1950s – Page 22 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Elvis Presley – Mystery Train

Listen to the slap back echo on this song. I could just listen to the intro guitar on a tape loop for eons and eons. Sun records had the best echo of anyone. Everyone since has tried to capture that sound.

“Mystery Train” was written and originally recorded by Junior Parker in 1953 for Sam Phillips’ Sun Records…Phillips got a co-writing credit. Phillips would later claim that he made three major changes to the song, and that these were why he got the co-writing credit. The first was to give the song the title “Mystery Train”, which has been a big part of the song’s appeal ever since. The second was to insist that the number of coaches for the train should be sixteen . Parker had been singing “fifty coaches long”. And the final one was to suggest that the band start the song slowly and build up the tempo like a train gathering steam.

Elvis covered the song. There is a good chance he heard Jr. Parker perform it live.

The song was released as the B side to “I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone.” One of the best B sides ever. The song peaked at #11 in the Country Charts and #25 in the UK in 1955. RCA bought Elvis’s contract and reissued this single.

Scotty Moore who played guitar on the rack: ‘Mystery Train’ became like a signature thing for me” “That was the first one I played through my custom-made amplifier. It had the same slapback effect that Sam had been using on the overall record.”

Sam Phillips: When Elvis came in I found out that Mystery Train was so embedded in Elvis’ mind that when he started to sing it, it was a natural as breathing. If it’s natural it’s awfully hard to beat, like you’re just rolling off of a log. That’s the feeling you get with Mystery Train.”

His version was ranked #77 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

From Songfacts

Parker was a renowned Blues musician from Memphis who is best known for this song. He was known more for his singing than for his guitar playing, and never achieved the popularity of players like Buddy Guy and B.B. King. Parker was just 39 when he died in 1971 of a brain tumor.

Elvis Presley recorded the most famous version of this song, also on Sun Records, in 1955. and is his best-known song that was never a hit – it was released as the B-side of “I Forgot To Remember To Forget.” Other artists to cover the song include Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Ricky Nelson, Tom Fogerty, and The Doors.

Neil Young’s 1983 version on his album Everybody’s Rockin’ has an interesting story behind it. After all, there’s never a short story behind a Neil Young song!
Young came to cover “Mystery Train” by way of performing one of the most sarcastic take-that’s in rock history. As told in Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, Young had tried to make up for the PR nightmare that was the Trans album with an album even more countrified than Hawks & Doves, which would become Old Ways. However, Geffen’s record executives rejected Young’s new excursion, demanding that he make an album of “rock ‘n’ roll” songs instead.

Can you imagine someone with the audacity to think that they can tell Neil Young what to do? So, Young gave them exactly what they asked for, with the same kind of acidulous derision with which Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground delivered Loaded when Atlantic executives demanded an album “loaded with hits.” Young put together an album of ’50s-style rockabilly songs with a band he assembled and called “the Shocking Pinks.” And what jukebox classics they all are!

Geffen’s reaction was to slap Young with a $3.3 million dollar lawsuit alleging that his music had become “unrepresentative of his previous output.” This is also why Everybody’s Rockin’ is so short – Geffen literally pulled the plug on Young and the Shocking Pinks in mid-recording-session. Young responded in an interview with Musician magazine: “To get sued for being noncommercial after 20 years of making records, I thought was better than a Grammy.” He even told Q magazine that he told Geffen to back off, or his threat was that he was going to play country music forever. Is there a single Neil Young fan out there who doubts – for a fraction of a second – that just to go ‘nyah!’, he would have stuck to his guns and played nothing but country music to this day, had Geffen not backed down? Anyway, it’s a nice little cover of “Mystery Train,” isn’t it?

Mystery Train

Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well, that long black train got my baby and gone

Train, train, comin’ ’round the bend
Train, train, comin’ ’round the bend
Well, it took my baby, but it never will again
No, not again

Train, train, comin’ down, down the line
Train, train, comin’ down, down the line
Well, it’s bringin’ my baby ’cause she’s mine, all mine
She’s mine, all mine

Train, train, comin’ ’round, ’round the bend
‘Round, ’round the bend
Train, train, comin’ ’round, ’round the bend
‘Round, ’round the bend
Well, it took my baby, but it never will again
Never will again

Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls Of Fire

The wild man Jerry Lee Lewis. There is no mistaking who this is…they call him The Killer for a reason. Pam from All Things Thriller wrote a great piece about Jerry Lee… here.

This song became Lewis’ signature tune, as well as the title of the movie about Lewis. Otis Blackwell, a prolific songwriter who wrote many hits for Elvis Presley, wrote this song with Jack Hammer.

This was released in England the same month that Lewis married 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown, who was the daughter of his cousin (and bass player) J.W. Brown. At the time, Lewis was headlining shows with Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, but when the UK press found out, public outrage forced Lewis to leave the country.

Back in the States, his career started to spiral as radio stations refused to play his records and stores refused to sell them. Jerry Lee turned to country music in the late sixties and made a very successful comeback and started to appear on the charts again.

The peaked at #2 in teh Billboard 100, #1 in the Billboard Country Charts, and #1 in the UK in 1957.

Eric Clapton: “I remember the first Rock & Roll I ever saw on TV was Jerry Lee Lewis doing ‘Great Balls of Fire.’ That threw me – it was like seeing someone from outer space.”

From Songfacts

Like Lewis’ previous hit, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” this song is filled with sexual innuendo (” let me love you like a lover should…”), which was shocking for a southern musician in 1957. Lewis grew up in a religious household and was conflicted over whether or not he should record this. He and Sun Records owner Sam Phillips argued as Phillips tried to convince him to sing it. Tape was rolling during the spat and the exchange can be heard on some Sun Records collections. “I thought it was funny because I could see both of them,” recalled house drummer JM van Eaton to Uncut magazine April 2012. “Sam’s as serious as he could be, and Jerry’s as heated as he could be.”

This song made the Top 5 of the Pop, R&B, and Country charts simultaneously with “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Both hit #1 on the Country charts, and while this sold 5 million copies, which was less then its predecessor, it still charted higher.

In the UK, a similarly raucous version by the female singer Georgia Gibbs was released in 1957 before Lewis’ version was issued. It didn’t chart, and Jerry Lee’s recording became a huge hit, topping the UK chart and becoming the first Sun Records recording to score there.

In 1989, Dennis Quaid portrayed Lewis in the movie Great Balls Of Fire, which told the story of his life.

The film took a few liberties, including a scene where Lewis sets his piano on fire while performing this song – a tale often told by Lewis but never verified.

In America, the song was released on November 11, 1957, just one day before the movie Jamboree hit theaters. Lewis performed the song in the film, which gave it great exposure. Other singers appearing in the movie were Carl Perkins, Fats Domino and Frankie Avalon.

In the movie Top Gun, “Goose” (Anthony Edwards) and “Maverick” (Tom Cruise) sing this while “Goose” plays a piano that still sits at the Kansas City Barbeque Restaurant in San Diego, California where the scene was filmed.

Dolly Parton made “Great Balls Of Fire” the title track to her 1979 album. Her cover was used in the 1985 Miami Vice episode “Golden Triangle (Part I).” Other artists to cover the song include Conway Twitty, Sha Na Na, Mae West, Rolf Harris and the Misfits.

Great Balls of Fire

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane
You broke my will, oh what a thrill
Goodness gracious great balls of fire

I learned to love all of Hollywood money
You came along and you moved me honey
I changed my mind, looking fine
Goodness gracious great balls of fire

You kissed me baba, woo…..it feels good
Hold me baba, learn to let me love you like a lover should
Your fine, so kind
I’m a nervous world that your mine mine mine mine-ine

I cut my nails and I quiver my thumb
I’m really nervous but it sure is fun
Come on baba, you drive me crazy
Goodness gracious great balls of fire

{ piano solo }

Well kiss me baba, woo-oooooo….it feels good
Hold me baba
I want to love you like a lover should
Your fine, so kind
I got this world that your mine mine mine mine-ine

I cut my nails and I quiver my thumb
I’m real nervous ’cause it sure is fun
Come on baba, you drive me crazy
Goodness gracious great balls of fire

I say goodness gracious great balls of fire…oooh…

Chuck Berry – Roll Over Beethoven

I like going back to the pioneers who started all of this. Those old raw recordings have been inspected, dissected, and copied to this day. All rock bands will do a Chuck Berry riff somewhere and most likely will cover at least one of his many songs.

I first was introduced to Chuck Berry by the Beatles faithful version. This song is a staple of early rock and roll. Everyone from George Harrison to Keith Richards were influenced by Chuck Berry. His songs were mini stories set against a fast guitar with a driving beat.

This song is about the rock ‘n’ roll craze that was taking over America. Beethoven and Tchaikovsky were classical composers who were being bumped aside by rock. At the time, many critics dismissed rock music as a passing fad…and the fad is still going on.

Berry started writing this song to rib his younger sister, Lucy, who played classical music on the family piano. Chuck was telling her to stop playing so he could play rock and roll.

The song peaked at #29 in the US Charts and #2 in the R&B Charts in 1956.

From Songfacts

Berry was careful to write lyrics that told a coherent story, which in this case follows a young many as he pursues his favorite music. Berry also took care to deliver his lyrics clearly so a wider audience could understand them. This helped him avoid the fate of many Little Richard songs: more popular, but sanitized covers by Pat Boone.

The line, “Early in the mornin’ I’m a givin’ you a warnin'” is a tribute to Louis Jordan’s 1947 track “Early In The Mornin’.”

Jordan, a jump-blues innovator, certainly earned the tribute: his 1946 song “Ain’t That Just Like A Woman” has a guitar intro (played by Carl Hogan) that Berry lifted for “Roll Over Beethoven.”

The Beatles released a version of this song in 1963, which they played at most of their early live shows. The following year, The Beach Boys released “Fun, Fun, Fun,” which copied the intro to “Roll Over Beethoven” nearly note for note.

This was used in the 1992 movie Beethoven, which is about a Saint Bernard.

The Electric Light Orchestra covered this in 1973, mixing in some of Beethoven’s music. It was their biggest hit at the time, going to #6 in the UK and #42 in the US.

ELO was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017, less than a month after Berry’s death. They opened the ceremony with a performance of this song in tribute to Berry.

For a February 4, 1977 primetime special celebrating 25 years of American Bandstand, Berry performed this song joined by Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels and Doc Severinsen. This was one of the first “all-star jams” that would later become commonplace. This performance served as a showcase for the musicians, who were introduced as they performed by Paul Williams.

Iron Maiden spoofed this on their song “Roll Over Vic Vella,” which was used as the B-side to the single for “From Now to Eternity” It’s one of the few singles that featured a photograph of the band performing as cover art.

Leon Russell often covered this song. He performed it on the musical variety show Shindig! in 1964.

The Beatles version…the bands I’ve played in used more powerful amps in a small club than the Beatles had at that time for stadiums. They made it necessary to boost the power with larger amps…to this day I don’t see how they heard each other…they probably didn’t.

Roll Over Beethoven

Well, I’ma write a letter
I’m gon’ mail it to my local DJ
Yeah that’s the jumpin little record
I want my jockey to play
Roll over Beethoven, I gotta hear it again today

You know, my temperature’s risin’
The jukebox blowin’ a fuse
My heart’s beatin’ rhythm
And my soul keeps a-singin’ the blues
Roll over Beethoven, tell Tchaikovsky the news

I got the rockin’ pneumonia
I need a shot of rhythm and blues
I caught the rollin’ arthritis
Sittin’ down at a rhythm review
Roll over Beethoven, they rockin’ in two by two

Well, if you feel and like it
Go get your lover, then reel and rock it
Roll it over and move on up just a
Trifle further, then reel and rock it
Wind another
Roll over Beethoven, dig these rhythm and blues

Well in the mornin’ I’m givin’ you my mornin’
Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes
Hey diddle diddle, I’ma play my fiddle
Ain’t got nothin’ to lose
Roll over Beethoven, tell Tchaikovsky the news

You know she wiggles like a glow worm
Dance like a spinnin’ top
She got a crazy partner
Ya oughta see ’em reel and rock
Long as she got a dime the music will never stop

Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven, dig these rhythm and blues

…

Mad and Cracked Magazine…a quick look

To those that it applies…Happy Independence Day! I’ll have a couple of songs coming up related to Independence Day.

I never got into comic books like Marvel or DC…I would save up my allowance for Cracked and Mad magazine…and records of course. Mad Magazine was by far the most popular out of all of the satire comic magazines. William Gaines was the publisher of Mad magazine and was brilliant.

1952 – Present…now you an only get Mad from Comic Book Shops or order it. The new editions consist of mostly material from their archive.

Cracked was known as the poor man’s Mad but I still liked it and the magazines shared some writers and artists through the years. I bought my first Cracked Magazine when Mad was sold out but I never missed an issue after that.

1958-2007 Now the name is alive on a website but no longer a comic.

Alfred E Newman and Sylvester P. Smythe

Don Martin was my favorite artist. He was one of Mad’s most famous artists. He was there from 1956 to 1988. He was known as “Mads Maddest Artist” and then moved to Cracked and was jokingly known as “Cracked’s Crackedest Artist.”

Fellow Cracked artist Dan Clowes: “As far as I could tell, he was happy, don’t think he ever seemed to notice that Mad was respected, whereas Cracked was loathed.”

Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) 1943-2020

Ken Osmond who portrayed Eddie Haskell on “Leave It To Beaver” has passed away at age 76. I grew up watching this show after school in syndication in the late 70s.

After watching it again as an adult…I see that it was a well-written show from a child’s point of view. Ken Osmond played Eddie Haskell…who was the pot-stirrer on the show and he was needed. He kept it from becoming too sweet…plus we all know an Eddie Haskell or two.

RIP Ken Osmond.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ken-osmond-dead-mischievous-eddie-haskell-leave-it-beaver-was-76-1246683

20 Famous Duos

Many times you cannot think of one person without thinking of the other. That is true for many on this list. From Lennon – McCartney to Romeo and Juliet. It was a lot of fun coming up with these famous duos. Here are a few in no order…

1. Lennon and McCartney – The most influential Rock/pop writing duo

2. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts – Andy and Barney…Great comedic timing between the two…with Andy being the straight man.

3. Jack Klugman and Tony Randall – The Odd Couple

4. Abbott and Costello – Who’s on first? Great comedy team. I still like Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein

5. Belushi and Aykroyd – The Blues Brothers and part of the first cast of SNL

6. Orville and Wilbur Wright – Credited as creating the first motorized plane.

7. Jagger and Richards – The Stones Glimmer Twins

8. Simon and Garfunkel – American folk-rock duo

9. Laurel and Hardy – They made over 100 short and feature movies combined.

10. Martin and Lewis – The hottest act in the 50s.

11. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak – The Apple architects.

12. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield -Ben and Jerry’s I’ll take some Cherry Garcia, please.

13. Phil and Don Everly – Two voices blended as one

14. Gerry Goffin and Carole King – Two of the top songwriters in the 60s.

15. Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall – Laverne and Shirley

16. Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker – Infamous Bonnie and Clyde

17. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson – Mulder and Scully from the X-Files

18. Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith – Jay and Silent Bob

19. Batman and Robin – I couldn’t leave these guys out

20. Romeo and Juliet the two star crossed lovers from Romeo and Juliet….a tragedy written by William Shakespeare

BONUS…How could I forget Bert and Ernie!!!

Little Richard (1932-2020) – Rip It Up

Little Richard passed away yesterday at 87 years old…he was one of the last fifties pioneers left. His influence passed through generations from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, to Lemmy from Motorhead.

I’ve read interviews from so many artists saying how he influenced them. Bob Dylan started on Little Richard in Minnesota as a teenager and I’ve read where Lemmy was a giant fan. Richard touched many generations.

My dad told me about Little Richard before I ever heard him. He said he had the biggest voice he ever heard. He talked about a song called Long Tall Sally. I first heard it…it blew me away. Such a raw emotional power in that voice. He would take us to the edge of the cliff and then at the last minute pull us back.

His voice was one of a kind…and I mean one of a kind. He could sing anything.

Bob Dylan: I just heard the news about Little Richard and I’m so grieved. He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do.

Keith Richards: So sad to hear that my old friend Little Richard has passed. There will never be another!!! He was the true spirit of Rock’n Roll!

Rip It Up

A songwriter named Johnny Marascalco wrote this song, which was released as Little Richard’s third single. Marascalco while he was sitting in a cotton field waiting for a friend to get out of church so they could hunt rabbits. A later weekend, he heard Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally” and decided that he could write similar songs.

Little Richard’s producer Bumps Blackwell (who has a co-writing credit on this one as well) bought both “Rip It Up” and another Marascalco song, “Ready Teddy,” which was released as the B-side of the single. The two songs were recorded at J&M Studios in New Orleans on May 9, 1956.

The song peaked at #1 in the R&B Charts, #27 in the Billboard Charts, #30 in the UK, and #30 in Canada in 1956.

Rip It Up

‘Cause it’s Saturday night and I just got paid
Fool about my money don’t try to save
My heart says go, go
Have a time ’cause it’s Saturday night
And I’m feelin’ fine

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

I got a date and I won’t be late
Pick her up in my ’88’
Shag it on down to the union hall
When the music starts jumpin’
I’ll have a ball

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

Along about 10 I’ll be flying high
Rocking on out into the sky
I don’t care if I spend my gold
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna be one happy soul

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight, aw

Well it’s Saturday night and I just got paid
Fool about my money don’t try to save
My heart says go, go
Have a time ’cause it’s Saturday night
And I’m feelin’ fine

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

Along about 10 I’ll be flying high
Rocking on out into the sky
I don’t care if I spend my gold
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna be one happy soul

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

Ricky Nelson – Travelin’ Man

Ricky Nelson was a two-way star in the 50s. He gets overlooked at times compared to his peers.

This song was written by Jerry Fuller, a singer who had minor hits in 1959 with “Betty My Angel” and a cover of “Tennessee Waltz.” Fuller wrote “Travelin’ Man” one day at De Longpre Park in Hollywood while he was waiting to pick up his wife. He didn’t play an instrument, so he beat out the melody on his car’s dashboard.

Fuller recorded a demo of this song with Glen Campbell on guitar. He was hoping Sam Cooke would record it, so he brought it to Cooke’s manager, J.W. Alexander. Joe Osborn, who was Ricky’s bass player, heard it through the wall, He said, ‘J.W., do you have that ‘Travelin” song you just played?’ He said, ‘Yeah, you can have it,’ and he reached in the trash and he pulled out the demo.”

Osborn brought the song to Nelson, who loved it and recorded it. The song became his second (and last) #1 hit, and gave him a huge career boost.

Travelin’ Man peaked at #1 in 1961.

From Songfacts

For the lyrics, Fuller came up with a “girl in every port” idea – a guy who travels all over the world and finds a different girl waiting for him wherever he goes. He used an atlas to get ideas for places and looked up what the word for “girl” was in those places, so in German it’s “Fraulien,” in Mexico it’s “Senorita,” and in Alaska it’s a “cute little Eskimo.” He couldn’t figure out what the term was in Hawaii, so he went with “pretty Polynesian baby.”

Nelson used Elvis Presley’s backing singers The Jordanaires on this song, as he did on most of his recordings. He loved the background vocals on the demo though, which were done by Fuller, Glen Campbell and Dave Burgess. Nelson brought them in to record on subsequent records.

Depending on the criteria, “Travelin’ Man” could be the song with the very first music video. Ozzie Nelson realized that whenever he had Ricky sing on their show The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet, Ricky’s record sales shot up the next day, so Ozzie tried to work it into the plot whenever Ricky had a new record out. As Ricky became popular and the demand for his songs was overwhelming, Ozzie realized that working his singing into the plot was going to be impossible, so Ozzie filmed Ricky singing “Travelin’ Man,” superimposed some travelogue scenes over the film and tacked it onto a show episode at the end. Viola! The music video was born.

That is, if you don’t count performance videos and extracted movie scenes like “Jailhouse Rock.” And if you’re OK with it being black and white.

The episode, “A Question of Suits and Ties,” aired on April 5, 1961 (the song hit #1 on May 29). The clip is far from groundbreaking, but it was footage synched to a performance. Around this time, standalone concept videos were starting to show up for use throughout Europe in Scopitone video jukeboxes, which were typically placed in bars. A few American artists made videos for these machines in the mid’-60s when they started to appear Stateside. Neil Sedaka made one for “Calendar Girl” and Nancy Sinatra did one (for a company called Color-Sonics) for “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.”

Rick Nelson was born Eric Hilliard Nelson in 1940. He died in a small plane crash in Texas in 1985 while flying to a New Year’s Eve concert. Mechanical problems and a cabin fire were suspected as the cause of the crash. Speculation that the fire was caused by someone on board freebasing cocaine was never proven, though aerosol cans were found at the crash site. The Nelson family said that the cans were part of the makeup box and that no drugs were involved. The matter was never completely resolved.

This is a crowd favorite on the “Ricky Nelson Remembered” show, staged by his twin sons Matthew and Gunnar. In our interview with Matthew Nelson, he said, “When I’m singing ‘Travelin’ Man,’ it’s 1977 at the Sahara in Las Vegas, when I hung out for a week while Pop did a residency there. And I think about the guys who were in the band.”

Travelin’ Man

I’m a travelin’ man and I’ve made a lot of stops
All over the world
And in every part I own the heart
Of at least one lovely girl

I’ve a pretty Señorita waiting for me
Down in old Mexico
If you’re ever in Alaska stop and see
My cute little Eskimo

Oh, my sweet Fraulein down in Berlin town
Makes my heart start to yearn
And my China doll down in old Hong Kong
Waits for my return

Pretty Polynesian baby over the sea
I remember the night
When we walked in the sands of the Waikiki
And I held you, oh so tight

Oh, my sweet Fraulien down in Berlin town
Makes my heart start to yearn
And my China doll down in old Hong Kong
Waits for my return

Pretty Polynesian baby over the sea
I remember the night
When we walked in the sands of the Waikiki
And I held you, oh so tight

Oh, I’m a travelin’ man
Yes, I’m a travelin’ man
Yes, I’m a travelin’ man
Whoa, I’m a travelin’ man

Elvis Presley – I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone

These Sun records by Elvis are untouchable. Many artists have tried to get the same sound that Sam Phillips achieved with his small studio in Memphis Tennessee. This title makes you want to listen to the song.

This was written by Bill Taylor and Stan Kesler, who were part of a group called the Snearly Ranch Boys, which recorded for Elvis’ label, Sun Records. The melody for the song was lifted by a jingle for Campbell’s soup.

The head of Sun, Sam Phillips, arranged for Elvis to record the tune, and brought in a drummer named Jimmie Lott to play on it, augmenting Elvis’ regulars: guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black.

In February of 1955, Elvis Presley records this as the “B” side to “Baby, Let’s Play House” to be released on Sun Records. This is the record that convinced RCA-Victor to drop $35,000 to buy Elvis from Sam Phillips…plus 5,000 Phillips owed Elvis.

I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone

Well, you’re right, I’m left, she’s gone
You’re right, and I’m left all alone
Well, you tried to tell me so
But how was I to know
That she was not the one for me?

You told me all along
You’re right, our love was so wrong
But now I changed my mind
Because she broke the ties that bind
And I know that she never cared for me

Well, I thought I knew just what she’d do
I guess I’m not so smart
Oh, you tried to tell me all along she’d only break my heart
I’m left, you’re right, she’s gone
You’re right, and I’m left all alone

Well, she’s gone I know not where
But now I just don’t care
For now I’m falling for you

If you’ll forgive me now
I’ll make it up somehow
So happy we will be
In a home just for three
And I’ll soon forget her now I know

Well, I thought I knew just what she’d do
I guess I’m not so smart
You tried to tell me all along
She’d only break my heart

Well, you’re right, I’m left, she’s gone
You’re right, and I’m left all alone
Well, she’s gone, I know not where
But now I just don’t care
For now I’ve fallen for you

The Creature from the Black Lagoon

I love old monster films and Universal Studios had some great monsters. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man and the monster of this post…The Creature from the Black Lagoon. This movie was released in 3-D and I’m going to get that version.

It’s been years since I watched this movie so I watched it Wednesday night. The movie was made in 1954 with some great water shots and the star of the film…The Gill-Man. He looks so odd that it still works today. The underwater shots are clear and exciting. The creature looks natural underwater.

The costume…Universal invested 15,000 dollars on the costume…in 1950s money…that would be equal to $143,294.05 today. Two different stuntmen were used to portray the creature, and therefore, two different suits were used in the movie. Ricou Browning played the creature when it was in the water and wore a lighter suit, Ben Chapman played the creature when it was out of the water with a darker suit.

Now let’s get to the object of the Creatures obsession… Julia Adams as Kay Lawernce. I don’t blame the Creature.

3….2….1

Now the plot…A scientific expedition searching for fossils along the Amazon River discovers a prehistoric Gill-Man in the legendary Black Lagoon. The explorers capture the mysterious creature, but it breaks free. The Gill-Man returns to kidnap the lovely Kay, fiancée of one in the expedition, with whom it has fallen in love.

The plot is fine but you watch to see the Creature. They did have two sequels and in the Revenge of the Creature made in 1955 you see a very young Clint Eastwood.

My Top 10 favorite Stand Up Comedians

I had a lot of comedy albums growing up and these were my favorites.

10: Steve Martin – His Wild and Crazy album, Let’s Get Small, and Comedy is Not Pretty stayed on my turntable forever.

9: Sam Kinison – His routine of Are You Lonesome Tonight is worthy enough to have him on this list.

8: Chris Rock – I followed him from SNL on.

7: Eddie Murphy – His eighties standup videos are still staples of the era.

6: Bob Newhart – If you like dry humor…this is your man.

5: George Carlin – Carlin was just so cool. His routines are well known now. He was topical and many of the things he expressed are true today. He was also on the first SNL episode.

4: Woody Allen – He had a wit as quick as you could get. His stand up from the sixties is outstanding. I had a friend with a lot of his standup routines that we listened to in the 80s.

3: Robin Williams/Jonathan Winters – Williams and Winters were very similar because Winters was a huge influence on Robin Williams. They could pick any subject and make it funny.

2: Bill Hicks – NOT family-friendly. Bill was as dark as they come but he made you think whether you agreed with him or not. He will offend EVERYONE… I like Denis Leary but Leary got a lot of his material from Hicks and cleaned it up. It can get uncomfortable listening to Bill…maybe that is the reason I liked him.

1: Richard Pryor – Richard was a game-changer…I had his albums growing up and he changed stand up comedy. He can make me laugh at any time.

Honorable Mention: Albert Brooks, Lily Tomlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Klein, Joan Rivers, and Denis Leary.

***One comedian, I never understood…maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up in his time. He had an interesting story but I just never got Lenny Bruce. I find his material once in a while funny but many lists have him as number 1 or 2. Yes, he did make a huge impact on his profession like few others but I just don’t get him like some do.

Little Richard – Lucille

Little Richard isn’t just a singer he is a force of nature. I think he would have been successful now or any decade. He is one of the best singers I’ve heard in rock and roll. His voice is brash, intense, rough, soulful, and magical. He takes you to the edge of the cliff and when you think he will go over he pulls it back.

The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, #21 on the US pop chart, and #10 on the UK charts.

Little Richard wrote this song. This was released at a time when Richard was hot…he sold millions of records in 1956 and 1957. His songs were also very successful for other artists, who sometimes outsold him with his own songs.

“Lucille” was covered by The Everly Brothers, who matched Richard’s #21 peak position on the charts with their version in 1960. Waylon Jennings had a #1 Country hit when he recorded this on his 1983 album It’s Only Rock and Roll, and other artists to cover the song include Van Halen, Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, Bill Haley & His Comets, Otis Redding, AC/DC and The Hollies.

Little Richard: “I don’t know what inspired me to write it, it may have been the rhythm.” Certainly, the lyrics serve the rhythm, with the nonsensical first line “Lucille, won’t you do your sister’s will” scanning to the beat.

From Songfacts

This song began as a ballad Richard wrote called “Directly From My Heart to You,” which he recorded as a member of The Johnny Otis band in 1955. “Directly From My Heart to You” was released by Peacock Records as a B-side, and when Little Richard recorded for Specialty Records in September 1955, he tried recording the song for his first album. It didn’t make the cut, but Richard’s career took off, and when he needed another single in 1957, he revived the song, but gave it the sound that made him a star, speeding up the tempo considerably.

The lyrics were completely rewritten, and Richard went to a common theme for his hits: a girl’s name. If Lucille was based on a real woman who broke Richard’s heart, he isn’t saying.
If there was a real Lucille, it would probably be either Richard’s (female) lover Lee Angel, or his mentor Steve Reeder Jr., who performed under the name Esquerita. Little Richard hasn’t kept a lot of secrets, so it’s more likely that he did make up Lucille. His next single was also named after a girl: “Jenny, Jenny.”

In a 1999 interview with Mojo magazine, Richard explained: “The effects and rhythms you hear on my songs, I got ’em from the trains that passed by my house. Like ‘Lucille’ came from a train – Dadas-dada-dada-dada, I got that from the train.”

Other popular Lucille’s in music: B.B. King’s guitar is named Lucille, and Kenny Rogers had a hit with different song with the same title in 1977 – his is the one that goes, “You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille…”

The Everly Brothers 1960 version broke new ground but using several guitarists on the track all at once. Recorded in Nashville and arranged by Don Everly, that sound later appeared on Roy Orbison’s hit “(Oh) Pretty Woman.”

In 1993, Little Richard sang this on Sesame Street as “Rosita,” in tribute to the blue monster of the same name.

Lucille

Lucille, won’t you do your sister’s will?
Oh, Lucille, won’t you do your sister’s will?
Well, you ran away and left, I love you still.

Lucille, please, come back where you belong.
Oh, Lucille, please, come back where you belong.
I been good to you, baby, please, don’t leave me alone.

Lucille, baby, satisfy my heart.
Oh, Lucille, baby, satisfy my heart.
I slaved for you, baby, and gave you such a wonderful start.

I woke up this morning, Lucille was not in sight.
I asked her friends about her but all their lips were tight.
Lucille, please, come back where you belong.
I been good to you, baby, please, don’t leave me alone.

Johnny Cash – I Walk The Line

A signature song for Cash.

“I Walk the Line” was recorded at Sun Studios for Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. A 24-year-old Cash is said to have written the lyrics in just 20 minutes as the words about his then-wife, Vivian Liberto, flowed out of him.

Recorded in April 1956, Cash’s first #1 was sped up at the urging of Sun Studios owners Sam Phillips. Jack Clements, who worked with Cash, recalled: “I wasn’t impressed with Cash at first, because I like recordings with class… And Cash seemed rough, but ‘I Walk The line’ was a class recording.”

While performing the song on his TV show, Cash admitted that his eerie hum at the beginning of each verse was to get his pitch. The song required Cash to change keys several times while singing it.

Cash wanted to record the song at a much slower tempo, making it a ballad. Sam Phillips, encouraged him to speed up the track, it became the song that we remember.

Bob Dylan on the song: “It was different than anything else you had ever heard,” “A voice from the middle of the Earth.”

From Songfacts

One of his most famous songs, this song details Johnny Cash’s values and lifestyle. It is a promise to remain faithful to his first wife, Vivian, while he is on the road.

“Walk The Line” was the title of the 2005 Cash biopic, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter.

Carl Perkins suggested the title “I Walk The Line” while on tour with Cash.

A version by Megan Wyler and Adem Ilhan was used in popular Levi’s commercials that aired in 2006.

On March 31, 1971, Cash closed out the finale of his television series The Johnny Cash Show with this song. The show had run since June 7, 1969, and drew a substantial audience, but was eliminated as part of the “rural purge” that cancelled many popular shows because they didn’t appeal to the younger generation of television viewers who were primarily concerned with things like the Vietnam War, rock and roll, and the Hippie counterculture.

The Voice contestant Craig Wayne Boyd reached #84 on the Hot 100 following a November 24, 2014 performance of the song on the show where he reinterpreted it as a slow, soulful ballad. It was the tune’s first appearance on the chart since Jaye P. Morgan’s cover reached #66 in 1960.

I Walk The LIne

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I’ll admit that I’m a fool for you
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I’ve known proves that it’s right
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

You’ve got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can’t hide
For you I know I’d even try to turn the tide
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Because you’re mine, I walk the line
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

My Top Ten Favorite Guitar Solos

These are my favorite guitar solos. Some of these solos are intricate but some are pretty simple. I picked ones out that I have always liked. Some of them are not considered great but I always thought they were memorable. They caught my ear for one reason or another.

1. Cream – Crossroads – A live solo by Eric Clapton. He pulls notes out of the air and turns this cover of the Robert Johnson song into a great rock track.

2. Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps – One of the few times someone else played on a Beatles track. This was Eric Clapton playing this solo. Eric played his guitar through a Leslie cabinet to make it more “Beatlely”

3. Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower – Jimi made this Bob Dylan song into his own.

4. Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing – I can hum this one all the way through. I know it better than the lyrics.

5. Elvis Presley – That’s Alright Mama – Scotty Moore nails this solo. It’s very simple but it’s perfect.

6. The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil – Keith’s solo compliments the song perfectly.

7. Led Zeppelin – Heartbreaker – My favorite solo by Jimmy Page

8. Tom Petty – Breakdown – Mike Campbell’s solo is just as part of the song as the lyrics are…

9. Queen – We Will Rock You – Not a difficult solo but catchy. This solo was one of the first ones that I ever noticed. Brian May plays solos you can hum.

10. Badfinger – Baby Blue – A very simple solo but it fits this great power-pop song.

Abbott and Costello… Who’s On First?

Abbott and Costello’s most famous routine. Whether you are a baseball fan or not…it is enjoyable. I wanted to know who wrote the routine or what inspired it.

Some have said “Who’s on First” was based on the names of actual minor leaguers and cup-of-coffee big leaguers such as Honus J. Hoehe (Who), Allie Watt (What) and Isaiah Donough (I Dunno)… but that sounds a little too good to be true.

Most historians believe that it was derived from various early skits performed in burlesque houses including one called “The Baker Scene” (which played on multiple meanings of the word “loaf,” from bread to laziness) and another routine named “Who Dyed” (about a man named “Who”). Various comics and comedy teams over the years expanded on the bit and varied it from show to show. Eventually, somehow, the subject of baseball got involved.

Over the years, usually in obituaries, various comedy writers (including Michael Musto, John Grant, and Irving Gordon) have been credited with the final form of “Who’s On First?” but determining full ownership has proven to be impossible.
Ultimately, one thing is for sure… Abbott and Costello made it their own.