JIMMY BOWEN on CAPEHEART : LIVING IN A TEENAGE DREAM WORLD JIMMY BOWEN

Jimmy worked at American Music, wrote songs, and was recorded on Jerry Capeheart's label, after he too left Roulette.

JIMMY BOWEN on ROULETTE: SOMEBODY TO LOVE

THIS SONG IS MENTIONED IN OUR BOOK...

JIMMY BOWEN and the RHYTHM ORCHIDS on ED SULLIVAN

This YouTube video is of Jimmy Bowen and the Rhythm Orchids on the Ed Sullivan show. That's Buddy Knox to the far left of the film. It's about 1955.


(THE VIDEO WAS REMOVED FROM YOUTUBE DUE TO COPYRIGHT CLAIM SO WE ARE REMOVING THE LINK!)

(307) JIMMY BOWEN - SINGER SONGWRITER and FAMOUS MUSIC PRODUCER TO BE !

JIMMY BOWEN figures in my story from way back. I met Jimmy Bowen while he was passing through Akron, Ohio. He took me to a record hop there, where my first record was played. It was a record I home made in Winston-Salem without a label so it could not be played on the radio legally.

Jimmy Bowen and Buddy Knox had a group called The Rhythm Orchids. (They started out wearing light purple shirts when they played!) Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen were both Texas boys. Jimmy played a stand up bass, an instrument that featured in early rock and roll but soon disappeared from road performances.

Eventually I would perform with Jimmy on the road while on Roulette Records. I was on the Buddy Knox tour but I would occasionally meet up with Jimmy's tour.

The two of us showed up to work at American Music in Los Angeles. The two of us wrote some songs together... including "Break Down and Cry" which was recorded by Fabian and "Don't Stay Away" which was recorded by Jerry Fuller.

We're linking here to CMT (COUNTRY MUSIC) pages for Jimmy Bowen who has been recording with the band SANTA FE - back to his roots in music! And the next few videos will be a little Jimmy Bowen music festival!

EASTER GREETINGS to MY FAMILY and FRIENDS!

(306) A LITTLE REITERATION OF MY STORY JUST TO GET YOU SITUATED !

This year we've been revisiting the smaller record labels in Hollywood and some of the songwriters and singer-songwriters who were making the scene in Southern California in about 1963.

But if you've been following my story, you know that I was born in Murphy, North Carolina, that I made my first recording in a kitchen in Winston-Salem, that I was discovered as THE NEXT JAMES DEAN in Akron, Ohio, in 1957, which lead to auditions in Hollywood and my living in New York City. I studied at Actors' Studio. I traveled all around the United States promoting my first couple records as the FIRST ARTIST SIGNED TO UNITED ARTISTS. Then, while on Roulette Records I toured for a couple years - in 47 states! -with rockabilly Superstar BUDDY KNOX. I became friends with Elvis Presley back in '57, one of the great friendships of my life.

I performed on Ed Sullivan, Jack Paar, Wink Martindale... so many television shows all around the country. I played live on radio stations. And then - then I moved to Southern California to work as a staff songwriter for AMERICAN MUSIC about 1960, after the KNOX tour was completed.

From the east coast to the west I moved and so did some of the people who were integral to my story. People like Elvis Presley, Johnny Rivers, and Jimmy Bowen were now also living in Hollywood for film or music...

The Golden Age of American Rock 'n Roll: Reelin' & rockin' : 1956-1959 By Lee Cotten

I was listed in this book by Lee Cotten called The Golden Age of American Rock 'n Roll: Reelin' & rockin' : 1956-1959. I didn't know about it until we looked at Google Books which brings it up. You can link now to Google books... and you're going to see that my name brings up a few things....

Hello to DAVE DUTTON, bookseller and long time friend

Dave Dutton, the bookseller, who had a very dusty, literary, independent bookstore called Dutton's books in Los Angeles' on Laurel Canyon, is out of the local book business. For a man who loves the arts, it's not easy to be retired at all and I know Dave is indulging his interests in art, literature, and so much else. Dave has been a friend of mine for years, his shop a frequent stop, and when he found out we were writing a memoir he was so supportive. Dave always said that when we get our memoir published he'd throw us a book signing. It's been a couple years since his shop closed and I think of him often. Hello Dave!

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=17 This is the link for NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO and in their archives for March 22, 2006 is an archived interview (audio) about DAVE DUTTON!

Day to Day, "March 22, 2006 · Small, independent Dutton's book store is closing its doors after 46 years in North Hollywood, Calif. Gloria Hillard profiles the shop and its owner, a man who has devoted his life to books. Dave Dutton took over from his father as a young man, but will soon shutter Dutton's Books -- a refuge for older, sometimes forgotten tomes."

(305) SONG WRITERS HALL OF FAME ORG & BILL HALEY AND THE COMETS

Link here to the SONG WRITERS HALL OF FAME Museum ! Now the era that we're writing about is ROCK n ROLL, under the category 1955 to present which is a long, long time.

The beginning of this online article mentions Bill Haley and the Comets, who we haven't blogged about before... there is a wealth of information on this link, including dozens of profiles of inductees...

But Bill Haley and the Comet's song "Rock Around the Clock" was the first rock and roll song I ever heard! And yes, I think it was at one of those drive in diners!

This YouTuber presented a video of the group on the Ed Sullivan show. Would you believe we did not have a television set? We couldn't get reception in the Smokey Mountains ...

(303) SHARON SHEELEY - SONGWRITER

We're linking to the ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME page for songwriter SHARON SHEELEY here. SHARON was Eddie Cockran's girlfriend at the time he was killed in the car accident in England and that is unfortunately, what she first became famous for. She and Gene Vincent survived the car crash. She was still dating Eddie when I first met her. I was with the Everly Brothers at the time. Sharon was great friends with Nan Morris, the agent I've blogged about - a friend of mine to this day. It was Nan who took a demo of "POOR LITTLE FOOL" to Rick Nelson. In fact the two women were near stalking Rick to get that song to him because they were so sure it was going to be a hit for him. And they were right.

Sharon Sheeley continued to write songs including in collaboration with Jackie DeShannon and Brenda Lee.

Now we've mentioned before (and on some of our Youtube postings) that many DEMOS were made that did not turn into records for the market and that on many of these DEMOS some artists performed who became famous in their own time.

Some of the Demo Makers included Glen Campbell and Leon Russel and David Gates. A few years ago demos of some of Sharon's compositions that featured these artists came out on the market. And one of the singers is P.J. Proby, another demo maker who became famous and continues to perform, and who remained a friend of Sharon's until her death a few years ago ...

WE JUST INSTALLED THE "SEARCH THIS BLOG" FEATURE !

You can use this feature to bring up older posts, links, and other information sorted by WORD CHOICE. Try the words ELVIS PRESLEY!

BUTLER WHO SERVED 8 US. PRESIDENTS (AND ELVIS) PASSES AT 90 : EUGENE ALLEN !

Eugene Allen served 8 U.S. Presidents as a butler and that included Elvis, when he made his visit to the White House. From the Washington Post: "Mr. Allen served entertainers including Sammy Davis Jr., Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey and Elvis Presley. He flew aboard Air Force One. He sipped root beer at Camp David with Jimmy Carter and visited Eisenhower in Gettysburg after he left the White House. There were always Christmas and birthday cards from the families of the presidents he had served."

QUOTE from a RASPBERRY ZINGER TEA BOX

"Between true friends, even water drunk together is sweet enough"
- Zimbabwean Proverb