BUDDY KNOX AT THE DERBY in HOLLYWOOD 1996

This YouTube video just showed up on the site recently. It's Buddy Knox, the man I toured with for a couple years in the late 1950's - early 1960's performing in 1996 in Hollywood!

BUDDY HOLLY ESTATE IN THE NEWS - ARTICLE by DEAN GOODMAN

"Maria Elena kept her share, and has spent her life overseeing the Buddy Holly business. She briefly remarried and had three children, but her husband "realized that my heart was not there. It was still with Buddy."

The Puerto Rican native has earned a reputation for being fiercely protective. She refused to let Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas, use his name for its walk of fame and annual music festival, but says she is on good terms with the city now.

"I trademarked that name already," she said. "People want to use it without compensation and I feel that was Buddy's bread and butter and the legacy left to us. I'm the guardian of that legacy. "

Interested in what's happened with Buddy Holly's estate? Here's an article that came out today via Rueters and writer Dean Goodman, who says that Buddy Holly's widow has spent her life attending to his estate and that Holly was personally angry with producer Norman Petty while he was still alive.

CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE TO GET TO THE FULL ARTICLE, out today, January 27, 2009.

(231) BUDDY KNOX - HAPPY ROCKABILLY

Here's a little picture news article that came out in the late 1950's about Buddy Knox who was maybe my best friend amongst a group of great men who I became friends with while in New York City, beginning my career as a singer-songwriter. Buddy's apparent happiness - his sense of fun, his generosity of spirit, and his gentlemanly ways - Buddy was a college man- made him easy to work with and a great friend to have...It was easy to "brand" Buddy as happy and it helped that he came from a town called HAPPY TEXAS!

(230) BRANDING - THE MARKETING OF AN ARTIST

Today many people outside of the field of marketing are familiar with the term "Branding."

Branding a person is turning them into an easily to recall, recognizable symbol. For instance, when Dick Clark said that Elvis Presley was one of the most recognizable brands in the world, he meant that Elvis had reached the point in his fame where you didn't even have to say Presley. The name Elvis meant Elvis Presley, the Rockabilly star who became known as "The King of Rock and Roll," (TM!)

When United Artists was grooming me to be a Rockabilly star, they had their own public relations - promotions- marketing department that fed articles to newspapers, as well as inciting the interest of magazine writers, Dj's at radio stations, and television show bookers. "WES BRYAN-THE NEXT JAMES DEAN" was the brand they were trying to promote.

I did everything I could to cooperate with their plans for me and my career. I was grateful for the opportunities presented to me. Still, after some time I began to want to be known for being me - Wes Bryan.

Then, after years of being chased around by fans and enjoying a public life, I became a private citizen and was grateful for that opportunity too. A few years ago when Christine Trzyna told me that I had Internet presence I was shocked!

DICK CLARK Quote on ELVIS PRESLEY

"Elvis Presley and Coke-a-Cola are the best known brands in the world."

- Dick Clark

WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC RIGHTS INFORMATION

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 Internet and International Rights.

If interested in speaking to me, Wes Bryan, please contact us at the e-mail address wewritethebook@yahoo.com

(By the way folks, don't phish us or spam us, or try to scam us; We report it all and block offenders addresses!)

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 and YouTube video. If we link to your site or a video you uploaded and you don't want us to reference it, please let us know, and we'll take down the link.

The content of other people's sites remains their own.
Thank you for your consideration and courtesy.

Christine Trzyna & Wes Bryan

(229) WAIT FOR ME BABY on UNITED ARTISTS

"Wait For Me Baby," the flip side of "Freeze" was well received by my audiences, but it was along for the ride when "Freeze" sold the record to Gold in 1958.

(The song Freeze was co-written by a woman I met in Akron, Ohio while I was living there. She gave me the lead sheets. I took them to New York and made my own demo of the song, then presented it to United Artists, suggesting I record it on their label.)

At this time I was promoting my music career while United Artists groomed me to be the actor who would play James Dean in a biopic about his life - and take over where he had left off as an actor. Those were some big shoes to fill and I don't think anyone has yet managed to.

UPDATE 2011 : A YouTuber posts WAIT FOR ME BABY

(228) ME AND ERSEL HICKEY "THE LOCKSMITH OF ROCK AND ROLL!"

I performed "Freeze" and other songs on a live stage show in Albany, New York. Albany was my first experience of being chased by fans and having my clothes ripped off by them on the street before I got inside the theatre. Somewhere there's a picture of me standing there almost naked.

I was living the Teen Idol's life. So was Ersel Hickey, who was there.

Ersel laughed like he. He said to me "Gee, Wes, don't you wear any underwear? Your shortcomings are sticking out!"

We got to the theatre, Ersel was still intact. But he was standing in the wings waiting to go out and perform his hit "Blue Bird Over The Mountain." Bob Martin announced him. But he screwed up his name. "Here's the fabulous Edsel Hackey!"

"Man, I'm ruined," Ersel said.

Out he went. And that's when the girls stormed the stage and got Ersel down to ...well... Ersel did wear underwear!

Ersel came from Albany, where he had been a locksmith. We called him "The Rock and Roll Locksmith."

Here's Ersel's version and (surprise!) what the Beach Boys did with the song in 1968!

(227) FREEZE ON UNITED ARTISTS

"Freeze" was my second single on United Artists Records, a new label attached to the movie making company. I went up to Harlem and worked with Ben Alexander, who played the saxophone on this one. Ben had worked with Louis Armtrong and the Big Bands. He thought I was green behind the ears, an innocent in New York. He was partially right. I had never heard of Harlem. He teased me about it but when I ran into him at The Turf restaurant after "Freeze" hit, he told me how proud he was of me!

"Freeze" started a bit of a dance craze across the nation, launched by my appearance on American Bandstand. The kids "Froze" when I sang the word "Freeze!" Dick Clark did a little dance - a couple of steps to the song himself.

I was moving towards being a singer-songwriter when I co-wrote Freeze.

(226) DICK CLARK - THE WORLD'S OLDEST TEENAGER - and FREEZE

Hello everyone - we're baaack!

Every New Years Eve, when the ball drops on Times Square during the countdown to the new year in New York, I think of my time back in New York, early in my career, as the first artist signed to United Artists records.

I think of DICK CLARK, and his American Bandstand, where I first hit with "Tiny Spaceman" in 1957. Dick has been called "The World's Oldest Teenager!"

Dick has hosted New York -Times Square New Years Eve television shows for years. And a couple years ago he had a stroke. He's a workaholic and when I heard he had the stroke I thought - oh not Dick - he'll get up and work again as soon as he can. Dick has made brief appearances on television and his recent appearance on the New Years Eve show proved my point. He's gaining on improving his speech since the stroke and he needs to be where the action is.

I was on the Dick Clark American Bandstand show a second time to promote my second record on United Artists, "Freeze." The flip side is "Wait For Me Baby." Freeze was my second Gold record. Ben Alexander was the saxophonist.

DICK CLARK Quote On ELVIS PRESLEY

"It's rare when an artist's talent can touch an entire generation of people. It's even rarer when that same influence affects several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequaled by any other single performer." - Dick Clark

(225) ELVIS' BIRTHDAY

Today as we celebrate the birthday of Elvis Presley, I've been thinking about Elvis and how family oriented he was, and how much he would have loved to have been a grandfather. In October - a couple months ago - Lisa Marie gave birth to twin daughters, making Elvis and Priscilla grandparents x4. It makes me sad to think that Elvis missed out on being a Grandpa, but at the same time I believe he is in Eternal Life.

Previously we blogged on the rumors that Elvis is still alive. I'm sorry, but he isn't. I have no doubts whatsoever.

Let's remember Elvis not as the performer but the human being.

VACATION TIME

We will be on Vacation for a week or two !

We invite you to use the Search feature above to find our past blogs about people you're most interested in

or to scan the very many Links to the left

to get right to important web sites,

or to watch our YOUTUBE station

and hear music that we mention in this blog

and in the book we've been working on.

We thank all of you who have kept in touch with us

as well as GOOGLE, YAHOO, YOUTUBE & PHOTOBUCKET

for without these free Internet services

we would not be able to present this blog!

Wes Bryan and Christine Trzyna

LISTEN TO "FREEZE" on this current E-BAY AUCTION

Listen to those saxophones... and me singing...

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2011... The ebay auction link expired but a copy of Freeze has appeared on YOUTUBE...