(289) A BLUE MOON TODAY : REALLY! ELVIS PRESLEY BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY!

BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY, the signature song of THE BLUE MOON BOYS !


Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore on guitar, Bill Black on stand up base... a 1954 Rockabilly Classic!

(204) FERLIN HUSKY GOSPEL and PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS ? REALLY!

Now, if you've read about me as a cover blurb on Cool Magazine's hipster cover in 1958, along with James Dean and Ferlin Husky, and Ferlin as one of the men on the video from a YouTube presenter said to be one of the earliest of Elvis (along with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Blue Moon Boys Bill Black and Scotty "The Guitar that Changed the World" Moore), you may be wondering "who is Ferlin Husky?" What a name? Right?

Like Elvis Presley, Ferlin Husky's a southerner who recorded Country, Country-Pop, religious music and funny songs.

Here's COUNTRYPOLITAN's Profile of Ferlin Husky: http://www.countrypolitan.com/bio-ferlin-husky.php

And above Ferlin's Official Web Site!

Ferlin recorded "Gone" in 1954 as a country song which didn't chart well, but a new producer worked on the 1957 version and he continued to sing this song throughout his career.

Now, this may seem improbable but the American Invasion of Britian continued when in 1965 the Paul Revere and the Raiders covered "Gone." Yes! Really!

UPDATED VIDEO JUNE 18, 2011

A Note on the First Video Ever of ELVIS (?) posted below by Wes Bryan

Christine Trzyna here: Wes and I were looking at the YouTube video we posted last week that is proposed to be the first film footage of Elvis ever. Wes identified the people in the video (as you look on the screen) as Bill Black to the right of Elvis, Scotty Moore "The Guitar That Changed The World" to the right. Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Ferlin Husky, a country singer who was on the Grande Old Opry. So we think that this video is of Elvis Presley in his incarnation as the lead singer for the Blue Moon Boys on or at the Grande Old Opry.

Ferlin Husky is also in this video.

(49) SCOTTY MOORE : "THE GUITAR THAT CHANGED THE WORLD"

Scotty Moore had worked as studio musician at Sun Records, owned by Sam Phillips, in Memphis, Tennessee. Scotty had a band called the Starlight Wranglers, and Bill Black was their bass player. In the summer 1954 Scotty and Bill auditioned Elvis Presley (not the other way around!) and they agreed that they would try a few recording sessions with him, to see if there would be a chemistry between them. The result was a demo called "That's All Right Mama" that become Elvis' debut record, as played by DJ Dewey Phillips, on his Red Hot and Blue show on WHBQ, Memphis.

Scotty and Bill and Elvis formed The Blue Moon Boys, added drummer D.J. Fontana, became the Hillbilly Cat and The Blue Moon Boys, and toured for a couple years with Scotty as the manager, but Colonel Parker never took them on when he took on Elvis.

Scotty is one of the most admired guitarists in the world, and he has long been called "The Guitar That Changed The World" due to his influence on early rock and roll. Among the guitar legends who credit Scotty as an inspiration is the Rolling Stone's Keith Richards.

Let's let these links tell Scotty's story.

Scotty Moore Inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame :

http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/scotty-moore

Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame :

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/Scotty&DJ1.html

and alsoScotty Moore's official Web site! Link above!

(48) WAITING and WONDERING WHAT'S NEXT

So, I waited for Elvis' return.

DJ - friends George Klein and Dewey Phillips waited.

His friends in Memphis and around the world waited.

His fans waited.

What would Elvis really be like after a stint in the U.S. Army? Would he still be Elvis the Pelvis? His career remained hot, thanks to his manager Colonel Parker, but would he remain true to himself?

We were not the only ones who waited and wondered.

There were a few people left behind who needed answers.

Anita Wood, the girlfriend who had been faithful, was one of them.

The once upon a time Blue Moon Boys, Scotty Moore, "The Guitar that Changed the World," Bill Black, who played stand up base, and D.J. Fontana, his drummer, wondered too. Bill, and Scotty had been the Blue Moon Boys and toured with Elvis and originally they were called the HILLBILLY CAT and THE BLUE MOON BOYS! (Fontana had been added a bit later than 1954 and featured in television performances by 1956.)

Before Elvis left, Colonel Tom Parker had taken on Elvis - and only Elvis - as his star. Colonel was his agent, manager, his everything. He did not take on the Blue Moon Boys, and they were left wondering if they had any employment with the famous Elvis or not. Would they play with him live on tour, on television, or in the studio? Hourly wages? Salary? What about a percentage of the royalties?

Heartbreak Hotel - 1956 - Elvis Presley with the Blue Moon Boys backing him. This You-Tube video presentation has Scotty Moore stepping forward to do a bit of a solo.

VIDEO REMOVED APRIL 2012

There are a few books out including one on Scotty Moore that we've read, and a newer one about the Blue Moon Boys and Elvis that we haven't.We've decided not to give any thumbs up or thumbs down on books. We understand that there are numerous perspectives when it comes to Elvis Presley, and the people who surrounded him, and we will allow that each has the right to his own experience and the telling of it.

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The next blog will focus on one of the Blue Moon Boys, Scotty Moore.

As a music producer I, and many others like me, have told a studio guitarist

"Sound like Scotty Moore."