA Media Achievement Award and the 2004 Belmont Book Award. She has reviewed for ''
Stereo Review
''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...
'' magazine, ''
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
'', and
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
as well as others.
Bibliography
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References
External links
Book reviewsRoger Hall interviews Alanna Nash
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Alanna
1950 births
American women journalists
American biographers
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
Living people
The New York Times journalists
USA Today journalists
American women biographers
21st-century American women
Journalists from Kentucky
Writers from Louisville, Kentucky
Stephens College alumni