FABIAN BREAK DOWN AND CRY : 1962 : JIMMY BOWEN and WES BRYAN SONGWRITERS

FABIAN was hot and we were happy to place a song with him!

Recently we saw that this record, a promo copy and the LONDON -AMERICAN record put out in England were up for auction, and more, it finally showed up on Youtube!

Additional Notes March 23, 2011 Wes said, "Jimmy Bowen and I wrote "Break Down and Cry" with Frankie Avalon watching ... but we had Pat Boone in mind for this hit... Pat had just taken over the management of Fabian, and Jack Spena at Pat's company had also taken over Fabian management... "Break Down and Cry" was a strong song... Pat Boone felt it would fit Fabian better."

SONNY BURGESS WITH THE BLASTERS

Sonny Burgess is one of the original SUN RECORDS artists and first recorded "Red Headed Woman" on Sun. He's going to be playing at the Rockabilly Festival in Vegas coming up in April.

ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME SITE IS TERRIFIC !

We're linking to the ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME which has a listing of about 5000 Rockabilly Artists! (I'm on the list!) We've linked to this site quite a bit over time, since Rockabilly is one of our subjects here! Revisit and enjoy!

VIVA LAS VEGAS ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL IN VEGAS : APRIL 2011

We're linking to the ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL coming up in APRIL 2011, in Las Vegas, which promises to be a rolicking good time, with RECORD HOPS, CAR SHOW and FASHION SHOW included.

JERRY LEE LEWIS is the headliner... THE BLASTERS, THE DYNOTONES, and the LUSTRE KINGS will be playing. And from the 1950's. JOE BENNETT and the SPARKLETONES, SONNY BURGESS and the PACERS, and the Original MEDALLIONS. Besides Jerry there will be a few from the old days and lots of bands that are playing Rockabilly today! DJ's from Japan, Texas, Spain, Michigan, California, and Switzerland.

OUR ARCHIVE REVISITED : (85) THE NEXT JAMES DEAN? NOT !

OUR ARCHIVE REVISITED:

Post (85) THE NEXT JAMES DEAN? NOT ! from December 7, 2007

If you're wondering what happened to THE NEXT JAMES DEAN, as I was called by United Artists when I first signed with them in 1957, and as they promoted me, well, once he got to Hollywood, he couldn't help but give some thought to pursuing acting again.

At first, when Elvis introduced me to people, he too brought up the James Dean comparison. Then one day I asked him not to do it. And he never did again.


Still, Elvis asked me a few times if I would like a bit part or to be an extra on one of the movies he was filming. I always turned down the idea. More than one of Elvis' friends or employees did take a bit part or act as an extra on his films. To Elvis this was more of a way of keeping his friends around him than giving someone their big break into better roles, but it was interesting and fun to be on a set with Elvis. I visited him on sets from time to time.


Elvis made more money for his acting than James Dean ever did.


I have to admit that my acting aspirations were also so high at one time that I just couldn't imagine taking a bit part or being an extra. And, as it turned out, I had two close calls with acting stardom before I finally gave up on that aspect of my career, that is if you consider close calls with stardom to be part of a top agent's stable...

EBAY AUCTIONS HOT ON WES BRYAN !

I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS PHOTO OF MYSELF IN YEARS! WHILE THE ONE BELOW IS A BLACK AND WHITE OF MY RECORD COVER. Both pictures were taken by my then manager and used by United Artists for Press releases. Of interest is the back of the second photo which mentions my record as the United Artist Label's first release on a typed sheet of paper. And that these photos prove my likeness to James Dean.


You've seen this one before since it was used IN COLOR for the first colored record cover for a 45 RMP ever! (Elvis' came out very soon after!)

The Morning Call, according to the poster, was the Allentown, Pennsylvania local newspaper circa 1957. Now the Tribune, if we're reading that correctly! In some archives there are lots of press release materials.

JAMBOREE

This Jamboree promo video has excellent quality and since it includes BUDDY KNOX and the RHYTHM ORCHIDS singing Hula Love, JIMMY BOWEN singing Cross Over, as well as CARL PERKINS and FRANKIE AVALON, we thought we'd post it. We're still working on our updates... check the pages for UPDATE PROGRESS!

P.J. PROBY SINGS ELVIS and LAMENTS THE PASSING OF LAMAR FIKE

Our friend P.J. PROBY sent us an e-mail recently as he started out on his 2011 tour in Manchester, England. We're linking to the site about that tour which will feature ELVIS PRESLEY songs! P.J. is going to sing his damn best you can bet on that!

P.J. said he felt sad at learning that LAMAR FIKE, who worked with Elvis as a member of his Entourage for very many years - maybe more years than anyone else - has passed away, on January 21, 2011 in Texas. Lamar figured large in Elvis' life for many years and had a book in him too. He and Elvis fought like brothers at times but he was also part of the fun.

As you get older you loose more friends to the inevitable and it's hard sometimes to have so many memories of people from days gone by. Still, one of the great things about blogging is that it's allowed me to reconnect to several long lost friends and I've learned that, even in later life, we are always making new friends!

POSTING FROM PALEY CENTER FOR THE MEDIA in BEVERLY HILLS : ED SULLIVAN SHOW and BUDDY HOLLY and THE CRICKETS

Christine here: My personal celebration was to go to the Paley Center for the Media in Beverly Hills today to start watching old Ed Sullivan and Dick Clark American Bandstand shows. What a beautiful, light and airy, masterfully designed modern space! I watched an Ed Sullivan from early December 1957 that featured two performances by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, which were "That'll Be the Day," and "Peggy Sue." When Ed talked to Buddy and the boys from Lubbock, Texas, he asked them how old they were. Buddy said he was 21, and that two of the guys were 18 and one was 19.

We link to Paley Center For the Media (where the curators blog!)

THREE STARS sung by TOMMY DEE : THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED : A TRIBUTE VIDEO PUT UP ON THE NET BY A RITCHIE VALENS FAN!

Tribute to Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P Richardson (the Big Bopper) and Roger Peterson (The Plane's Pilot!) includes radio broadcast announcing the tragic crash. Featuring Tommy Dee performing the song "3 Stars."

We're linking to the video posting website on Myspace called GOTTALOVERITCHIE! This fan site is approved by Ritchie's brother in Pacoima, California, up the road from us. I met Ritchie in New York back stage of a big Alan Freed Rock n Roll show!

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED CELEBRATION

In celebration of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper, we'd like you to use the Google Search feature on this blog to check out are posts from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Just enter the name of the artist and up comes some classic WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC posts!

BUDDY HOLLY THE BIG BOPPER RITCHIE VALENS POSTER FOR THE LAST PERFORMANCE

SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ABOUT THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED - Part of WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC HISTORY! Use the Google Search This Blog Feature!

WILLIAM ROTSLER Quote

"How rare and wonderful is that flash of a moment when we realize we have discovered a friend." - William Rotsler

From A Little Book Of Friendship
Published by History and Heraldry, 2002