Tag: Ol ’Snake Hips

Elvis Presley – I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine

Many cool people have cool nicknames. I love Elvis’s nicknames. 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 was listening to Elvis’s Sun songs, and this one stood out. It’s that rhythm that really drew me into this song. Just a simple little rockabilly song that makes me feel good. I would say that Sun Records Elvis is the Elvis I like best. Not that I never liked the songs on RCA and his major hits, but these records had a sound like no other. This song was the B-side to Good Rockin’ Tonight. 

It was written by Mack David and had been recorded earlier by Patti Page in 1950. Mack David wrote it for the animated film Cinderella, but not used in the movie. He also wrote Rain, Rain Go Away, Baby It’s You, and other hit songs. 

Presley’s version was recorded in 1954 during the same period that produced songs like That’s All Right. Backed by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley pushed the tempo and stayed with that rhythm. Moore’s guitar runs are all over the place, and Black’s slap bass keeps the track moving. Elvis sings with a mix of country phrasing and the energy that would be rockabilly.

This song was recorded in September 1954. It all started a few months earlier for Elvis. On June 7, 1954, WHBQ Radio in Memphis became the first station to play That’s All Right when their disc jockey, Dewey Phillips, aired it on his Red, Hot and Blue show the day after Elvis recorded it. Phillips was a pioneering DJ who played a mix of black and white music that attracted a large and diverse following and helped Elvis on his way. 

He would find worldwide success with RCA, but…I’ll just close this by saying I really love rockabilly, Elvis!

The A side…Good Rockin’ Tonight

I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my lovin’ in the evening time
When I’m with my baby

Well, it ain’t no fun with the sun around
I get going when the sun goes down
And I’m with my baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss
And we’re gonna kiss some more
Who cares how many times we kiss
‘Cause at a time like this, who keeps score?

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I meet my baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss
And we’re gonna kiss some more
Who cares how many times we kiss
‘Cause at a time like this, who keeps score

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I meet my baby

And it don’t matter if it’s sleet or snow
The drive-in’s cozy when the lights are low
And I’m with my baby

Makes no difference if the rain comes down
I don’t notice when she’s around
Oh boy, what a baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss
And we’re gonna kiss some more
Well, one kiss from my baby doll makes me hot
More more more more

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I meet my baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss and
We’re gonna kiss some more
Well, one kiss from my baby doll makes me hot
More more more more

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I’m with my baby

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.

Elvis and Ann-Margret Dance Together In Scene From 'Viva Las Vegas' | Country Rebel – Unapologetically Country

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