(117) ROY ORBISON - THE RADIO VOICE VERSUS THE TELEVISION IMAGE

UPDATED FEB 2014

Americans depended on the radio much more so than the television for information and entertainment in the 1940's and early 1950's. Then as more Americans bought black and white television sets and more programs were broadcast, the television got an edge. Much of early television was in the category of variety shows in which musicians and dancers could perform, not all that much different than stage shows, and then dramas, again not much different than what was in the theater.

For music artists who had hit records and live performances, television with its close up capabilities could be a challenge. Never was being able to project charisma to a camera more important. Many music artists felt self conscious and uncomfortable about the close ups. Some of them took to wearing dark glasses to hide behind.

ROY ORBISON OFFICAL - NEW 2014

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME - ROY ORBISON


 

EUSTACE BUDGELL Quote on Friendship

"Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another." -Eustace Budgell

YOUR OPINION PLEASE!

Do you enjoy listening to the radio today? Did you enjoy listening to the radio MORE years ago?

Do you like to listen Top 40 Stations, Oldies Stations, Independent DJ's who play music on College Radio? Let us know!

Christine here: I think college radio is about the only place you can still find a D.J. who listens to records and chooses what he or she plays. Nick Harcourt over at KCRW Santa Monica College is my favorite. I also like stations where there is an effort to announce what was just played, because I don't have the time to go into a record store and "sample" music on earphones.

HELLO to CHRISTINE WHITE ! ONE OF MY ANGELS !

Just wanted to say hello to my long time friend Christine White, who I met in Los Angeles before I had a clue I would ever have a taste of fame, and who was so helpful to me when I relocated from New York to Los Angeles in 1960. Christine, you are one of my angels. I always think of you on Sundays!

Wes

(Friends you can use the search feature of this Google Blogger to read previous posts that include CHRISTINE WHITE...)

(116) GARY OWENS LAUGHIN ON THE WAY TO THE BURBANK!

A Personality DJ, a comedian on the air and known for his role on the 1968 television show "Laugh In" as well as one of the most honored voice over artists ever, GARY OWENS, is a great friend of mine. I met him separate from Elvis'.

I met him about the time my song "One Summer Night" on Ranwood, mentioned previously on this block (and part of our slide show) came out. He burned that record up on the air playing it on his network radio show.

Gary has written his own book about broadcasting, and Dave Dutton over in North Hollywood used to have it in his window. Years ago I ran into Gary over at Duttons and he encouraged me there and then to write a book about Elvis, about everyone and everything I knew. Then maybe a year ago Dave Dutton closed his store - a shock to us - and was having a sale. Gary went to the sale and Dave told him "Wes Bryan's got a book." Then Dave promised he would have a big book signing party for us...

Yes, Christine and I do have a book, and needless to say Elvis is in it. If you look at the index on our book, you see that this blog helps bring many of the people in our book a bit more alive for the reader. By alive we mean that you have here a chance to hear a bit of music and see a lot of pictures, and read bio's and other information (some we agree with and some we don't), and get to the web sites of those people, so when the day comes that you're reading our book, you may find this blog to be a companion to it.

Back to Gary, he too has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame... and if you click on this link you can hear Gary broadcasting. And, like Wink, he has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His wit is unique - in person and on the air. Hello Gary!

Linking to the Radio Hall of Fame - Gary Owens - above!

And here is the IMDb database bio on Gary which is pretty comprehensive!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0654365/bio

(115) 1961 ALAN FREED, MR. ROCK AND ROLL, on KDAY RADIO LOS ANGELES

ALAN FREED was another Personality DJ, one who moved into concert promotion.

In 1961 I also performed on the radio on Alan Freed's show on KDAY Radio in Los Angeles, playing Melodie D'Amour live.

This was Alan's last show, his last station, and I think he knew it. He had once been Mr. Rock and Roll. Some people even said that Alan had invented the term based on some African American slang. Alan, who was at least part African American, had produced some great rock and roll shows in New York City. I drove Eddy Cochran to perform on one of these shows and had later met Ritchie Valens backstage.

Alan Freed was unfortunately convicted in a radio "play for payola" scandals and never recovered his status after that. Some people said Alan Freed took the fall for a number of other DJ's and Promoters who were also involved in radio play for payola.



I only know that Alan was decent to me, and there was never a hint from him or those around him that I pay for radio play in any way. And I felt bad for him, especially that he might have been the guy who took the fall for several others. But I don't know the details of what went on.

Melodie D'Amour turned out to be one of Elvis Presley's favorites. Members of the entourage told me he took the record to Vegas and played it 23 days and nights straight before offering it to the home juke box in Los Angeles. That's what Elvis did when he loved a song. He played it over and over again, just as Dewey Phillips had played "That's All Right Mama," over and over again on his Red Hot and Blue show in Memphis, which started a career for Elvis.

Alan was the FIRST PERSON ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and may be the first actual Rock and Roll concert producer/promoter. Go to his site and follow the links to other sites that Alan Freed is mentioned on. Be sure to listen to the audio clips to hear Alan broadcasting.

OFFICIAL ALAN FREED WEB SITE link above!

THE NEXT JAMES DEAN FAN PHOTO

(114) WINK MARTINDALE - AN OLD FRIEND TO COUNT

Wink Martindale ! He's a truly nice man. Most people know him as a television game show host but he started in radio at the age of 16 in his home town of Jackson, Tennessee.

I met him in 1957 the very night I met Elvis. I was performing on his Dance Party Show in Memphis Tennessee while on a tour for United Artists performing Lonesome Love. In 1961 when I had moved to Los Angeles and was promoting my song "Melodie D' Amour" I was on his KCOP television show, channel 13... Wink was there when Elvis and I met and began our friendship. I haven't seen him in a long, long time but I count him and his wife Sandy as old friends.

Wink has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Link above to his official site WINK MARTINDALE'S WORLD!

(113) WOLFMAN JACK - THE PERSONALITY DJ

Wolfman Jack in this YouTube presentation from the Backstage Pass Show on ABC, discusses picking "hits," the top forty, and his changing taste in music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOasL9PqK_M

Born Robert Smith, Wolfman has passed away but his museum goes on. Wolfman Jack fans want to present him a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Here is Wolfmanjack.org's web site...

Linking above to WOLFMANJACK.org which is (updated March 2011) trying to get Wolfman his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

Radio Hall of Fame Wolf Man Jack
Be Sure to click on the Radio and hear Wolfman broadcasting.

http://www.radiohof.org/discjockey/wolfmanjack.html

I remember Wolfman in the late 1960's and early 1970's on Los Angeles' KDAY radio.

(112) PERSONALITY DJ'S : CLIFF GLEAVES TO WOLFMAN JACK

Today most people have heard of Wolfman Jack. He seems to have been the personality D.J. who made his show last a long long time. He became a spokesman.

But in the late 1950's the Personality D.J. - usually a man - but sometimes a woman - was a Disk Jockey who not only had to be fast and witty and knowledgeable but they ran their own show. THEY SELECTED THE RECORDS THEY WOULD PLAY, and in what order, and how many times, so they could "break" a record that they sort of discovered, and they could "make" a record by giving it a lot of air time, while other records sat. D.J. Dewey Phillips (who we blogged on earlier and provided a LINK to) broke Elvis' first record, a demo.

Personality D.J. were respected by their own audiences and fans in the way that some movie critics are today. If you seem to agree with a critic when he or she hates a film, you'll respect their ideas and go see the films they love. Well, when a Personality D.J., loved a record, his or her fans ran out to the record stores to buy a copy of it. When Cliff Gleaves got the invitation from Elvis personally to travel with him, he abruptly left his job as a well respected D.J. on a high powered station. He took his witt with him...

By the early 1960's the era of the Personality D.J. was fading out, being replaced by what was called THE TOP FORTY format. In this case record sales were to propel the record to airplay and what would be played over and over again were the TOP FORTY sellers. The Power of the Personality D.J. waned and marketing changed the way a record was sold.

We'll be talking about this significant change in radio play and the Personality DJ's in our next few blocks.

Hello to WENDY LEWIS, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Wendy, I'm so glad you got in touch. Yes, I remember the fun we all had the night I took you and a number of other girls to Elvis'... Elvis though you were terrific!

Keep warm in Winnipeg, Manitoba !

Wes

Will Pat and Nancy Avery please contact Wes Bryan?

Wes says Hello How Are Ya?! Wes would like Pat and Nancy Avery to e-mail us and leave a phone number with our assistant.

Thanks!
Wes and Christine

TO OUR GERMAN AND JAPANESE FRIENDS OF THIS BLOG

Hello Friends. Christine speaking here.

We have long known that the two markets for Rockabilly and Early Rock and Roll music (and memoirs!) outside of English speaking countries, are Germany and Japan. We are also aware that the Japanese embraced the actor James Dean, that Japanese people called him "our Jimmy" and the James Dean angle to Wes Bryan's life story is of interest. We are thrilled to get comments from you, but we confess that we must use Internet translators if you write in German or Japanese. If you know of an Internet translator that is accurate in your language, please try to post in English. Thank You!

Christine

UPDATE MARCH 2011: THE GOOGLE TRANSLATION FLAGS INSTALLED take you to many languages including Japanese !

A COMMENT ON COMMENTARY on WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC

Friends, we have left it open that readers can leave comments anonymously - without contact information being provided - and that we receive copies of these comments in our e-mail where we can accept, reject, delete.

You have a better chance of having your comment published if we do have a way to get in touch with you via e-mail for verification purposes. Sometimes we get unsigned comments and statements that don't seem particular to our blog and we don't understand what basis these comments were offered in. We are for the discussion of our topics, but we feel concerned when we think maybe a reader mistook Wes for someone else.

Now we've been reunited from time to time with old friends and we love that, but just be mindful that if you are leaving commentary.

Thanks for your interest in my blog!

Wes

(111) 1960 PETULA "PET" CLARK and MY OLD FAVORITE GUY MITCHELL

To put the party years in context of what was happening in the music business about the time that I arrived in LA to work at American Music and resumed my friendship with Elvis, here is a a YouTube video...

Petula Clark from London England and my old favorite, Guy Mitchell, appeared in late February 1960 on the Guy Mitchell Show. They sang a duet of "The Alphabet Song." Guy continues to have significant fans in the UK, Australia, and you can follow the links posted to the left of this blog to his site!

(110) LISTENING TO DEMOS WITH ELVIS PRESLEY

I became a regular at Elvis' house parties by 1961, sometimes spending entire weekends there, using a guest room when I needed to. But I didn't use the occasion to pitch my songs or songs written by American Music peers. There was an understanding there about keeping a separation between friendship and business, just like there was an understanding among Elvis' friends and his entourage-employees, about the conduct expected when it came to women.

But Elvis respected songwriters greatly. He knew there were no songs without them because one thing Elvis didn't concentrate on was writing his own songs. Discovering great songs - songs that he loved - was his thing.

Johnny Rivers and I used to get over to Bel Air by three Saturday afternoon on a typical weekend. And it was Elvis who played demos for us, to get our opinion. These were demos he had been sent by various artists, some which made it into his hands through friends or Colonel Parker, his manager, and other demos which he himself had recorded. There was confidentiality expected, privacy to be maintained, about the music Elvis was considering recording himself. Elvis playing demos became a bit of a ritual for us. I was honored that he cared about my opinion.

(109) PJ PROBY - PARTY HOUND

Texan P.J. Proby was one of our music business friends who came through Elvis' when he was in town and attended parties. He's famous for his hit "Hold Me." P.J. could sound a lot like Elvis.

Now Elvis knew a lot of people wanted to sound like him, naturally or through practice. He usually took it as a compliment. Here is P.J. sounding very "Elvis."

P.J. wore a pony tail before anyone - before Tom Jones- and he was so successful that he bought himself a castle in his adopted England. Like many of my friends from the early days of my career, P.J. has continued to play music and tour. P.J. and I had a little communique recently and it was in the code language of our party days. I really miss the guy.

EURIPIDES Quote on Friendship

"One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives." - Euripides.

A PAUSE WITH GEORGE JONES - WHO'SE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES?

We thought we'd take a pause here because one of the friends of this blog sent us this YouTube video of George Jones singing "Who'se Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" which mentions Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis as the Memphis Boys.

Thanks George for a great song!

A YouTube video of George Jones singing "Who'se Gonna Fill Their Shoes?"

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 including International Rights and Internet Rights. 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

(108) CLIFF GLEAVES, ELVIS, and THE EARLY ENTOURAGE

JAMES V. ROY's PHOTOS... linked above!

Photographer James V. Roy captured some of Elvis' early entourage including Cliff Gleaves, in these black and white photos taken around the filming of Elvis' film "Jail House Rock." The names you see listed here under photographs are important to the Elvis story. Some of them you've read about in Wes Bryan - My Life In Music, and others we haven't mentioned yet.

UPDATE: AUGUST 2008 We note that this particular photo gallery is not offered on James V. Roy's web site. However photos from an Elvis 2002 celebration are... still worth seeing!

UPDATE: MARCH 2011 And they are still linked!