Elvis Presley – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel

One of the most perfect Rock and Roll songs ever. There are many different eras of Elvis. This is not the jumpsuit Elvis or even the great comeback Elvis. This is the mid-fifties Elvis, who I think is untouchable.

This 1955 song found Elvis Presley right on the cusp. He’d already cut a few sides for Sun that shaped hillbilly music into something sharp and unruly, but this was his first single for RCA. The stakes were high, and the sound? Even higher. Everything about Heartbreak Hotel is drenched in echo. Not just the vocals, which slap back like they’re ricocheting off the walls, but the very mood of it.

Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore laid down little guitar stabs. Floyd Cramer’s piano combines with the emptiness. RCA execs weren’t sure about it. They wanted something upbeat. Something with bounce. But the public knew better, as they usually do. The song was written by Hoyt Axton’s mother, Mae Boren Axton, who wrote the music, and a steel guitar player from Nashville named Tommy Durden wrote the lyrics. He said he was inspired by a newspaper article about a man who killed himself at a hotel and left a note that stated, “I walk a lonely street.”

The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100 and the Country charts and #2 in the UK Charts. It also reached #10 in the UK in 1971. The first RCA sessions were held on January 10, 1956, at their Nashville studios ( The Methodist Television, Radio and TV Studios, 1525 McGavock Street, Nashville), and that’s where Elvis recorded this song. His backing musicians were his mainstays, Scotty Moore on electric guitar and Bill Black on bass, D.J. Fontana on drums, Floyd Cramer on piano, and Chet Atkins on acoustic guitar.

Heartbreak Hotel

Well, since my baby left me
Well, I found a new place to dwell
Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street
At Heartbreak Hotel
Where I’ll be–where I get so lonely, baby
Well, I’m so lonely
I get so lonely, I could die

Although it’s always crowded
You still can find some room
For broken-hearted lovers
To cry there in the gloom
And be so, where they’ll be so lonely, baby
Well, they’re so lonely
They’ll be so lonely, they could die

Well, the bellhop’s tears keep flowin’
And the desk clerk’s dressed in black
Well, they’ve been so long on Lonely Street
Well, they’ll never, they’ll never get back
And they’ll be so, where they’ll be so lonely, baby
Well, they’re so lonely
They’ll be so lonely, they could die

Well now, if your baby leaves you
And you have a sad tale to tell
Just take a walk down Lonely Street
To Heartbreak Hotel
And you will be, you will be, you will be lonely, baby
You’ll be so lonely
You’ll be so lonely, you could die

Well, though it’s always crowded
You still can find some room
For broken-hearted lovers
To cry there in the gloom
And they’ll be so, they’ll be so lonely, baby
They’ll be so lonely
They’ll be so lonely, they could die

Tony Joe White – Polk Salad Annie

Down in Louisiana, where the alligators grow so meanLived a girl, that I swear to the worldMade the alligators look tame

This song is just plain badass. It could have been extremely corny, but it’s not at all. It’s that groove that is impossible to escape and the lyrics just follow so nicely. Amos Moses, a song by Jerry Reed, is in this vein as well.

This song could very well be called Swamp Rock. It blends blues, rock, and country with a Southern feel. Tony Joe White, often called “The Swamp Fox,” built much of his career around this style, influencing later artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Black Keys.

The song was on his 1969 album called Black and White. The album peaked at #51 on the Billboard 100, but the single did much better. Polk Salad Annie peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100 and #10 in Canada in 1969.

White was what you would call a one-hit wonder, but he wrote many more hits than this one. He wrote A Rainy Night In Georgia, Willie and Laura Mae Jones, Steamy Windows, and others. Artists such as Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley (where I heard the song first), Ray Charles, and Tina Turner.

Elvis Presley released the song in 1973. It wasn’t released as a single in America, but it did manage to peak at #23 in the UK.

Polk Salad Annie

If some of ya’ll never been down south too muchSome y’all never been down s-I’m gonna tell you a little story so’s you’ll understand what I’m talkin’ aboutDown there we have a plant that grows out in the woods, and the fieldsAnd it looks somethin’ like a turnip greenEverybody calls it polk saladNow that’s polk saladUsed to know a girl lived down there and she’d go out in the evenings andPick her a mess of itCarry it home and cook it for supperBecause that’s about all they had to eatBut they did all right

Down in Louisiana, where the alligators grow so meanLived a girl, that I swear to the worldMade the alligators look tamePolk salad Annie, gators got your grannyEverybody said it was a shameBecause her momma was a workin’ on the chain gangA mean vicious woman

Everyday before supper time, she’d go down by the truck patchAnd pick her a mess of polk salad, and carry it home in a tow sackPolk salad Annie, the gators got your grannyEverybody says it was a shameBecause her momma was a workin’ on the chain gangA wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin’ womanLord have Mercy, pick a mess of it

Sock a little polk salad to me

Her daddy was lazy and no-count, claimed he had a bad backAll her brothers were fit forWas stealin’ watermelons out of my truck patchPolk salad Annie, the gators got your grannyEverybody said it was a shameBecause her momma was a workin’ on the chain gang

Yeah, sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need me a mess of itSock a little

Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a real mess of it (chick-a-boom)Sock a little polk salad, you know I need a real (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)Ching-ching-ching-ching-a-ling (chick-a-boom)

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Jerry Reed – Guitar Man

When I hear the phrase “chicken picken” I think of Jerry Reed. He was one the best guitar players in country or rock. My step-dad had his greatest hits on 8-track and I wore it out in his truck. Songs like Amos Moses and When You’re Hot You’re Hot I instantly liked.

The most famous story of the song involved Elvis Presley. Shortly after Jerry Reed released Guitar Man, Elvis Presley became interested in recording the song. However, when Presley’s studio musicians couldn’t replicate Reed’s unique guitar playing, producer Felton Jarvis called Jerry Reed himself to play in the session.

When Reed arrived, he saw that the studio musicians had been trying to copy his style but were using standard electric guitars. Reed restrung an acoustic guitar with heavier strings and started playing his signature licks. Elvis immediately said: “You mean that’s all you do? Just pick like that? Hell, I’ve been looking for that sound all night!.” The song was released as a single in 1968 and appeared on Elvis’ album Clambake.

At the time, it was common for Elvis (or his management Colonel Tom Parker) to demand a share of the publishing rights for songs he recorded. Songwriters were often pressured to sign over part of their royalties if they wanted their songs to be performed by Presley, ensuring that his team made money beyond record sales.

However, Jerry Reed refused to give up his publishing rights. He stood his ground, which meant he kept full credit and royalties for Guitar Man. The reason Jerry got by with is and Dolly Parton didn’t is because the song was already recorded and Elvis loved it.

Jerry Reed’s version peaked at #53 on the Billboard Country Charts. Elvis’s version peaked at #43 on the Billboard 100 and #36 in Canada. He had to be thrilled to hang on to the rights of the song. It hit #1 in the Country Charts in 1981 on a remixed version of Elvis’s original recording.

Guitar Man

Well, I quit my job down at the car washLeft my mama a goodbye noteBy sundown I’d left KingstonWith my guitar under my coatI hitchhiked all the way down to MemphisGot a room at the YMCAFor the next three weeks, I went huntin’ them nightsJust lookin’ for a place to playWell, I thought my pickin’ would set ’em on fireBut nobody wanted to hire a guitar man

Well, I nearly ’bout starved to death down in MemphisI run outta money and luckSo I bought me a ride down to Macon, GeorgiaOn a overloaded poultry truckI thumbed on down to Panama CityStarted pickin’ out some o’ them all night barsHopin’ I could make myself a dollarMakin’ music on my guitarI got the same old story at them all night piersThere ain’t no room around here for a guitar manWe don’t need a guitar man, son

So I slept in the hobo junglesRoamed a thousand miles of trackTill I found myself in Mobile AlabamaAt a club they call Big Jack’sA little four-piece band was jammin’So I took my guitar and I sat inI showed ’em what a band would sound likeWith a swingin’ little guitar manShow ’em, son

If you ever take a trip down to the oceanFind yourself down around MobileOh make it on out to a club called Jack’sIf you got a little time to killJust follow that crowd of peopleYou’ll wind up out on his dance floorDiggin’ the finest little five piece groupUp and down the Gulf of MexicoGuess who’s leadin’ that five-piece bandWell, wouldn’t ya know, it’s that swingin’ little guitar manYeah yeah, guitar man, hahaha

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Elvis Presley – Blue Moon Of Kentucky

How I love this song. I’ve heard it so many times and now I think of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles when Martin and Candy are singing it in a burntout car they were driving.

Elvis Presley recorded this song as the B-side to That’s All Right in 1954, marking his debut single with Sun Records. It was recorded during his second session with the label on July 6, 1954. Elvis, guitarist Scotty Moore, and bassist Bill Black reimagined the song in a faster, upbeat, rockabilly style. This transformation gave the song a fresh, raw feel that differed greatly from its bluegrass origins.

Presley’s recording became the best-known version of the song and is an early example of what was to become known as Rockabilly, a combination of Blues and Country together with an uptempo beat. The single was very popular locally, helping to build Elvis’s reputation in the Memphis area and laying the groundwork for his later success. DJ’s have said they would play the single multiple times over and over again when it was released.

Bill Monroe wrote this song in 1946 and recorded the first version playing mandolin backed by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. After the Presley version was released, Monroe recut the song and added both styles to it.

Elvis Presley got an invite to the Grand Ole Opry soon after this, and he was fearful of Monroe’s reaction to his version of the song. He sought out the older Opry star backstage and apologized to him for taking such liberties. Monroe reacted with generosity. Monroe later admitted Presley’s version of “Blue Moon of Kentucky” gave him very big songwriter royalty checks. This song is very important in history… celebrated as a groundbreaking moment where country music met rock and roll with a resounding success.

The state of Kentucky made this their official bluegrass song. Now let’s listen to the song and listen to the flip side performed by Elvis fan Paul.

Paul McCartney recorded the Arthur Crudup blues classic, That’s All Right, Mama, with Elvis Presley’s original band members, Scotty Moore (guitar) and DJ Fontana (drums).

Blue Moon of Kentucky

Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon,
keep shining bright.
Blue moon, keep on shining bright,
You’re gonna bring me back my baby tonight,
Blue moon, keep shining bright.

I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining,
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.
I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining,
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Well, it was on one moonlight night,
Stars shining bright,
Wish blown high
Love said good-bye.

Blue moon of Kentucky
Keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Well, I said blue moon of Kentucky
Just keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.
I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Well, it was on one moonlight night,
Stars shining bright,
Wish blown high
Love said good-bye.

Blue moon of Kentucky
Keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Elvis Presley – Hound Dog

The Big E was at his best in the fifties before the Army and films changed him. This is the song that I first heard by him and it made me a fan when I was around 5 or so. The song brought up images to kids and was easy to understand in a kid’s sort of way…and it rocked.

I think it’s one of the best rock singles ever released. Do you want a double A-side? Try Hound Dog backed with Don’t Be Cruel. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Those early Elvis songs were magical. Hound Dog, That’s Alright, I Forgot To Remember To Forget, Mystery Train, Heartbreak Hotel, Don’t Be Cruel, and the list goes on. Many artists have played rock and roll but it’s hard as hell to beat these primal songs. I think one of the reasons is they were mostly recorded live in a studio. They don’t have 100 overdubs…just simplicity at its best and it hits its target.

Hound Dog was first recorded by Willie Mae Big Mama Thornton and was a number 1 rhythm & blues hit in 1953. Her voice is incredible in this song. She nailed it and so did Elvis. Elvis’s version is a little faster than Thornton’s version…but that made room for her dynamic voice.

Elvis Presley’s version didn’t do too bad. It peaked at #1 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard R&B Charts, and #2 in the UK in 1956 (I could not find Canada). The song was written by teenagers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They would go on to write many more chart hits for everyone…including Elvis with Jailhouse Rock.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller: “We’d actually written ‘Hound Dog’ 90 percent on the way over in the car. I was beating out a rhythm we called the ‘buck dance’ on the roof of the car. We got to Johnny Otis’s house and Mike went right to the piano… didn’t even bother to sit down. He had a cigarette in his mouth that was burning his left eye, and he started to play the song. We took the song back to Big Mama and she snatched the paper out of my hand and said, ‘Is this my big hit?’ And I said, ‘I hope so.’

Next thing I know, she starts crooning ‘Hound Dog’ like Frank Sinatra would sing ‘In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning.’ And I’m looking at her, and I’m a little intimidated by the razor scars on her face, and she’s about 280-320 pounds, and I said, ‘It don’t go that way.’ And she looked at me like looks could kill and said – and this was when I found out I was white – ‘White boy, don’t you be tellin’ me how to sing the blues.’ We finally got through it.

Johnny brought Mike back in the room and asked him to sit down at the piano, which was not easy because Johnny had this female piano player who was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They finally exchanged seats and did the song the way it was supposed to sound. And that was one of those where we said, ‘That’s a hit.’ And I thought immediately: We both said it, it’s gonna put a hex on it!”

Hound Dog

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dogCryin’ all the timeYou ain’t nothin’ but a hound dogCryin’ all the timeWell, you ain’t never caught a rabbitAnd you ain’t no friend of mine

Well, they said you was high-classedWell, that was just a lieYeah, they said you was high-classedWell, that was just a lieYeah, you ain’t never caught a rabbitAnd you ain’t no friend of mine

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dogCryin’ all the timeYou ain’t nothin’ but a hound dogCryin’ all the timeWell, you ain’t never caught a rabbitAnd you ain’t no friend of mine

Well, they said you was high-classedWell, that was just a lieYeah, they said you was high-classedWell, that was just a lieWell, you ain’t never caught a rabbitAnd you ain’t no friend of mine

Well, they said you was high-classedWell, that was just a lieYa know they said you was high-classedWell, that was just a lieWell, you ain’t never caught a rabbitAnd you ain’t no friend of mine

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dogCryin’ all the timeYou ain’t nothin’ but a hound dogCryin’ all the timeWell, you ain’t never caught a rabbitYou ain’t no friend of mine

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog

Animals – See See Rider

Many have covered this song and I’ve known many versions. It’s been covered over 100 times. I first knew this song by Elvis but I love the Animals version.

The biggest difference between the Animals and The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and The Who was that the Animals didn’t write many of their early songs. They kept looking at the Brill Building for songs. In this instance, they took an old blues song and breathed new life into it, creating a powerful recording that would become emblematic of their sound.

One of the earliest recorded versions of “See See Rider” was by Ma Rainey, one of the pioneering figures of blues music. Rainey’s recording, released in 1925, helped popularize the song and establish it as a blues standard. The writing credit on this song is Lena Arent and Ma Rainey.

Ma Rainey’s influence extended beyond her music… she was also a trailblazer for African American artists in the music industry. As one of the first African American women to record blues music. she was a vaudeville star in the early 1900s. In 1923, she started recording for Paramount Records. Earlier he took Bessie Smith under her wing and helped her. She was one of the first female blues artists to find a wide audience.

The C.C. Rider, also known as See See Rider or Easy Rider, is a blues cliché for the sexual partner, although originally it referred to the guitar hung on the back of the traveling bluesman. An easy rider was also known as an unfaithful boyfriend.

The song peaked at #1 in Canada and #10 on the Billboard 100 in 1966.

Over the years, “See See Rider” has been covered by many artists from various genres, including Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Janis Joplin. Per Secondhandsongs… it has been covered 450 times.

See See Rider

Oh see, see see rider girl see what you’ve doneOh oh, see see rider see what you’ve done nowYou’ve gone away and left me and nowAnd now the blues they come oh yes they do

Oh well I’m goin’ goin’ away baby and I won’t be back till fallOh yes I am goin’ away baby and I won’t be back till fallIf I get me a good lookin’ woman no no no I won’t be back at all oh rightNow see see rider I love you yes I do and there isn’t one thing darlingI would not do for you you know I want you see seeI need you by my side see see rider oh keep me satisfied

Oh he had see see rider see see riderSee see rider see see rider see riderSee see rider you keep on a ridin’, keep on a ridin’Here it comes baby look outBeat it all right don’t lose it now come on, come on, yeah

Here she comes she’s oh rightShe’s so fine she’s all mineSee see come on Jenny dig a ride now, hey

Well I’m goin’, goin’ away baby and I won’t be back till fallYes, I’m goin’, goin’ away baby and I won’t be back till fallIf I find me a good lookin’ woman no no no I won’t be back at allAnd that’s the truth baby listen I’m goin’ all rightSomebody told me somebody told meI jump catch on I leave it oh right oh right ah

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Max Picks …songs from 1961

1961

Gary US Bonds song Quarter To Three was a huge hit this year. Bonds’ real name is Gary Anderson. His label boss, Frank Guida, changed it to “U.S. Bonds” for his first single, New Orleans, as a play on the posters asking Americans to “buy U.S. savings bonds.” Pretty clever, but too many people, including many DJs, got it wrong and thought it was the name of a group. His next single, “Quarter To Three,” was initially issued as U.S. Bonds but soon changed to Gary U.S. Bonds, along with his subsequent releases.

Now let’s check in with Del Shannon. He released what is now an iconic song named Runaway. This song was written by Del Shannon and Max Crook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56qRqHfSRQ

I want to throw some country in this also with a song that has been remembered along with the artist who did the vocals. Patsy Cline sings I Fall To Pieces. The song was written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard.

The Big E makes a wonderful appearance in this post. This was a pure rock and roll song and that was a seldom occurence for Elvis Presley at this point.

Now for the Big O to close this year out. Roy Orbison does Running Scared with his operatic voice. Hearing Orbison’s voice still gives me the chills. was recorded in RCA Studio B in Nashville with the session pros known as “The A-team.” This was the last song that he sang live before his death in 1988.

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Max Picks …songs from 1958

1958

Welcome to another edition of Max Picks. We will start it off with Ricky Nelson on a slow note but this song is so haunting to me. Nelson wasn’t always taken seriously because of his acting in his parent’s sitcom Ozzie and Harriet. That’s a shame because he released some top-grade rockabilly songs. Here he is with the ballad Lonesome Town.

As promised…here is more Buddy Holly, his window was short but strong. Buddy’s songs would influence everyone from The Stones, Hollies, Beatles, and more. He also could have unknowingly started the Power Pop genre. His jangly guitar and that voice with the hiccups. I went to the Buddy Holly Broadway show when it toured and stopped in Nashville. I can’t explain in words how a 3 piece band sounded so full with the music he wrote.

Now we have the one and only Chuck Berry weaving his lyrics about a guy who left his home to make it playing guitar. This song IS Rock and Roll and has been played by every self-respecting garage band ever since. It’s also covered by heavy metal, country, pop, and rock bands. I would lay money down that somewhere tonight in some bar somewhere…Johnny B. Goode will be heard.

Link Wray and his Ray Men gave us this instrumental Rumble in 1958. This instrumental was somewhat controversial because it implied gang violence – some radio stations refused to play it. It might be the only instrumental song ever banned on the radio. It was feared that the piece’s harsh sound glorified juvenile delinquency. Did the song cause juvenile delinquency? We can only hope.

Now we will end it with an artist that unfortunately is about to go in the Army at this time. He would never be the same again. Yes, we would get some great songs in his future but Elvis Presley became more of an all-around entertainer after this year. His rock and roll days were going to fall behind for a while when he started to make movies. This is a fantastic song.

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Max Picks …songs from 1955

I want to start something called “Max Picks” and go through every year from 1955 to around 1990 or so. Right now I’ll try to get these in on Wednesday after Star Trek. When Star Trek ends on August 26th I might move it to the weekends. I will try to make each of these short and sweet. This post will hopefully be the longest one I write only because of telling you about it. I will pick 5 songs out of each year…now of course I’m breaking my rule in the first one! You will see why.

I won’t just pick hits as we go along. In the 80s there will be some “alternative” music and I will try to mix it up. The reason I am starting in 1955? The first song below is the reason. It helped jumpstart Rock and Roll.

1955

Ok, let’s get this rolling. The huge hit this year? The one you will know later on in Happy Days. Bill Haley and His Comets Rock Around The Clock. It was one of the most important rock songs of all time. This one was huge in America and it popped into the UK charts in 1955. Whether you are a rock fan, pop fan, heavy metal fan, or anything in between…1955 helped kick it all off.

Here…a middle age looking man takes the world by storm. The following year it would be in the movie of the same name featuring Bill and his Comets. Take it away big fellow.

Mr. Chuck Berry also debuted with his first single…the classic Maybelline. The song was written by Chuck Berry and the song just flat out rocks. This song and its beat influenced young kids like Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and many more.

Now one of my favorites from the year and decade. The one and only Fats Domino Ain’t That A Shame. I love Cheap Tricks version but Fats is Fats…he was one of the most understated rockers of this decade. This song was written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew.

I could not have this without the Big E! Elvis Presley…I’m stuck between two songs to pick. Heartbreak Hotel and Mystery Train. So…on my first post in this…I’m going to pick both! This is the Elvis that I love… before the Army and Tom Parker took his soul away. Junior Parker wrote this song and the great Sam Phillips produced it. Heartbreak Hotel was written by Mae Boren Axton (Hoyts Mom!) and Tommy Durden. Tom Parker got Elvis’s name writing credits but he didn’t have anything to do with it but singing.

Since we have thrown in rockers…I thought I would try a ballad that’s been in a lot of movies and was huge at the time. The Penguins doing Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) written by Curtis Williams, Gaynel Hodge, and Jesse Belvin.

Wanda Jackson – Hard Headed Woman

I can’t comment on the title…or I’d be in trouble. I will say this…this is a different song than the song written by Cat Stevens on Tea For The Tillerman.

This song was first recorded and released by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires in 1958. A great straight-up no-frills rock and roll song. Elvis’s version was part of the soundtrack for his 1958 motion picture King Creole and was included on the record album of the same name. The song was also released as a single and in 1958 peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts and went to number two for two weeks on the R&B chart.

The song was written by Claude Demetrius, who also composed songs like “Mean Woman Blues” and “Ain’t That Just Like A Woman,” and the Christmas classic “Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me.).” When “Hard Headed Woman” first came out in 1958, the BBC restricted when it could be played on the air because of the biblical references in the lyrics.

Wanda Jackson did date Elvis in 1955. He gave her a ring to hold on to and Wanda still has it. They toured together building up their fanbase. Wanda released this song that was on the Live at Town Hall Party 1958.

Wanda Jackson: “I had never heard of him when we met, but we had a lot in common. We were two happy-go-lucky kids.”

This is Wanda’s appearance on California’s Town Hall Party TV show, calling the tune “one of the most beautiful love songs that’s ever been written.” Accompanied in the clip by guitarist Joe Maphis, Jackson recorded her sizzling version in Nashville in the fall of 1960. Among the musicians on those sessions was young guitar whiz Roy Clark.

Hard Headed Woman

Well, a hard headed woman a soft hearted man
Been the cause of trouble ever since the world began
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Now Adam said to Eve listen here to me
Don’t you let me catch you messin’ round that apple tree
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Now Samson told Delilah loud and clear
Keep your cotton pickin’ fingers out of my curly hair
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Well, I heard about a king who’s doing swell
Till he started playin’ with that evil Jezabel
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Gordon Lightfoot – Early Morning Rain …. Canadian Week

Robbie Robertson: “a cultural treasure of the Canadian nation.”

From now until Friday it’s going to be Canadian Week…with all Canadian artists. Two of which I’ve never posted on before and one at the very end…were all Canadian except a certain southern drummer. I hope you will join me this week whether you are Canadian or not…there will be some great artists.

I grew up with Lightfoot’s songs. He was one of the very few respected artists my sister liked so I was hearing his songs when I was around 5 or 6. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is still a go-to song for me. From Sundown to If You Could Read My Mind and all the ones in between. This particular song is such a perfectly written number. I first heard this by Elvis Presley when I was a kid.

Bob Dylan covered this song on his Self Portrait album and it helped Gordon’s career. So many have covered this song. Here is a link to the second-hand songs website if you want to see them all. Elvis Presley, Dylan, Jerry Reed, Steve Forbert, Jerry Lee Lewis, Peter Paul and Mary, and a TON more. You know you have written a great song when you have those quality artists covering it.

It didn’t chart for Lightfoot but other artists took the song to the charts. According to Wiki… Ian and Sylvia #1 on the Canada AC Charts in 1965, Peter, Paul, and Mary #39 in Canada and #91 on the Billboard 100, George Hamilton IV #9 on the Billboard Country Charts in 1971, Oliver #28 in the Billboard AC Charts in 1971, Paul Weller #40 in the UK in 2005… even the Grateful Dead covered this song.

Gordon died on May 1, 2023. The music world lost a huge legend with Gordon Lightfoot. It’s hard to put into words how great of a songwriter the man was.

Gordon Lightfoot on Bob Dylan recording this song: “I was totally blown away that he would record one of my songs in the first place. It helped my career – I’d not had a hit single myself at that point. His cover was a linchpin in that whole process because it made people in the industry aware that I was producing good songs.”

Robbie Robertson: “a cultural treasure of the Canadian nation.”

Bob Dylan: “I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever. “

Bob Dylan: Lightfoot died “without ever having made a bad song”

Early Morning Rain

In the early mornin’ rain
With a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I’m a long ways from home
And I missed my loved one so
In the early mornin’ rain
With no place to go

Out on runway number nine
Big seven o seven set to go
Well I’m stuck here on the grass
With a pain that ever grows
Where the liquor tasted good
And all the women all were fast
There, there she goes my friend
She’s rolling down at last

Hear the mighty engines roar
See the silver wing on high
She’s away and westward bound
For above the clouds she’ll fly
Where the mornin’ rain don’t fall
And the sun always shines
She’ll be flying over my home
In about three hours time

This ol’ airport’s got me down
It’s no damn good to me
And I’m stuck here on the ground
As cold and drunk as I can be
Can’t jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin’ rain
Can’t jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin’ rain

Elvis Presley – All Shook Up

I was still on my blogging sabbatical when August 16 came around and I missed the anniversary of Elvis’s death in 1977. So I wanted to include an Elvis post.

This is one of those songs that I grew up on and I would play over at my relative’s house. I mean…how could you ever not listen to a song that starts off with:

A well’a bless my soul
What’sa wrong with me?
I’m itchin’ like a man in a fuzzy tree
My friends say I’m actin’ wild as a bug
I’m in love
I’m all shook up

Not exactly poetry but the Big E made it flow so well. This is the Elvis that I like a lot…the pre-army Elvis. He was THE rock star at the time. Don’t believe me? He had 12 number 1 songs from 1956 through 1959. After he entered the Army…he wasn’t the same…still good…but the danger was gone quicker than you could say, Colonel Tom Parker.

Otis Blackwell wrote this on a dare. One of the owners of Shalimar Music (Blackwell’s publishing company) wandered into Blackwell’s office as he struggled to create a follow-up to Don’t Be Cruel. Al Stanton approached Blackwell, Stanton was shaking a bottle of Pepsi. Stanton said to Blackwell, “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you write a song called All Shook Up? Otis then finished the song a couple of days after that.

All Shook Up peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, in Canada, in the UK in 1957. It was ranked #352 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Although Otis Blackwell is listed as the sole composer, Presley shared the songwriting credit. The reason is that it was demanded by Colonel Tom Parker. Parker had said…Elvis doesn’t record the song unless he gets songwriting credit. The same thing happened with Don’t Be Cruel. Personally, I think this was wrong on many levels but unless the songwriter had money and clout…if he wanted it recorded by Elvis…he had to go along with it.

Speaking of the Colonel…there is a famous story about Dolly Parton’s song that she wanted Elvis to record. It happened in 1974, just after the release of Parton’s hit single I Will Always Love You. Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker made an effort to reach out to Parton with an offer in exchange for Presley recording her song. Again Parked demanded that Elvis get the co-writer credit on the song. She turned Parker down and kept the song to herself. That was a smart decision that paid off when Whitney Houston recorded the song and it made millions for Parton.

Dolly Parton: “I was desperate for Elvis to sing my song and I’d told everyone he was going to sing it, but I couldn’t let that happen. It’s my song, my publishing rights. It broke my heart but I had to turn him down.”

A well’a bless my soul
What’sa wrong with me?
I’m itchin’ like a man in a fuzzy tree
My friends say I’m actin’ wild as a bug
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay

Well, my hands are shaky and my knees are weak
I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet
Who do you think of when you have such luck?
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay

Well, please don’t ask me what’sa on my mind
I’m a little mixed up, but I’m feelin’ fine
When I’m near that girl that I love best
My heart beats so it scares me to death!

Well she touched my hand what a chill I got
Her lips are like a volcano when it’s hot
I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay

My tongue gets tied when I try to speak
My insides shake like a leaf on a tree
There’s only one cure for this body of mine
That’s to have that girl that I love so fine!

She touched my hand what a chill I got
Her lips are like a volcano that’s hot
I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay
I’m all shook up

Elvis Presley – Viva Las Vegas

ELVIS….otherwise known as The Big E, King Of Rock ’n‘ Roll, The Memphis Flash, The Jumpsuited One, The Vibrating Valentino, Ol ’Snake Hips, The Tennessee Troubadour, Mr. Sideburns, The Hillbilly Cat, The Cool Cat, or just EP. I think The Vibrating Valentino wins in the nickname department.

Viva Las Vegas was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman as the title song for the film of the same name starring Elvis Presley…. better-known AS…no I won’t go through that again. Pomus and Shuman wrote several other songs for Presley as well. Among them: “Little Sister,” “Suspicion,” and “Surrender.”

In the movie, Elvis plays a race car driver who has to wait tables at a hotel in order to pay off a debt (no doubt to Colonel Tom Parker!). He performs this song at the hotel’s talent competition accompanied by various Vegas showgirls. Viva Las Vegas was the most successful of the 31 films Elvis starred in, returning more than $5 million to MGM Studios on an investment of less than $1 million.

I do remember this movie on TV. Why do I remember this Elvis movie more than others? No other than the co-star Ann-Margret.

The song peaked at #29 in the Billboard 100, #14 in Canada, #4 in New Zealand, and #17 in the UK in 1964. It did re-chart at #15 in the UK in 2007.

Billy Strange played guitar on this track. According to Strange’s son Jerry, musician’s royalties for the song came in for years thanks to slot machines that play the song.

The song was revived by ZZ Top, who took it to #10 in the UK, #16 in the Billboard Rock Charts, #34 in Canada, and #17 in New Zealand in 1992.

Everything that is famous about Las Vegas comes up in the song…such as roulette, neon, hot dice, pretty women, blackjack, one-armed bandits, and bright lights. The song has served as an advertisement for the city although having a small consolation for losing everything…If I wind up broke up well
I’ll always remember that I had a swingin’ time… Oh OK! A swinging time is worth it!

The Dead Kennedys also did a cover of the song…in their own unique way.

Viva Las Vegas

Bright light city gonna set my soul
Gonna set my soul on fire
Got a whole lot of money that’s ready to burn,
So get those stakes up higher
There’s a thousand pretty women waitin’ out there
And they’re all livin’ the devil may care
And I’m just the devil with love to spare, so
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas
How I wish that there were more
Than the twenty-four hours in the day
Even if there were forty more
I wouldn’t sleep a minute away
Oh, there’s black jack and poker and the roulette wheel
A fortune won and lost on ev’ry deal
All you need’s a strong heart and a nerve of steel
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas with you neon flashin’
And your one arm bandits crashin’
All those hopes down the drain
Viva Las Vegas turnin’ day into nighttime
Turnin’ night into daytime
If you see it once
You’ll never be the same again
I’m gonna keep on the run
I’m gonna have me some fun
If it costs me my very last dime
If I wind up broke up well
I’ll always remember that I had a swingin’ time
I’m gonna give it ev’rything I’ve got
Lady luck please let the dice stay hot
Let me shoot a seven with ev’ry shot, ah
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas,
Viva Las Vegas, viva, viva Las Vegas

Elvis Presley – Good Rockin Tonight

When I think of Elvis …I admire him on one hand and on the other I pity him for how he ended up. When the big E was coming out of the Memphis radios on Sun Records…there was not anyone around that could touch him as a live rock and roll performer. Then came Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis became a huge star but with a steep cost.

Roy Brown first wrote and released this song in 1947. Elvis covered it and released it in 1954. His release was his second Sun Record release and the B side was a song called “I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine.” I wish Elvis could have stayed on Sun a little longer. Soon he would be gone to RCA. Great records but he had a sound on Sun that he never got back. His band was Scotty Moore on lead guitar and Bill Black on the double bass. The song didn’t chart many places but it did peak at #10 in Sweden.

His first single for Sun was “That’s Alright Mama.” On June 7, 1954, WHBQ Radio in Memphis became the first station to play this song when their disc jockey Dewey Phillips aired it on his Red, Hot and Blue show the day after Elvis recorded it. It soon built up regionally after that.

On November 20, 1955, Elvis signed with RCA and after that, his records were everywhere. RCA could give him distribution all over the world but I wish they would have kept recording the Sun Studios with Sam Phillips. Mr. Phillips owned Sun Studios since 1952 and he would have a star-studded roster of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and more.

He was also an early investor in the Holiday Inn chain of hotels and an advocate for racial equality, helping to break down racial barriers in the music industry.

The B Side I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine

Good Rockin Tonight

Well, I heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight
Well, I heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight
I’m gonna hold my baby as tight as I can
Tonight she’ll know I’m a mighty, mighty man
I heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight

I said, meet me and a-hurry behind the barn
Don’t you be afraid ’cause I’ll do you no harm
I want you to bring along my rockin’ shoes
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna rock away all our blues
I heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight

Well, we’re gonna rock
We’re gonna rock
Let’s rock
Come on and rock
We’re gonna rock all our blues away

Have you heard the news, everybody’s rockin’ tonight
Have you heard the news, everybody’s rockin’ tonight
I’m gonna hold my baby as tight as I can
Well, tonight she’ll know I’m a mighty, mighty man
I heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight

Well, we’re gonna rock, rock, rock, rock
Come on and rock, rock, rock, rock
Let’s rock, rock, rock, rock
Well, let’s rock, rock, rock, rock
We’re gonna rock all our blues away

…

Elvis Presley – I Forgot To Remember To Forget

It’s been too long since I posted about the big E. How could someone, not like a song with a title like that?

Elvis didn’t want to record this song because he thought it was too Country, so drummer Johnny Bernero from Memphis was added to the mix. Up until this time, there was only Scotty Moore on guitar, Bill Bass on bass, and Elvis on rhythm guitar. This added an up-tempo beat…Elvis liked it and recorded the song, which became a Country hit. I know Elvis is Elvis, but his backing band was just as special to me. Scotty Moore was one of a kind.

This song was released twice. The Sun Records release first charted the following week (September 17, 1955) at #14 on Billboard’s Country Charts. On November 21, 1955, it was released yet again. On that day RCA Victor purchased Elvis’s contract from Sam Phillips. As part of the deal, RCA obtained the rights to all of Presley’s Sun recordings. Soon after, RCA pressed and distributed a single of “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” and “Mystery Train” on its own label.

This was Elvis’ first #1 on any chart. It peaked at #1 in the Country Charts and #2 in Canada in 1955.

The Beatles never recorded this song in the studio, but they did it for the BBC with George singing lead.

The song was written by Charlie Feathers and Stan Kesler. Kesler had already written Presley’s “I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone” when he had the idea for this song.

Stan Kesler: “At that time, I was on the kick of catchy titles,” Kesler recalled. “When I began to think about that phrase, it just expanded into ‘I forgot to remember to forget her.’ From there, I started working on it, and it all fell together.”

The Beatles version… live in the BBC studios.

I Forgot To Remember To Forget

I forgot to remember to forget her
I can’t seem to get her off my mind
I thought I’d never miss her
But I found out somehow
I think about her almost all the time
The day she went away
I made myself a promise
That I’d soon forget we ever met
But something sure is wrong
‘Cause I’m so blue and lonely
I forgot to remember to forget

The day she went away
I made myself a promise
That I’d soon forget we ever met
Well, but something sure is wrong
‘Cause I’m so blue and lonely
I forgot to remember to forget