So I take it all back (see Staying alive a la biography). Elvis fans have a King-sized new publication to look forward to in August (which will mark the 30th anniversary of his death): Adam Victor’s Elvis Encyclopedia (Overlook Press). For $60, you get 420 pages of A-to-Z entries, complete with 250 full-color and 150 black-and-white images. The blad I have offers a sneak peak of the A’s, including info on former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, whom Elvis met in 1970 and gave ”a gold-inlaid .357 Magnum revolver.” And under “Aging,” we learn that Elvis “became more openly interested in spirituality” as he neared 30.

Victor’s book represents what I think will become a trend in reference publishing: semischolarly (i.e., often opinionated, “voice”-heavy) studies of popular music icons. Last year, Michael Gray gave us the excellent Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (Continuum), and tomes on the Beatles and Rolling Stones can’t be far behind.

Those bands and more will no doubt warrant coverage in the fourth edition of Oxford’s The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (its 1998 incarnation earned a star). Colin Larkin returns as editor of some 27,000 entries that span the gamut. Hellbent for leather? The EOPM doesn’t just delve into heavy metal, but its wimpier, pale-faced stepbrother, emo. For a complete review, check out the March 1 issue.