I tried to segway this into Beat Happening's "Playhouse", but I couldn't find a video... so I'll just re-post the "Black Candy" video that was recorded at TCTV in Olympia!
It makes sense to me on a lot of levels, because I probably wouldn't appreciate Elvis if it weren't for Calvin. We were discussing Elvis one day and I was like "you know, I am just NOT a fan..." & CJ says "... well, just give the guy a chance" & then he proceeded to give me an oral history of Elvis & Sam Phillips & Sun records and then the next day at work he had bought me an Elvis lunch box (as a joke) which Ness now uses as a container for seeds for the garden. He later lent me this book (I was still not a fan) called LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS: The Rise of Elvis & it was a really interesting book.... & I still was not a fan. Then Calvin lent me some records by Johnny Burnett & the Rock 'n' Roll trio & I was blown away. I LOVED IT. I started listening to it over and over and went into a deep Rockabilly phase. Later, when I was visiting my Mom & her family in Texas over the holidays, I went to Half Price Books (excellent chain in TX) and found this LP called ELVIS: The Sun Sessions. & now I am a fan! those recordings are so good. I'll never forget Calvin talking about his love for Elvis' haunting version of "Blue Moon".
Last quarter in class we spent some time talking about Elvis & my teacher talked about going to see him in Tulsa when he was a kid, and how he couldn't believe that the Rock 'n' Roll was making ladies around him tear their shirts off! They were screaming their heads off. Dave said "by the time the Beatles came around and all the girls were freakin' out... ah man, that was old news... cause I already saw that happen w/ Elvis".
My grandmother Ann has a great story about throwing her Senior dance in High School way out in Midland, TX in the 1950's. They had a $500 budget (that's a lot of money back then!) & on the day of the dance they were going to get all the food and whatever w/ their money when someone ran to the auditorium shouting "Elvis and his band are at the hotel down the road w/ a day off of their tour! Let's see if we can get them to play our dance!" So they all went to the hotel and found Elvis & the gang lying by the pool, told them about the dance & Elvis said "well, it's our day off, but we'll play for $500." Of course they gave all the money to the band and they apparently had the best dance of all times. Watching my grandmother tell that story is the cutest thing ever. Although, I doubt she was tearing her shirt off... but then again???
1 comment:
but vvhat if she did take her shirt off?
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