Tag Archives: Elvis

Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Elvis Presley, Music Calendar

January 8: The late great Elvis Presley was born in 1935 – here singing Bob Dylan songs

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When I first heard Elvis’ voice I just knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss. He is the deity supreme of rock & roll religion as it exists in today’s form. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.
I think for a long time that freedom to me was Elvis singing “Blue Moon of Kentucky”. I thank God for Elvis.
– Bob Dylan (24 August 1987 – US magazine feature on Elvis’ death anniversary)

‘I really thought I’d be seeing Elvis soon.’
– Bob Dylan (1997)

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977). Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as “the King of Rock and Roll”, or simply, “the King”. Elvis Presley would have been 81 years old today.

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and when he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee.

Bob Dylan and Elvis clearly love/loved the same kind of music, blues, rock’n roll, country and gospel.

Elvis has done a few Bob Dylan songs.

Tomorrow Is A Long Time:

Yeah, Elvis Presley. I liked Elvis Presley… Elvis Presley recorded a song of mine. That’s the one recording I treasure the most… It was called Tomorrow Is A Long Time. I wrote it but never recorded it.
-Bob Dylan (November 29, 1969 – The Rolling Stone Interview, New York City)

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Elvis Presley, Music Calendar, Rock'n Roll, Sun, The Best Songs

July 19: Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right” 1954

elvis presley that's all right single

In 2004, Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right Mama” and Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” both celebrated their 50th anniversaries. Rolling Stone Magazine felt that Presley’s song was the first rock and roll recording. At the time Presley recorded the song, Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll”, later covered by Haley, was already at the top of the Billboard R&B charts. The Guardian felt that while there were rock’n’roll records before Presley’s, his recording was the moment when all the strands came together in “perfect embodiment”. (wikipedia)

“A lot of people seem to think I started this business, but rock ‘n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. Let’s face it; I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that. But I always liked that kind of music.”
~Elvis Presley

elvis presley that's all right single2

 

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Elvis Presley, Music Calendar, The Best Songs

Jan 10: Elvis Presley recorded Heartbreak Hotel in 1956


heartbreak_hotel_cover

Elvis Presley recorded Heartbreak Hotel January 10th in 1956

From Wikipedia:

“Heartbreak Hotel” is a song recorded by Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley’s first on his new record label RCA Victor. His first number-one pop record, “Heartbreak Hotel” topped Billboard‘s Top 100 chart, became his first million-seller, and was the best-selling single of 1956. It was written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton.

Well, Since my baby left me

These opening words set the tone, this is not a happy-song…

I got this record from my aunt when I was about 7 or 8 years old (1973/1974), I couldn’t  comprehend the heartache and suffering in the lyrics. I just thought it was the coolest thing I had ever heard. I still got that record. It is worn and scratched and it’s still the coolest record in the world.

Heartbreak Hotel (audio):

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Music Calendar

July 5 in music history

Happy Birthday Robbie Robertson! (read more)

Robbie Robertson, OC (born Jaime Robert Klegerman; July 5, 1943) is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The Band has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. As a songwriter Robertson is responsible for such classics as “The Weight”, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, “Up On Cripple Creek”, “Broken Arrow” and “Somewhere Down the Crazy River”, and has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

 robbie robertson
“That’s All Right” is the name of the first commercial single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. Presley’s version was recorded on 5 July 1954, and released on 19 July 1954 with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” as the B-side. It is #112 on the 2004 Rolling Stone magazine list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.  Elvis Presley Thats All Right
“Gloria” is a rock song classic written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and originally recorded by Morrison’s band Them in 1964 as the B-side of “Baby, Please Don’t Go”. The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands’ repertoires. It is particularly memorable for its “G–L–O–R–I–A” chorus. It is very easy to play (three-chord) and thus is popular with those learning to play guitar. The song continues to be played by thousands of bands from famous recording artists to unknown garage bands. Humourist Dave Barry joked that “You can throw a guitar off a cliff, and as it bounces off rocks on the way down, it will, all by itself, play Gloria.” Them - Gloria

Spotify Playlist – July 05
Music Calendar, Sound

June 26 in music history

The Great late “Big” Bill Broonzy was born in 1893 (read more)

Big Bill Broonzy (June 26, 1893 – August 15, 1958) was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly African-American audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with working class African-American audiences. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century.

 big bill broonzy
Michael Geoffrey Jones aka Mick Jones (born 26 June 1955) is a British musician, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter best known for his works with The Clash until his dismissal in 1983, then Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and finally Big Audio. Jones plays with Carbon/Silicon along with Tony James and recently toured the world as part of the Gorillaz live band (which includes former Clash member Paul Simonon).  mick-jones-clash
Colonel Thomas Andrew “Tom” Parker (June 26, 1909 – January 21, 1997) born Andreas Cornelis (“Dries”) van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley. Parker’s management of Presley defined the role of masterminding talent management, which involved every facet of his life and was seen as central to the astonishing success of Presley’s career. “The Colonel” displayed a ruthless devotion to his client’s interests and took more than the traditional 10 percent of his earnings (reaching up to 50 percent by the end of Presley’s life). Presley said of Parker: “I don’t think I’d have ever been very big if it wasn’t for him. He’s a very smart man.” For many years Parker falsely claimed to have been U.S.-born, but it eventually emerged that he was born in Breda in the Netherlands.  Colonel_Tom_Parker
Christopher Joseph “Chris” Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American rock musician and occasional actor.
Isaak’s best known song is “Wicked Game”. Though released on the 1989 album Heart Shaped World, an instrumental version of the song was later featured in the 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart.		  chris_isaak-1
 Elvis Presley recorded Little Sister June 25 & 26, 1961 (read more)“Little Sister” is a rock and roll song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. It was originally released as a single in 1961 by American singer Elvis Presley, who turned it into a No. 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The single (as a double A-side with “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame”) reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. 

 

 elvis presley little sister

Spotify Playlist – June 26