SEE YOU IN 2013!

ELVIS PRESLEY : SILENT NIGHT

FRIENDS ARE LIKE THE STARS ...

You can't always see them ... but you know they're always there!

BILL MEDLEY CHRISTMAS WITH MICHAEL GRIMM and TYRIG JOHNSON

Michael Grimm invited Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers and Tyriq Johnson, who performs with Santa Fe & the Fat City Horn, to share the stage with him at the Flamingo Showroom. They trio sang "Please Come Home for Christmas" Lots of fun and laughter!

Video was originally posted by The Grimmettes, A Michael Grimm Fan Club on Facebook.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THE SMOKEY MOUNTAINS

Where there's never a shortage of Christmas Trees back in the Smokey Mountains!

(445) DECEMBER 21 1970 ELVIS LETTER TO PRESIDENT NIXON YEAR

READ THE LETTER! LINK HERE! 

at the NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Christmas meant so much to Elvis.  He loved to go home to the family at Graceland TM and he loved to give presents  and bonuses to those who worked for him, the guys who became known as the Memphis Mafia. (I wasn't a member of that group as I never worked for Elvis.)  

Elvis took time to write the President of the United States just a few days before Christmas in 1970. I imagine that he'd been thinking about doing so for some time and had just found the pause in his schedule to do so. He thought the President would read his letter and he was right.  To me this is evidence of how Elvis thought of street drugs and crime as different than private doctors and prescriptions.  I miss Elvis.  We'll be taking a vacation after Christmas for a couple weeks, and should be back in time to celebrate his Capricorn birthday!

ELVIS PRESLEY : CRYING IN THE CHAPEL : 1965

(444) MOONGLOWS : HEY SANTA CLAUS! 1953

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME : THE MOONGLOWS link here!

Christine here.  Listening to this Moonglows Doo Wop from the mid 1950's I'm remined how important the saxaphone was to music in those days. I'm thinking of Wes' recordings from that period that also featured sax.  (We have a variety of Wes Bryan music posted on the side bar of this blog for yiour to sample.) As much as I know about music of the early rock and roll and cover tune era after years of blogging with Wes here, I just recently learned about the Moonglows.

(443) THE DRIFTERS : WHITE CHRISTMAS DOO WOP! WORLD TOUR FOR 60TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2012

DRIFTERS OFFICIAL SITE ! link here

We posted the Drifter's "Up On The Roof" which reminds me so much of my early New York City days, some time ago, but realized we hadn't linked to their official site and when we did - the announcement of a 60th anniversary World Tour!

The Drifters® celebrate their 60th Anniversary with the Diamond Dynasty World Tour 2013.

"Preparations for the 60th Anniversary World Tour are well underway, The Drifters® are proud to present their Diamond Dynasty World Tour to celebrate this auspicious occasion. Our web site is currently undergoing massive redevelopment and we are excited to announce that it will be launched on January 1st 2013 as part of the Drifters® 60th Anniversary year."

DOO WOP : MY MUSIC CONCERT : A TERRIFIC CONCERT ON FILM

"Before Rock N Roll...Before R n B... there was Doo Wop."

This is the DVD made from the PBS special.  It features some archival film along with contemporary performance recorded at the Sands Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City New Jersey in 2005.  Created by T.J. Lubinsky, the DVD includes Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners (Since I Don't Have You!),  Herb Reed's Platters, The Duprees, The Cleftones,  Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, The Moonglows, the Bobbettes, and several other vocal groups that are keeping the Doo Wop music alive.

Excellent production, it was terrific to see, and most of these singers are still in great voice...

(442) VENTURES : THIS ONE GOES OUT TO OUR FRIEND ARNE!

The Ventures, known for surf music like the famous "Pipeline," put out a Christmas Album in '65, and instead of Christmas in July it's more like surf music in December!  The Ventures cover of "The Christmas Song" blends surf music with the guitar sound that is almost British Invasion.

VENTURES OFFICIAL SITE link here!

Playing DJ here, we want to send this song out to our friend ARNE, who was one of the first to post Wes Bryan songs on YouTube and who runs an impressive YouTube channel as well as being an oldies record collector! 

Happy Holidays and a terrific 2013 Arne!

 

BEACH BOYS : LITTLE SAINT NICK : AFTER THEIR AMERICAN INVASION OF EUROPE

From 1965, a best selling Christmas album, the Beach Boys use their harmonies so well.


BEACH BOYS 50th ANNIVERSARY OFFICIAL SITE link here!

THE GRAMMY MUSEUM GIFT STORE : BEACH BOYS - DICK DALE - PHIL SPECTOR - RONETTES - RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS - RITCHIE VALENS

WOW!  Christine here.  You know how I looove the Grammy Museum!  I usually post after a visit there. 

Here are some great CDs and one pressed vinyl album that you can buy at the GRAMMY MUSEUM shop.  We're pretty sure that you can go to the shop to shop without paying to tour the museum if you just want to shop and make a visit another time and there are always greeters at the door so ask!

 
BEACH BOYS PET SOUNDS
Includes A 180 gram VINYL RECORD LIMITED EDITION from the Capitol Records Vault!

THE VERY BEST OF DICK DALE  (Surf Music!)

PHIL SPECTOR - WALL OF SOUND - 1961-1966 includes
DARLENE LOVE
THE RONETTES
THE CRYSTALS
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

THE COMPLETE RITCHIE VALENS includes unfinished songs and live at Pacoima High School - 35 songs!

If you're interested in reading past posts here at WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC about any of these artists, please use the Google Search feature to bring them up! 

MARIAN ANDERSON Quote On Friendship

"Everyone has a gift for something even if it is the gift of being a good friend." - Marian Anderson

(441) THE BLOSSOMS : FREQUENT MUSICAL ARTISTS ON SHINDIG : DARLENE LOVE AND THE WALL OF SOUND

BLOSSOMS HISTORY OF ROCK link here! 

They were the background group on so many popular records, working for Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, and so many others.  The writer of this article is right when he says they were the most unknown successful group there was!

The Blossoms covered so many songs and were frequent guests on the Shindig television show as performing artists.  In the studio they are probably most famous for working with music producer Phil Spector and his Wall of Sound. You know them for the song "He's The Rebel." Here is just one of so very many videos presently on YouTube featuring their performances. 

Now, over the years there were a number of different women who worked as a Blossom.  Darlene Love is the Blossom most mentioned. Check our previous posts about the Blossoms and Darlene, using the Google Blogger search feature!




The Rock and Roll hall of Fame also Inducted Darlene Love in 2011, age 70, after a career of 50 years! Below the link to the bio and a long but very funny and very touching video of

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: DARLENE LOVE link!

STARTED THE MORNING WITH ELVIS : IF I GET HOME ON CHRISTMAS DAY

It's still a little too early for those of us who like to spend Thanksgiving as a holiday at home and Christmas in the Christmas season, but this morning started with coffee while this song played on the radio...

(440) JACKIE DESHANNON : WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW

JACKIE DESHANNON OFFICIAL SITE link here



When you get to Jackie's site you'll learn that this singer-songwriter is now an activist.  Here is her new song she wrote about her cause, clean water in Africa.



FROM HER SITE: "Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon is the soulful voice behind two enduring 1960’s anthems -- Burt Bacharach & Hal David's "What The World Needs Now Is Love" and DeShannon's own "Put A Little Love In Your Heart." Beyond those standards is an artist who has created a body of work covering a diverse range of genres including rock, folk, R&B, country, gospel, reggae and jazz.

Her songs have been performed by Brenda Lee, The Byrds, Marianne Faithfull, Al Green, Annie Lennox, The Searchers, Pam Tillis, The Carpenters, Kim Carnes, The Temptations, Rick Nelson, Cher, Van Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton, Irma Thomas..."

HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS : 1965 A TASTE OF HONEY

FRIENDSHIP IS LIKE A BOOK...

..."It takes a few seconds to burn but it takes years to write!"

Hi friends, Christine here.  I saw this one at a church crafts bazaar last weekend and had to write it down!

PETULA CLARK : DOWNTOWN : 1965 (THE PERFECT SONG FOR BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!)

Christine here. This is a song of childhood memories. I loved this song!  It brought to me the hustle bustle of going into the city from the suburbs where I lived, not an every day experience! PETULA CLARK was certainly part of the British Invasion of America.  These days when I think of Britain, I think of our friend Bear who seems to know of every break out artist that ever sang!  His blog BEARLY RAMBLING is amazing!

BEARLY RAMBLING BLOG - GREAT BRITAIN link here!

Can we actually expect anyone to be at home on the computer on "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving when so many Americans are off work and using the Thanksgiving holiday to do their Christmas shopping?  (The really organized people will also have everything wrapped and tucked away for Santa before going back to work on Monday!) Well yes, you can expect me to be home and NOT on the computer I'll probably be busy crocheting a dog sweater! 

THANKSGIVING : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF OUR PROJECT THROUGH THE YEARS!

CHANGE IN PUBLISHING TIMES - WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC

We will be publishing any posts that appear on Saturday or Sunday and some Holidays at 1:09 Pacific Coast Time and will continue to publish posts that appear on weekdays at 7:09 PM except for the rare occasions when we run a "Celebration" of a particular artist and want to post throughout the day on him or her or them!

Let's give it a try!

Christine and Wes

HISTORY OF SOUND RECORDING LINK

HISTORY OF SOUND RECORDING LINK  We thought this site was interesting and informative, and we wanted to share it with you, speaking of Thomas Edison and early recordings!

Get information about recorders with the new searchable Recorder Database! Currently over 2000 classic recorder models are included, most with pictures and manufacture dates.


and

RECORDING HISTORY BY GENERAL TOPIC:

Technology - Recording machines and their makers
Industry - The business of recorders and records
Culture - The cultural impact of sound recording

MUSEUM OF INNOVATION AND SCIENCE UNVEILS 1878 AUDIO RECORDING

YAHOO NEWS ARTICLE : 1878 AUDIO RECORDING UNVEILED  article by CHRIS CAROLA  of  Associated Press – Thu, Oct 25, 2012.

We thought this was such an interesting story!  It was about 1878 before a person could record and hear their own voice, something we find easy technologically today. 

In this article, we learn how computer technology allows us to hear a recording which could not be touched or played.  It was mapped optically and contructed the groove in software and model what the stylus would do in response to the bumps - truly amazing!

MUSEUM OF INNOVATION AND SCIENCE link here

VETERANS DAY : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(439) HOLLYWOOD A GO GO : LOCAL MUSIC TELEVISION IN THE MID 1960's

Hollywood - A Go Go was a local television show - local as in Los Angeles - that featured artists who were appearing on the Sunset Strip Go Go  music club scene (girls in boots dancing in cages which started at the Whiskey were called Go Go Girls) and in its 40 some episodes which aired in 1965 and 1966 many of those we blog about appeared... Jackie DeShannon, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Bobby Fuller Four, Chuck Berry...  It was hosted by KHJ radio am disk jockey Sam Riddle, and featured the Gazzari Dancers.  Thanks to YouTube contributors of historical music television footage, here is Rick Nelson and, on another show, Jackie De Shannon.

(438) DONNIE BROOKS : ROCKABILLY TO EARLY ROCK AND ROLL : 1965 HOLLYWOOD A GO GO

DONNIE BROOKS ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME  This site has a good bio and memorial for Donnie which my friend Jerry Cole participated in.

Donnie's probably most known for his hit "Mission Bells" which was a hit in 1960. By 1965 he was appearing on local television show Hollywood A- Go Go!   Thank you to the posters of these historical
music performances on
Youtube!  I met Donny throuh Lou Bedell.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CHARLES LAMB Quotation on Friendship

'Tis the Privilege of friendship to talk nonsense and have her nonsense respected." - Charles Lamb, from The Life, Letters, and Writings of Charles Lamb

BORIS KARLOFF SINGS "THE MONSTER MASH" ON SHINDIG 1965 : BOBBY PICKETT and LEONARD CAPIZZI SONGWRITERS

  See our previous posts on Bobby Pickett using the Google Blogger search feature!  The Shindig Haloween show featured Boris reading Monster Mash Lyrics.  The song first came out in 1962.  This video is "recreated" but we were fooled.

ENTERTAINING HALLOWEEN

(437) MAE BOREN AXTON: THE QUEEN MOTHER OF NASHVILLE and PROLIFIC SONGWRITER

MAE AXTON wrote over 200 songs, and 14 charted, but she will go down in music history and Elvis Presley history because she was the person who with Tommy Durden co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel," perhaps the song Elvis is most famous for.  When Elvis had a hit with "Heartbreak Hotel" he had a hit on more than one chart.  It hit on Country, Pop, and R and B. 

As many songwriters have been known to do, Mae was out to sell her own song to the person she wanted to record it.  She personally presented the song to Elvis in Nashville in 1955 at a country music convention.  The video below is probably the January 1956 session with the Blue Moon Boys and session guitarist Chet Atkins.

Through the years Mae placed songs with many country music greats from Johnny Tillotson to Willie Nelson.

MAE AXTON : BLACKCAT ROCKABILLY UK SITE : By Colin Kilgour
MAE AXTON : OKLAHOMA : Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 1985

ANY VIDEO OF ERSEL HICKEY PERFORMING? HOW ABOUT WES BRYAN ?

Here's a challenge to anyone who uses YouTube or other Internet video sharing sites! We would love to find footage of Ersel Hickey performing and post it! We would love to find footage of Wes performing as well.

And by the way, we know that there must be footage somewhere. Wes performed on Ed Sullivan, Dick Clark's American Band Stand (twice), the Jack Paar show, and many other regional shows in Baltimore, Cleveland, and throughout the south, as well as on shows in Los Angeles.  And he appeared live on the pier in Santa Monica.

Wes performed with Ersel Hickey in stage shows in the state of New York.  He also performed with Buddy Knox on his tour in the late 1950's in 48 states and some of you may have photos taken of Wes and Buddy from that tour.

Unfortunately many archival collections are organized by the show headliners, and over time what has been preserved is often the early careers of people such as Elvis Presley, people who became much more famous. I've enjoyed watching a number of Dick Clark American Bandstand videos all the way through at the Paley Center for the Media, including those commercials that seem so much more dated than the music,  but they don't have a full collection.  I contacted the Ed Sullivan collection but got no reply.

If you know of local repositories of film or related materials in your park of the United States please let us know!

Christine

LENNONYC (LENNON NEW YORK CITY) DVD : (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER

LENNONYC is an American Masters Series DVD which could not have been made without the cooperation of Yoko Ono, and this film did give me a different impression of John Lennon, but having read around the Beatles and John Lennon and Yoko Ono,  I felt also that it had been edited in such a way as to admit previous controversies but also get past them quickly.  All film makers have a point of view so I should not be surprised that this one proposed that at the time of his death on December 8, 1980, John had found personal happiness and career success.

I'm writing about this video DVD here at WES BRYAN- MY LIFE IN MUSIC  because of the coverage of John's music making with Phil Spector as Producer in Los Angeles, and because John talks about how the Beatles used to cover early rock and roll "classics" in the studio when they need to relax, take a break, or get inspiration.  He also references  Elvis Presley in the section that involves his rockabilly song STARTING OVER .

  To me this song has Beatlesque aspects as well as reminding me of some Electric Light Orchestra recordings.  Christine

SHINDIG MAGAZINE : COVERING MUSIC 1965 FORWARD

The name Shindig comes from the music television show. We've been hearing about Shindig Magazine... It covers the mid 1960's forward with articles about many artists you may have loved but have lost track of...

It looks like our kind of publication. Here's a link!

SHINDIG MAGAZINE WEB SITE

LISA MARIE AND ELVIS DUET : FAN VIDEO TO BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC

LISA MARIE AND DAD VIDEO RELEASE : Chris Michaud reports for Rueters

Excerpt:

"Presley’s new video, “I Love You Because,” is an emotional duet with her late father.


Due to premiere on Thursday on country music TV channel CMT and CMT.com, the video was recorded in August for the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death."

"Presley, who died at the age of 42, recorded “I Love You Because” in July 1954 at Sun Studio in Memphis, the same time he recorded “That’s All Right.”


Producer Sam Phillips deemed it unsuitable for Presley’s first single, and it ended up on Presley’s first album, from 1956, never to be performed by Presley again, according to CMT.

Lisa Marie Presley, 44, recorded her vocals to the song in August at the suggestion of producer T-Bone Burnett, as a special song for fans."

MAE AXTON : ELVIS PRESLEY : HEARTBREAK HOTEL - MAE AXTON

Mae wrote a lot of songs besides Heartbreak Hotel, but she says she's OK with being known for only that song. Here's a radio interview of Mae intervierwing Elvis in 1955.

(436) JOHNNY TILLOTSON POETRY IN MOTION MAE AXTON

I met Johnny when I was writing songs with Mae Axton. (Out of that collaboration I wrote "Apache Pearl" with Mae.)

He was also friends with Phil and Don Everly.

Little known is that Johnny is the singer for "The Mary Tyler Moore" TV show theme song.

JOHNNY TILLOTSON OFFICIAL SITE  (It's terrific!)

  One of several songs Johnny had out in 1965!  In 1960 his hit "Poetry In Motion" was one of my favorites.

GRAMMY MUSEUM : THE BEACH BOYS and WHITNEY HOUSTON EXHIBITS

GRAMMY MUSEUM - BEACH BOYS EXHIBIT

Christine here! 

Last weekend I went to the GRAMMY MUSEUM, one of my favorite places in Los Angeles.  I wanted to see the Beach Boy's exhibit, celebrating their 50 years in the business and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  The exhibit was one long wall and featured a number of guitar reproductions and copies rather than originals, which I understood but felt disappointed by.  Turns out my visit was about the time the Beach Boys were breaking up - again!

AISHA HARRIS of SLATE  "This is only the latest incident in years of public disagreements (and lawsuits) between cousins Love and Wilson over, among other things, writing credits and publishing rights. When the band reunited for the first time in years at the Grammys this past February, the buzz for fans was built around anticipation for a tour that would see all the surviving members on stage again. But even back in June, with the shows in full swing, trouble was brewing: Love had added some South American dates for the fall that would not include the other guys. “That’s news to me,” Wilson told Rolling Stone at the time."

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE AT SLATE

One of the most fabulous things about the GRAMMY MUSEUM is the interactive computer screens which allow you to locate music in history, by genre, and by artist, AND ALL THAT SOUND SAMPLING.  It's truly an exciting educational experience.

Of great interest to me also is the costuming that various artists wore.  Really, anyone studying fashion in the area should visit the museum every few months.  The last time I visited the museum I got chills when I saw the simple red jacket that Ritchie Valens wore in his publicity photos,  and costumes worn on stage by Michael Jackson and Neil Diamond have been featured in the past.  
This time it was the WHITNEY HOUSTON exhibit that caught my attention.  Now I have to admit I'm not a Whitney Houston fan, but then I'm not that much into the "power singers."  As I looked at her costumes and read about her career, which I knew near nothing about, I learned that no one had won more Grammy's than Whitney. 

As a woman I looked at the costumes and realized that she was about my size but I couldn't help but try on the fact that she had achieved more than the vast majority of us, and yet she had lost it all.  I listened as other museum goers discussed what really was the problem with Whitney.  Was it her husband?  Drugs?  Drugs and her husband? Or maybe simply FAME?  It brought tears to my eyes to think of it.

The museum also has a WOODY GUTHRIE EXHIBIT going on right now, and let me tell you, if you happen to be reading this and are in Los Angeles, you can take METRO there and not worry about parking or parking fees around the Staples Center area.

(435) ME AND COUNTRY MUSIC : MY ROOTS IN CHEROKEE COUNTY

I grew up in rural Cherokee County North Carolina - The Smokey Mountains - where I ran with a kid gang, and as a teen followed my father's work to Oregon and then around the country to Akron, Ohio, where I got my big break.  From there I would move to New York City as my base but tour throughout the South.

I grew up hearing Country Music and I've always loved it. Rockabilly, as you probably know, has strong roots in Country.  Many of my peers in the business in the late 1950's and early 1960's also had country roots, people like Buddy Knox, Jimmy Bowen and Buddy Holly, who were from West Texas, and Glen Campbell, who was from the "Deep South".

As a song writer, I was just as interested in writing for Country music artists as ever and I was able to place some of the songs I wrote or cowrote with Country artists.  

AL SHELTON Designer of RICK NELSON'S HAND TOOLED GUITAR COVER

FROM OUR ARCHIVES ORIGINAL POST FROM 2008

Christine here.

The other day I stopped into a storefront art gallery and workshop of an artist named AL SHELTON. Al is famous for having designed and cast the statue of Gene Autry at the museum that cowboy star Gene Autry funded, once called the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum but now called the Autry National Center of the American West.
AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER
He is also a renown designer of hand tooled guitar covers and other items and a painter and his life has been entwined with real and movie cowboys and cowgirls.
Al showed me a photo of Rick Nelson with a hand tooled guitar cover on his guitar that Al designed and worked years ago. He told me it went down on the plane that Rick was on when he died. He also did a lot of work that Nudie, a cowboy star costume designer subcontracted, including clothes for stars like Elvis.

Here's a NPR broadcast about Al...
NPR ON AL

Here is a link that shows Al with Matthew Nelson, one of Rick's sons, and some of the hand tooled work and art he's done.
ARTISANS LINK

This post updated September 2012

MAYA ANGELOU Quotation on Friendship

"A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." - Maya Angelou

I ALWAYS LOVED THE COWBOYS

(434) MARTY ROBBINS : COUNTRY SINGER TURNED WESTERN ACTOR

Those of us who grew up with cowboy heros loved watching television Westerns that were so popular in the 1960's and when they were hiring actors, they liked the ones who could play a guitar and sing.

So while Johnny Crawford worked on shows like the Rifleman, Marty Robbins, famous for his recording of El Paso, which sold something like 10 million copies, one of my favorites (not to be confused with Trini Lopez who was also a friend and who we've blogged about before) got a job on a show called The Drifter.




Linking to Marty Robbins Official Site!

(433) SINGING ACTING SENSATION JOHNNY CRAWFORD : SANDY 1965 : HOLLYWOOD A GO GO

Besides the successful Shindig show, there was also the Hollywood A Go Go show. (The Go Go dance, I believe started at the Whisky - A Go Go which had girls in cages dancing.)

Johnny Crawford had a successful acting career, especially in Westerns. Then he was recorded at Delfi records by Bob Keane and in the mid sixties he has some hit singles and albums, a compilation is out on Delfi. He's most remembered for the acting role on a cowboy TV show that was popular called The Rifleman with actor Chuck Conners, one of the shows I watched. I've always loved the cowboys.

Linking to his full resume at a Rifleman - Conners site which has a bit about Delfi.

(432) JOHNNY RIVERS : 1965 : YEARS OF HARD WORK BROUGHT LUCK TO HIS SIDE

Johnny's one of those people who started working hard in the music business at sixteen in New York and just would not quit. He still hasn't. We're linking to his site!

He worked so hard luck was right by his side, and by the mid 1960's he was going stong, making public performances and became known at the famous Whisky A Go Go, appearing on television, and recording cover tunes, many which we still think of as Johnny River's songs.

In 1966 he started Soul City Records, his own record company. Maybe that's because Johnny moved from one label to the next over the years (not so unusual in those days and often a means to career survival) and recorded on United Artists, Imperial, Capitol, Crown, Sunset, and Liberty, and maybe then some.

Here's a recorded Live at the Whisky Youtube presentation that captures the fun that we enjoyed going there to hear him perform.

JOHNNY RIVERS : BABY I NEED YOUR LOVING

SHEL SILVERSTEIN Quotation on Friendship

“How many slams in an old screen door?
Depends how loud you shut it.
How many slices in a bread?
Depends how thin you cut it.
How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live 'em.
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give 'em.” - Shel Silverstein

37th ANNUAL JAMES DEAN FESTIVAL : SEPTEMBER 27th – 30th, 2012

This festival is always a lot of James Dean themed fun and testifies to the lasting popularity of the actor, who back in the 1950's I was being promoted by United Artists to replace. We're linking to one of the pages of the Fairmount Historical Museum which has more information about the festival. Gas prices are high but this might be the time to get in your car and take a drive across this great United States for a vacation.

THE NEXT JAMES DEAN FAN PHOTO - THAT'S ME!

I was based in New York in the late 1950's though I spent more time on the road when my career went from acting to performing music. I took private acting lessons at Actor's Studio and made the rounds. This was a fan photo used by United Artists, where I was signed, to show my James Dean-like appearance. My looks were not identical to Jimmy's but even his family thought I could play him in a bio-pic about his life.

(431) AFTER 1965 I WROTE MUSIC FOR TELEVISION AND FILM

After 1965 and the closure of American Music, the music publishing house where my five year song writing contact ended early with the death of the owner, Sylvester Cross, I decided to go independent, and like so many other American songwriters in that time when British Bands with their own singer-songwriters in the band were dominating the charts, I decided to try also writing music for television shows and films.

Honoring my contract that I'd left New York to move to Los Angeles for, I'd let offers to perform again and other opportunities go by the wayside. You can't live your life over, but sometimes you can't help wondering what might have been if you took a different road.

While many of my songwriter peers also took their chances at opening their own publishing houses and recording studios, many of my singer-actor peers were trying to move their singing into acting, like Elvis had been doing, but on television.

I watched a lot of television just like Elvis did and I was eager to place songs on some of them.

Very few have the lasting career of an Elvis Presley and even Elvis, despite all the movies he made that kept him in the public eye, was feeling the effects of the changes in music, what was selling, a different sound.

My friend always kept up on the latest music. He had records that were popular in the states sent to him when he was in the army in Germany, and he had the guys go down to the record stores in Hollywood and bring back records for his home juke boxes. In just a few years he'd need a "come back." But I don't want to go too far in my story yet.

(430) SONGWRITERS LEIBER AND STOLLER : OFFICIAL SITE

As they relate in their interesting book called HOUND DOG, songwriters Jerry Leiber (who passed away August 2011) and Mike Stoller had their beginnings in the rock and roll song writing business in New York, and over the years their songwriting included dozens of memorable hits that made it into the top 100, songs performed by Elvis Presley, The Coasters, The Drifters, Hank Snow, and so many others.

They were, like most American song-writers in the mid 1960's finding themselves in competition with British Invasion songwriters who also had bands. Over time they grew less interested in rock and roll and moved into writing other music.

Linking to their official site, which mentions that Mike's Music will be used at the Democratic National Convention.

(429) HOUND DOG : THE LEIBER and STOLLER AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Christine here!


I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and finished it over the Labor Day weekend. It was edited wonderfully so that the conversational - story-telling quality was preserved and so the story moved at a good pace.


Of interest to the readers of WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC is the material on Elvis Presley, the effects of the British Invasion on songwriters in the mid 1960's, and the Brill Building New York scene and their LA-New York bicoastal music business. Of course the title HOUND DOG is also the name of their song that was recorded by Big Mama Thornton but which Elvis Presley broke out with, and which put this song writing due into early fame.

An excerpt from the book from pages 93 and 94!


Leiber: ..."As for the amazing fact that Elvis had recorded "Hound Dog," well, I had different feelings. The first feeling is the one that washes over any songwriter when he learns he has a hit: He hears the cash register ring and the Sale! sign come up. That's a good feeling. But when I heard Elvis' version, I had a bad feeling. I didn't like the way he did it. Somebody changed the lyrics. I had written:


You ain't nothing but a hound dog
Quit snooping 'round my door
You can wag your tail,
But I ain't gonna feed you no more

But Elvis sang:

You ain't nothing but a hound dog
Crying all the time
You ain't never caught a rabbit
And you ain't no friend of mine


To this day I have no idea what the rabbit business is all about. The song is not about a dog; it's about a man, a freeloading gigolo. Elvis's version makes no sense to me, and even more irritatingly, it is not the song that Mike and I wrote. Of course, the fact that it sold more than seven million copies took the sting our of what seemed to be a capricious chance of lyrics. But, lick for lick, there's no comparison between the Presley version and the Big Mama original. Elvis played with the song; Bib Mama nailed it."


HOUND DOG : THE LEIBER and STOLLER AUTOBIOGRAPHY
by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller with David Ritz Copyright 2009
Simon and Shuster Publishers

LABOR DAY

SONNY AND CHER ON SHINDIG : 1965

Shindig was in it's second hot season, and by 1965 the careers of Sonny and Cher had taken off. The duo had one of the most successful careers in the business that year, considering they were Americans. Sonny had worked for Phil Spector as a record promoter.

ROCK BOPPIN BABY : SUN ROCKABILLY VOLUME 3

Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Weekend listening!

Give a couple rounds to this CD put out in 1996 which features Edwin Bruce, Barbara Pittman, Roy Orbison, Gene Simmons, Kenny Parchman, Dick Penner, Dickey Lee and the Collegiates, Tracy Pendarvis, Jimmy Williams, Ernie Barton, Glen Honeycutt, Harold Jenkins (Conway Twitty), Jerry Lee Lewis, Alton and Jimmy, and Carl Perkins! It's music history and a lot of fun.

Weekend reading?

We've got the latest memoir by Johnny Ramone (of the Ramones) and is he an Elvis fan!

SHINDIG 1965 GENE PITNEY & GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS & SO MANY MORE!

(428) GENE PITNEY : SINGER-SONGWRITER, RECORDING ARTIST, PERFORMER

Gene had an album out in 1965, was still performing, still writing songs, still covering tunes recorded by other artists. He performed on Shindig, the hot rock and roll television show broadcasting from Los Angeles that featured the Americans who invaded Britain and the British who were invading the United States!

POST (186) GENE PITNEY ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK A HEART : FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Gene Pitney: this blog wouldn't be complete without including him.

On one website we noticed that someone had confused me and Gene, probably because he recorded under the name Billy Bryan prior to 1960.

Gene was a songwriter who went into performance. As you may realize from reading this blog, in the Cover Tune Era the singer-songwriter was the exception. A good number of us went from performance into songwriting but Gene did both. It's difficult to do both with success and hold onto that success. A good songwriter can last past a good performer if, for instance, his looks aren't with him. And in the case of the Big Bopper - J.P Richardson and Gene Pitney, some say sadly, that it wasn't their sound or their talent but their looks that failed them on the music scene - they just weren't the idol type. Just like today Abe Lincoln probably wouldn't have had the looks and personality to make it through a Presidential campaign and to the White House.

But Gene was so talented! He co-wrote a number of hit songs for my peers including "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson.

The web site we're linking to has a comprehensive biography of Gene and mentions a number of his songwriting successes.

And here's a BBC report of Gene's last concert before he passed into Eternal Life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4879846.stm

Search our blog for The Crystals! Earlier we posted them singing "Little Boy" that was written by Gene!

HELLO to ARUBA, ITALY, SWEDEN, UNITED KINGDOM, and NETHERLANDS

Aruba?! Wonder who among our fans is VACATIONING in Aruba!?

(427) BILLY LEE RILEY : SUN RECORDS PROTEGEE

Wes' cousin Dean reminded us that BILLY LEE RILEY passed away in August of 2009. We went through our archives to see what we'd posted on Billy before, and saw that the links needed to be updated.

See post (183)!

Like Elvis, Billy Lee Riley started out on that local label that became one of the most famous small labels in Rock-A-Billy and Early Rock and Roll : SUN. But here's a song Billy recorded in 1965. If you go right to the YouTube site you can read what the video poster wrote about Billy - all good.

ANDY KAUFMAN : ELVIS' FAVORITE ELVIS IMPERSONATOR ?

TO ELVIS FROM WES

"Elvis, they say a man can have no better epitaph that the one that's inscribed in the hearts of his friends." Wes

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ON ELVIS

"It was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody's ear, and somehow we all dreamed it." - Bruce Springsteen

ELVIS CARED ABOUT HIS VOICE!

FROM OUR ARCHIVES POSTED ON JUNE 2, 2008

Christine here.

I recently read a book about the Beatles, by Jonathan Gould, called "CAN'T BUY ME LOVE." I found it a fascinating read. The author attempts to put the Beatles' success into more of a socio-cultural viewpoint. It's C 2007 and put out by Harmony Books.

(We'll be talking about Elvis, the Beatles, Wes, and the singer-songwriters some time later in this blog journal.)

The other day I was talking to Wes about a comment made in this book. On page 61 the author writes that the real reason for Elvis' "decline" is that the "nature" of his "ambition" was not to be a great singer, but a great star, and thus he moved towards the movies.

As you know, Wes himself came up in that era in which the movie studios wanted into the record / music business and artists were encouraged to cross over, boosting their careers in both directions. Singing in the movies, or selling more records because you became internationally famous in the movies, movies as two hour rock videos, an acknowledgement of the power of television and movie image that went beyond live performances; all these things were considered to be cutting edge marketing of talent. It was considered AMBITIOUS to be more visible.

I ran this one by Wes and how shall I put it? Wes Bryan absolutely does not agree that Elvis did not care to be a great singer or that he ever gave up on singing or being a singer. Wes pointed out to me (and you!) that he personally witnessed through the years just how much Elvis cared about music and his singing.

Elvis was like a walking encyclopedia of music, the fan of a great many other singers. He studied their technique, knew who had problems with breathing and phrasing. He studied Mario Lanza as an example, and he loved to sing along with records as well as perform his renditions of songs he loved at his parties. Music was not something he only performed on stage, but in the privacy of his home, among friends, because he loved it. Music and singing was not just about making money for him.

He collected records and gave his favorites play in his home and in his suites in Vegas and on the road. He brought home demo records for his close musical friends to hear and give their opinions on.

He called his DJ friends when he loved another singers records and asked them to give the record a spin. He personally chose many of the songs that became hits for him.

He kept a home recording studio to record songs he was considering and jam sessions frequently erupted in his home studios, at his parties, and just hanging around the house.

He established his own music publishing entities and he paid promptly and as contracted. Artists whose work he owned a part of did not deal with fraud or long delays on their intellectual property residuals when Elvis was in charge.

He stated publicly that he would personally listen to singer-songwriter demos that were presented to him. In search of a song for one album, Wes recalls that Elvis spent weeks and went through the rock and roll archives choosing from over 250 standards.

Even though he was one of the hardest working entertainers that Las Vegas ever saw, even after two shows a night, Elvis and his friends and invited guests often retreated to his private suite where they sang gospel till dawn, just for the love of it.

And there is the evidence of a well exercised voice. Almost to the end when he was ill, and we will state that those closest to him knew he was ill and attempted to cover for him, hoping he would regain his health, Elvis' voice retained its unique vibrancy.

ELVIS : 1965 : HARD LUCK

(426) ELVIS MET THE BEATLES : 1965 :

Christine here!

It's through Wes Bryan that I got to "know" * Elvis, and got to appreciate him as a human being and started listening to his music and watching some of his films.

I knew a couple of the 70's Elvis hits, but not much else. I was a little kid Beatle's fan because of the teenagers in my life back then who were Beatles fans and had the 45's and the albums and so did some of my friend's parents! Now I know that even some of the Beatle's tunes I liked so much were actually covers of earlier rock and rollers!

We've been following 1965 here at WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC, and 1965 is the year that the Beatles met Elvis and Elvis met the Beatles. In various books and other media this meeting is generally said to be of disappointment on both sides. As I understand it, the Beatle's manager Brian Epstein, and Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' manager, arranged the meeting and maybe the Beatles were in a bit of shock, or maybe it's just that they had little in common but musical fame. Elvis is said to have jammed a bit with some of them, or perhaps it was a few of Elvis' guys who did the jamming?

I listened to some Youtube videos of the Beatles, years after the fact, telling about their historic meeting with Elvis and some of what they had to say is sad. They encountered Elvis playing the electric guitar while watching TV, they didn't understand at that point why he wasn't performing because they felt they would miss the connection with the audience. (One of the reasons the Beatles stopped touring is that they understood that their screaming fans were not really listening!)

The Beatles say they didn't understand why Elvis was making movies. Elvis' music was more and more about making movie soundtrack albums at this point. (In 3 years he'd stage a "come back" as a live performer.)

As you probably know in August each year to remember Elvis there's an Elvis Week at Graceland TM. We're celebrating Elvis too!

* (A note here: I didn't mean to imply that I got to know Elvis in person like Wes did!)

ELVIS ABOUT THE TIME I MET HIM

This popular publicity photo of Elvis is one of my favorites.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES POST (306) A LITTLE REITERATION OF MY STORY JUST TO GET YOU SITUATED !

EXCERPT FROM OUR ARCHIVES
POST (306) FROM APRIL 23, 2012

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

... 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...

ALBERT SCHWEITZER Quotation on

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life; music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

(425) GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS PALISADES PARK

Written by Chuck Barris, and recorded by a number of artists, Gary Lewis and the Playboys had a hit with this song in the summer of 1965. The Palisades Park referred to in this song was in New Jersey but production on this version takes us all back to the summer trip to an amusement park, on a board walk, or overlooking the ocean, and a lot of fun.

A new link for us : GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS OFFICIAL SITE! Just as the son of Dean Martin and the son of Desi Arnez were succeeding in the music business, the son of Jerry Lewis, Gary, and his band, the Playboy's, got into the business and had a few hits.

From Gary's site; "It was the summer of 1964 when Gary Lewis and The Playboys were discovered by producer Snuff Garret. Before long, with the producer/arranger team of Garrett and Leon Russell behind them, they took their first single, "This Diamond Ring" straight to number one..."

Check out or past posts on Snuffy Garret and Leon Russel!

HELEN KELLER Quotation on Friendship

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” - Helen Keller

THE BEATLES : BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR

Came out in 1964 in Great Britain and in 1965 in the United States, on the "Rubber Soul" album, the Beatles were dominating the charts in those years. They idolized some of the artists of my era and covered many early rock and roll songs, now classics, but by writing most of their own material and performing and recording their own material, grew wealthy with various Intellectual Property Rights. Things slowed down for singer-songwriters who were trying to sell their original music to others to perform but the cover tune era never really died.

THE STRAY CATS COVER EDDIE COCHRAN'S SUMMERTIME BLUES

A new link for us...
THE OFFICIAL STRAY CATS SITE!

DON'T HURT MY LITTLE SISTER : THE SURFARIS : SUMMER 1965

FROM OUR ARCHIVES : POST (209) SURFARIS WIPE OUT!

FROM OUR ARCHIVES : POST (209) SURFARIS WIPE OUT! June 29 2009

Surfaris - what a great name for a group, so evocative of surfing adventure! Their surf hit "Wipe Out" - recorded in 1962 - has to be one of the most memorable of all the surf music that came out in the early 1960's and is played as an eternal classic - every summer since! "Wipe Out" is famous for that invigorating drum solo. Since the Surfaris have web sites and even a Google Blogger - yes they blog too! - we're posting links to them that probably tell their story better than we could!


UPDATED July 2012 Linking to active Surfaris official site!

FROM OUR ARCHIVES : POST (58) EDDIE COCHRAN : ROCKIN THE SUMMERTIME BLUES

(58) EDDIE COCHRAN : ROCKIN THE SUMMERTIME BLUES

I met Eddie Cochran at the Sheridan Hotel in New York City, where I also met Jerry Capheart, a man who would figure big in my future one day when he signed me to be a staff songwriter at American Music in Los Angeles.

Buddy Knox called Eddie Cochran "The Blond Elvis."

In England, the Beatles had followed him and Gene Vincent around. (When it came to Rock and Roll, first the Americans invaded England, then there was a British invasion of America.) Eddie performed at an Alan Freed produced Rock and Roll show for New Years about the time I met him. It was the same show I saw Ritchie Valens perform for the first time on.

The world of early Rock and Roll was tough. Eddie carried a Derringer hand gun in his boot and I hear it came in handy more than once, like when he was threatened by the boyfriends of certain fans...

Eddie Cochran wasn't the only one who packed a gun while on tour or while walking the streets of New York but I decided I could take care of myself with my fists. I grew up rumbling with my brothers, had learned some karate and self defence while in the U.S. Army, and admired the boxers who I tried to meet when they came into the Turf restaurant for meals instead of eating across the way at Dempsey's, which was owned by the boxer Jack Dempsey. We all had security concerns that were not met by our record labels or our management. We didn't have body guards and it was up to us to protect ourselves. It was also legal to take a gun on a plane...

During my tour with Buddy Knox I performed two of Eddie Cochran's hits, "Summertime Blues," and "Come on Everybody." Here's Eddie performing those hits on television - You Tube presentations.

"REMEMBER EDDIE COCKRAN" NEW SITE above! January 26, 2011

ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME LINK HERE http://www.rockabillyhall.com/EddieCochran.html

History of Rock - Eddie Cochran! http://www.history-of-rock.com/cochran.htm

Eddie Cochran died at the age of 21, at the height of his fame, in 1960 while touring in England, in a tragic automobile accident on the way to the airport. Gene Vincent was left with a limp in the same accident.

ALL LINKS ACTIVE JULY 2012 New Video added

EDDIE COCHRAN : 1958 SUMMERTIME BLUES

PLEASE ENJOY OUR PAST POSTS AS WE TAKE A VACATION

The Search feature on this Google Blogger will take you to so many interesting posts. While we take a little vacation, please enjoy WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC!

If you're using our sidebar of links, and you find a link that is no longer viable, please let us know via comments.

We are always open to suggestions!

BEACH BOYS : CALIFORNIA GIRLS : SUMMER 1965

FOURTH OF JULY IN THE U.S.A.

HELLO TO OUR READERS AROUND THE WORLD - FANS OF EARLY ROCK AND ROLL !

Hello to Sweden, Brazil, Austria, United Kingdom, Mexico, and Nepal! (Yes Nepal!)

As always, we hope you're listening along with us, reading along with us, and checking out some of the links to the artists that we blog about... Let us know if you read us in English, or use the Google Translator and what language you read this blog in.

(424) SINGER SONGWRITER BOBBY FREEMAN : DO YOU WANNA DANCE?: COVERED BY SO MANY ARTISTS!

With a song writer like Brian Wilson in your group, why cover a tune written by someone else? Because some songs are hits, and a hit is a song that's hard to resist. It can bring in a fortune. This is the 1965 recording.

For the SUMMER FUN of it, here are a number of other covers of the same Bobby Freeman song.

First BOBBY FREEMAN'S ORIGINAL! "Release in April 1958 while Bobby was still in High School and he became a singing sensation which helped this song moved right up the charts to Billboards Top 10." Thanks to the Youtuber who posted this one!

(UPDATE JULY 2012: Sadly we must remove the historical music Bobby Freeman Video as Frank Sinatra enterprises owns the video and made claims on it... We still want everyone to know how great Bobby was and were thrilled to have found the video in the first place! But now I, Christine, making it up to you by presenting the RAMONES version! Beleive it or not, I like it as much as I like Johnny Rivers!)

WHO COULD FORGET my old friend Johnny Rivers' slow, romantic version?



Did you ever think we'd post the Ramones on this blog? Surprise! Surprise!

The great thing about this Bobby Freeman song is that you can listen to all these versions and want more!

Linking to the BBC Music bio of Bobby Freeman!

AND NOW ELVIS CRYPT IS NOT FOR AUCTION

"Julien's Auctions announced in May that it would sell the empty tomb at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn., at its "Music Icons" auction Sunday. Julien said the company won't sell the crypt "unti Forest Hills finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis Presley."

(423) BEACH BOYS : PROMOTIONAL FOR GIRLS ON THE BEACH SHOWS OFF THE COMPETITION BETWEEN THE BEACH BOYS AND THE BEATLES

The competition between the Beatles, who lead the way of the British Invasion of America, and our home grown Beach Boys was a theme of the summer '65 movie "The Girls On the Beach," as this promo proves. ( Christine : Hey, are those girl guitarists? Who has more fans? Which Beatle or Beach Boy was on the poster on your bedroom wall ?) This might have been the height of the song writing competition between Brian Wilson and the Paul McCartney - John Lennon team.

You can link to the Beach Boys on our sidebar where we just listed their site as it is today, which features their band as it is and a new CD. On this post we're linking to the IMBd movie database about the film so you can learn more! The actress Ahna Capri, who we blogged about in the past, appeared in this film. Use the search feature of this Google Blogger to locate that post and read a little Wes Bryan history.

(422) JERRY COLE ON CAPITOL : SURF GUITARIST : STUDIO GENIUS

This Youtuber did a fine job of writing about Jerry if you go right to his link on that site. He was a great studio musician and had become known for surf music but in his case he got to be the vocalist for a couple songs.

"Come Over to My Place" was a Shindig TV show theme song. Capitol was the hot record label in Los Angeles summer of '65. Jerry became a life long friend of mine.

Linking to Jerry Cole on Rockabilly Hall of Fame!

Use the Search feature of this blog to locate other Jerry Cole posts, including the Interview with Wes Bryan.

(421) P.J. PROBY 1965 : RECORDING LENNON-MC CARTNEY SONGS WITH GEORGE MARTIN AS PRODUCER

As some of you know, P.J. Proby was up for some serious charges in Great Britain, but in March 2012 he walked free, acquitted of benefit fraud - all 9 counts. So on this post, because we've linked to his official sites in the past and they're always on our sidebar for you to link to, we're going to link to a news article about this legal issue. Friends of P.J.'s here in the United States were concerned but never lost faith that he would walk free and are hoping to hear from him soon.

On this YouTube video, of the song "That Means A Lot," we see a label that has many names familiar to this blog. P.J. was certainly a big part of the American Invasion of Britain. In fact, he loved the British as much as they loved him, which is why he went to live there and the whole legal issue was so upsetting.

"That Means a Lot," is written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, The Beatles, who were almost everyone's biggest chart competition in '65. The Producer is George Martin, the Beatle's producer, and this is on Liberty Records, the small record label that we've blogged about a lot.

To quote the article we've linked to: "In a statement read by his solicitor, Chris Hilton, PJ Proby said: "For the last four years I have lived in fear of becoming homeless - because my housing benefit was cut off - and of being wrongly sent to prison for a crime I never committed."

FLAG DAY U.S.A.

(420) BOBBY VEE : A TRUE INVADER OF BRITAIN : MUSICALLY THAT IS!

Bobby Vee had "Go Away Little Girl, and "Take Care of My Baby" and also "Run to Him." in the early 1960's. Since then he has a multitude of hits and gold records. His career has spanned 50 years, and in that time he truly invaded Britain, with top ten hits and albums. He appeared on television shows like, Hollywood A Go Go and Shindig, and is one of several Americans who gave the Beatles some good competition.

Recently it was in the news that Bobby, a few years younger than me, has a mild form of Alzheimer's. He announced that on his own web site and the news zipped around the world. Meanwhile, back home at Tuscan, Arizona, Bobby's been recording.

We're linking to his official site above, which will also take you to his sites on the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame,



Just a short excerpt from Bobby's own fine site, linked above.

" If "Susie Baby" served as Bobby Vee's entrance into the world of Billboards hot 100, then 'Devil or Angel' was certainly the foundation for a string of hit records reaching the nations top 20 throughout the entire 60's era. Bobby's hits were not limited to America. By 1963 he had collected seven top ten hits in England as well as a number 2 album called "Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets" and in 1963 shared the charts for forty weeks side-by-side with the Beatles. His tours took him to Japan, Australia and Europe as well as the United Kingdom, where he is still a yearly visitor. His thirty plus year recording career has produced over twenty-five albums including a Gold Album from England for his 1981 "Singles Album" release. Back in the US, Billboard Magazine called him, "One of the top ten most consistent chart makers ever."

I met Bobby when we was about 16 years old in New York City when he was on a promotional tour for his song "Rubber Ball." Wes