JESUS, THE ONLY IDOL ELVIS PRESLEY EVER HAD

More than once, while I was in his presence, Elvis reminded people that he was not the King, that Jesus Christ was. One of the gifts Elvis gave me was a Bible.

I think he might have made a good preacher if he had chosen to walk in that path. He always knew that his gift - his voice - was a gift from God.

This image is free from http://antiqueclipart.com/image.php/baby-jesus-manger.html Thanks!

(96) ELVIS DOES BLUE CHRISTMAS NEXT

Elvis recording of "Blue Christmas," that came out on his Christmas album in 1957 brought forth the Memphis sound he was known for with masculine background vocals and soul. Elvis would sing this song hundreds of times in his life, and good thing, because he loved it personally.

Now, we've got the hang of posting YouTube video presentations to help illustrate the history of my story, but choosing which one, so you could listen to Elvis' rich baratone in the original version wasn't easy. The one we chose doesn't have any pictures of Elvis and it wasn't made as a "cover" by an Elvis interpreter or impersonator. We noticed that some of the videos listed had implausable dates on them, as well. This one is like a living Christmas card though, a real work of art, and with it we say "Merry Christmas," to all of you.

(94) AMERICAN MUSIC AND ELVIS

While Sylvester Cross never pressed me to take demos directly to Elvis when I went to parties at his home or socialized with Elvis, he did thank me more than once for "bringing Elvis to my house." What he meant was not his home, but his music publishing house. What he meant was that because of me Elvis was open to getting demo from various American Music songwriters delivered to him for his consideration.

Actually American Music had a lot to thank Elvis Presley for already. It happened this way. Sylvester had the copyright on "Blue Christmas," which had been recorded by Ernest Tubb, the country music star. He'd hit with it in the 1940s. In about 1958 Elvis recorded it, because it was his personal favorite Christmas song! Every year American Music got a giant revenue from the song because it was so associated with Elvis and his version sold so well.

Now, Elvis also had an interesting relationship with the songwriters at American Music, which was at the time located at 9109 Sunset Boulevard, cross street Doheny, adjacent to Beverly Hills. When Elvis was at MGM or Paramount, on his way home to Bel Air, he would pass by driving in his car, usually later in the day, 5 or 5:30 say. If none of us were standing outside, Elvis would honk six times, then take off. This was his hello. If we were standing out there he would stop and chat with me, Glen Campbell, Jerry Capehart - whomever was out there.

(93) PAT BOONE SWINGS WITH JINGLE BELLS

These days when a Christmas album comes out, some people figure that the artist has just figured out a way to capitalize and fulfill the last album of their contract. But in the early 1960's people weren't so skeptical, especially if they knew that the singer of those songs had true Christian faith, as Elvis Presley did, and as PAT BOONE did.

Another artist besides Elvis who is always associated with Christmas is Pat Boone. Here's a very swinging "Jingle Bells," a YouTube presentation that I can't date. Pat recorded a number of Christian songs in his time and is better known for them.

See our previous posts on Pat and our link on the side bar to Pat's Official Web Site and links to vote him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Just use the search feature on the blog to find these posts!

Here's a YouTube video of Pat and a boy's choir singing the more religious "Silent Night."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN Quote on Friendship

"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend."
- Abraham Lincoln

(92) NAT KING COLE - CROSSING OVER

NAT KING COLE was also an exceptional singer, in that crooner category, who we could not help but notice, talk about, and enjoy. By the late 1950's Nat had made his way from his Southern roots, to Chicago, through the jazz scene, and had hits of "Nature Boy" in 1948, "Mona Lisa," in 1950, and "Unforgettable" in 1951. He was an artist who had commercial success, had fought prejudice, and had somehow made it.

By the fall of 1956 he, like Perry Como, had his own television show on NBC, and like other shows in the early days of television, his had gone from fifteen minutes, to a half hour. His show lasted about a year. No one took television for granted back then. It was an event - a gathering - to sit in front of a set - and I think as a result we gave shows and performers on them our attention.

Now, though I don't think Nat was lifelong partial to one political party or another, in 1960 he got behind our soon to be President, John F. Kennedy, and sang at the Democratic National Convention. Elvis and I and our friends watched what was happening with Kennedy and civil rights with great interest. We had grown up with segregation. We had met, worked with, and liked Black musicians and singers, people in the business.

Looking back I can't say exactly when the 1950's ended or the 1960's began, or our nation would begin to dramatically change in character. But it was small things first, small things like a black man having his own television show that other black performers could go on. The late great Frank Sinatra was known to insist on black performers being treated as equals. He did that for Sammy Davis Junior and he did it for Nat King Cole, when in 1961 he had Nat perform at the Kennedy Inaugural party. That was only fair.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame : Nat King Cole

http://rockhall.com/inductees/nat-king-cole/

Official Site of the Nat King Cole Society

http://www.nat-king-cole.org/

NEW! LINK ABOVE TO THE ULTIMATE NAT KING COLE!

Here's a YouTube video presentation of Nat King Cole singing "Nature Boy."

I call him "The Man With the Velvet Voice."

(91) THE RAY CHARLES SINGERS

I had a connection with Perry Como. He worked with the Ray Charles Singers as his background singers. They worked on most everything he recorded and on television.
When I recorded "Lonesome Love," at a giant studio in New York, RCA Victor, right on Broadway, the Ray Charles Singers were my background singers.

I was scared to death. They came over. They didn't put on any aires. One of the guys put his arm around me and said, "Now just relax a little bit." They were Regular Joes, and helpful to me.

Now, a few years later, when I had the song "I Feel Like Crying," that Red West and I wrote in Elvis' den on Bellagio in Bel Air, and Pat Boone bought it for Cooga Mooga, Jack Spena, Pat's manager, pitched the song to Perry. Perry was doing an album and Jack and Pat thought it would be a great cut. But Perry listened to Pat Boone's version and he chuckled. "I can't do it as good as Pat can," Perry said.

The Ray Charles Singers have been featured at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum

Link Replaced January 12, 2011 CT

(90) PERRY COMO - THE MAN IN THE CARDIGAN SWEATER

PERRY COMO OFFICIAL SITE  updated April 2014

VIDEO REPLACED  April 2014



Perry Como was a singer who recorded on the RCA Victor label starting in 1943 and one of the first television pioneers in the weekly variety show category that was very successful, starting in about 1948. In the 1950's company sponsored television shows (rather than just commercials) were huge, and Christine White and James Dean were just two of the actors in New York who worked in them.

Now, growing up in the Smokey Mountains we listened to a big stand up radio, and when it came to music, well those mountains were - and are - full of people who had musical talent. People taught each other or were self taught. Making music - going to square dances - singing gospel in church - was our way of making our own fun. We never did get a television set. And when we moved to Oregon, we still didn't have a television set. But when I got to New York in 1957, I knew who Perry Como was. By 1955 he had an hour long television show.

In a way, Perry was an inspiration to me as an upstart in the business, even though he was as far from Rockabilly and early Rock and Roll as you could get. He was a crooner, smooth like Bing Crosby, and when I got to New York I had to fashion myself as a performer. Before I got over my shyness and let myself loosen up and move, I wanted to perform natural like Perry, who simply sang, often wearing a cardigan sweater or a neat suit. I thought he was a master of his craft. His professionalism went beyond one's comprehension. Perry had annunciation that was perfect and his delivery was seamless.

Now when you see old videos of the late 1950's and early 1960's sometimes you see black and white and sometimes you see color. Color television was around by 1956 but the number of studios that had the equipment to film in color were few and the number of people who had a color television set to see broadcasts in color were fewer. In 1956 The Perry Como Show on NBC was filmed in color, and seeing a show in color - well, it seemed to be, as they say today, "cutting edge." By 1959, Perry had a Kraft sponsored Music Hall show.

I suspect that's the show here in this YouTube video that presents Perry singing the classic "White Christmas," in 1960, even though this is in black and white.

Perry's career spanned many years and it's said that he got so many Gold records that he stopped having them certified. It was too embarrassing. In 2002 he received the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

(89) ELVIS'S RECORDING of RED WEST'S HOLLY LEAVES AND CHRISTMAS TREES

Elvis' recording of Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees is here in this YouTube Video presentation. It was written by entourage member and body guard Red West and another songwriter, Glen Dale Spreen. Elvis published it himself, buying it for his Elvis Presley Music, one of three publishing entities he owned.

Can you tell we're warming up to the holidays here?

Well, we think today is the first of the twelve days of Christmas.

And Elvis always made a big deal of Christmas, with gifts to others, gifts to The Entourage, gifts to his employees, gifts to his family, gifts to his friends, and gifts to strangers, through generous donations to a great number of charities, mostly Memphis-based.

But for Elvis this spirit of giving had everything to do with his idol, the only idol he ever had,

King of all Kings,

Jesus Christ.

VIDEO TAKEN DOWN 2013

(88) RED WEST / MUSICAL TALENT and THE ENTOURAGE

Recently I overheard a slew of slander against Elvis' men - The Entourage. Since The Entourage was an ever changing group of men, this character didn't know who - or what he was talking about.

Characterized with that prejudice against Southerns as rude, crude, overgrown frat boys, and a bunch of "dummies," the man went on and on.

There was a time when I decked a guy at a news stand for making fun of Elvis - the Elvis who was once called "The Hillbilly Hepcat." Prejudice!

I can tell you that Elvis respected intelligence and that a few men in the entourage where college educated. He wasn't an education snob though. He was successful without higher education and he never judged a person by it.

Elvis also loved to be surrounded by musical people. Besides Cliff Gleaves, the funny man, entourage member Red West, best known as one of Elvis' bodyguards, also had recorded and had musical talent and songwriting ability.

Red West and I wrote a couple songs together, one called "I Feel Like Crying," and another called "Don't You Cry." We pitched them and sold them to Pat Boone, who still owns the publishing on it, at his publishing house Cooga Mooga.

NEW LINK 2011 Above : Rockabilly RED WEST on Rockin' Country Style.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Quote on Friendship

"A Brother may not be a friend, but a Friend will always be a Brother."
- Benjamin Franklin

(87) ELVIS and VETERANS OF THE UNITED STATES

Elvis Presley was a proud veteran of the U.S. army and a patriot, as I am, as my brothers were, and my father too (WW I). Some of my ancestors also served in the Civil War.

Elvis and I came from a tradition in which military service was honorable. Elvis didn't believe than any entertainer should be political openly. But I can tell you this, he was for the veteran. He gripped when veteran benefits were cut. And my guess is that today, whatever his feelings might be about the War in Iraq, Elvis would stand behind the veterans who serve there.

This Blog is written and created in the Great United States of America. Christine Trzyna and I are proud to be citizens and I am proud to be a Veteran! - Wes Bryan

(86) CHARLIE RICH'S LONELY WEEKENDS 1960 STYLE

I met Charlie Rich in Memphis when I was there awaiting Elvis' return from the U.S. Army. DJ Dewey Phillips, who had given Elvis his start when he broke his first record, recorded on Sun Records, "That's All Right Mama," introduced me to Charlie. He was touring locally, and sleeping in the booth of the restaurant he was playing in, so he could save on motel rooms and send money home to his family then.

Charlie recorded on Sun Records, just as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and a few other artists who had made it to greater fame did. His song "Lonely Weekends," which came out in 1960, became like a signature song for him. By 1960 Sam Phillips' label was Phillips International. Charlie sounded a bit like Elvis on this song, and Elvis loved the song. So did I. One day I would record the song myself.


Here's a little Documentary with singer-songwriter Charlie Rich speaking too about his music career and Sun.

Charlie Rich on RCS Discography : http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/artist.php?key=rich1000

Charlie continued his musical career as a performer having a couple hits in the seventies and winning a Grammy. Linking to his official site above!

Here's a little Documentary with singer-songwriter Charlie Rich speaking too about his music career and Sun.



UPDATE 2011 Here is a Youtube historical music video of the song Lonely Weekends! (I also recorded this song years later!)

WES BRYAN'S BLOG : RIGHTS INFORMATION

Every once in a while we'll be posting a notice like this one that reminds readers that the content of this blog is Copyright Wes Bryan and Christine Trzyna with all rights reserved. If interested in speaking to me, Wes Bryan, please contact us at the e-mail address we've provided. We are linking to a good many web sites, favoring the official web sites of various famous and important people as well as reference sites. If we link to your site and you don't want us to, please let us know, and we'll take down the link. The content of other people's sites remains theirs. Thank you for your consideration and courtesy.

Christine Trzyna and Wes Bryan

WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC

Thank you to Google - BLOGSPOT for providing free blog templates and access.

e-mail is wewritethebook@yahoo.com

WISHING YOU THE BEST

THROUGH THESE

BLESSED HOLIDAYS

AND IN

THE COMING YEAR!

(85) THE NEXT JAMES DEAN? NOT !

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...

(84) BOBBY DARIN, FRED HORTON, GLEN CAMPBELL, and ME

Fred Horton and I wrote "Ashes of Time." Fred didn't work for American Music like I did, but the collaboration was OK'd by Sylvester Cross. Bobby Darin loved the song and I pitched it to him and he went around humming it a bit.

Bobby Darin bought my song "The Old Prospector" for TM Music, his publishing company. He took it to Vegas to pitch it to Keely Smith and Louie Prima. They didn't record it.

Glen Campbell is one of the artist who recorded "Ashes of Time," on his album called "Country Music Star Number One." This album came out in 1969. By then a lot of things had changed. I was no longer working for American Music at all. I had my own company called U.S. International Records. Still, Fred and I were happy that my old co-worker Glen had decided to use our songs.

Linked above: Here's a bit from Answers.com on the album, and all the songs for the album which were written by Fred Horton and me.

(83) BOBBY DARIN EARLY 1960'S STYLE / CHRISTINE WHITE

By the end of 1960, Bobby Darin had four Gold records and had won two Grammy awards and he had become an actor - a movie star - too. He had moved to Los Angeles, California, in order to make the movie "Come September." Sometimes I wonder if he lead the parade of us singer-songwriter-musician-singer-entertainer types from New York to the West Coast.

"Come September"was a light comedy. Now my friend Frankie Avalon had been making the beach blanket movies and it had been a while since anyone really expected me to be The Next James Dean. He got teamed up with Annette Funicello. Bobby Darin was teamed up with Sandra Dee, a child star who had matured to about sixteen years old. Bobby was about twenty four when they met, and Bobby, who was aggressive for anything he wanted badly - like fame and fortune - went after Sandra. They were married.

And well, it was a volatile situation.

When Sylvester Cross got wind that I knew Bobby Darin, he decided I should pitch American Music songs, including a couple I wrote, to him in person. Why not another Gold for the singer who had "Splish Splash," and "Dream Lover?"

I did, and guess who I ran to at the movie studio when I went to pitch Bobby?

My old friend Christine White!
Fate... that's what it was.

Christine White, James Dean's great friend, who I'd met in 1956 on the street in Hollywood on my first tourist trip down from Oregon, was in town working on a television series. She invited me to one of her celebrity filled house parties in the Hollywood Hills and that reignited our friendship!

NEW LINK TO BOBBY DARIN'S OFFICIAL SITE!

Photo WES BRYAN - TEEN DELIGHT September 1959

SEPTEMBER 1959. I was 22 years old. This is STARDOM MAGAZINE...

Photographed in the finest old movie star mode, and frequently compared to the late, great, actor James Dean, through the years people would look at me and ask themselves "Is that what James Dean would look like if he were 40, 50, 60, 70?" I can only disappoint. In my opinion, feature by feature, I never looked that much like Jimmy, but there was a resemblance, and the Deans told me I had the same slump posture and a way of walking and moving that was like their grandson when I visited them on the farm to prepare for my role as James Dean.

This article, calling me a Teen Delight, was a bit erroneous as I was not a teenager myself in these photos, but I was supposed to be every teenage girl's delight, and the magazines ran articles about me that gave many teenage girls every reason to fantasize about me. I received thousands of letters, huge, heavy bags of fan mail. It was exciting but to tell you the truth at the very start I was petrified. It took the experience of performing and meeting people all over the country to relax into stardom. And, as part of stardom, I met other stars. I met most of them with ease but once in a while I had a total fan reaction myself.

It was growing up in the Smokey Mountains and having sensible down to earth parents and kin that served me well when I was meeting people.

(82) STAFF MEETINGS AT THE SONG WRITING FACTORY

At staff meetings at American Music, Sylvester Cross, the owner, held court. We would go over the songs we had written, the demos we'd recorded, and talk about which artists might be interested in having a hit with one of our songs. Sometimes we even had meetings on Sundays, to get the week started early. Sylvester was always interested in making a buck and not wasting any time to do so.

Usually we tried to record demo's M.O.R. - Middle of the Road - So that any artist or producer who was listening could imagine the song going one way or another - to country or to popular music - or whatever way they wanted. Still, there was a lot of creativity expressed in our output. And today floating around are demo records that preserve the early work some of the session players and studio men then who were writing songs and making demos and went on to their own fame later.

Bobby Darin had gotten his start making demos in studios in the Brill building and around New York. Bobby was able to use his voice to sound like a number of other artists and tried to make demos for artists specifically by sounding like them. On occasion someone would try to sound Elvis to pitch Elvis. Usually he took this as a compliment. Even I, with a little extra time in a recording studio, pressed a little Elvis trying to sound Elvis. Our mutual friends would take the demo to Elvis to see if I'd done an authentic enough job of it. Elvis' compliment then was "I couldn't have done it better myself!"

E-BAY AUCTION ON MY RECORD "ONE SUMMER NIGHT"

Friends, as you know, I check the e-bay auctions from time to time to see what's up there being sold "Wes Bryan."

And if you've been reading this blog from the beginning, you know one of the reasons for blogging is that there is a lot of Wes Bryan "confusion" out there. Christine and I have learned that some of the search engines put me and the Christian minister who has written a book or two and has a CD out together. I'm not the Christian minister. I'm also not the DJ, the athlete, the owner of a mini mall, or any of the other Wes Bryans out there on the Internet or in the world. (It's a great name though, isn't it guys?!)

I am the Wes Bryan who came out of Murphy, North Carolina, discovered off the Akron Beacon Journal - Roto section- who enjoyed a United Artists contract, and who changed labels a couple times to Clock and Roulette before becoming a staff songwriter at American Music.

I also became a record producer and music publisher. Though my story here on this blog is circa about 1960- 1961 about now, we noticed that a record I put out on my OWN LABEL, U. S. International, was being auctioned on e-bay and this seller has a music clip... So for as long as this lasts, enjoy listening to my record "One Summer Night." (Will this posting mean more bids for that record?) After I put "One Summer Night" out on my own label, Randy Wood who had once had Dot Records, put it out on Ranwood, his new label. It sold about 300,000 records.

Oh, I took a truck out to the beach in Malibu to record those seagulls you hear in the background...