(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.

ELVIS PRESLEY on ELVIS PRESLEY

"My voice is God's will, not mine!"

(347) ELVIS PRESLEY HOLLY LEAVES AND CHRISTMAS TREES

Here is what we said on post 89:

Elvis' recording of Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees is here in this YouTube Video presentation. It was written by entourage member and body guard Red West and another songwriter, Glen Dale Spreen. Elvis published it himself, buying it for his Elvis Presley Music, one of three publishing entities he owned.

Can you tell we're warming up to the holidays here? Well, we think today is the first of the twelve days of Christmas. And Elvis always made a big deal of Christmas, with gifts to others, gifts to The Entourage, gifts to his employees, gifts to his family, gifts to his friends, and gifts to strangers, through generous donations to a great number of charities, mostly Memphis-based.

But for Elvis this spirit of giving had everything to do with his idol, the only idol he ever had, King of all Kings, Jesus Christ.

(89) ELVIS'S RECORDING of RED WEST'S HOLLY LEAVES AND CHRISTMAS TREES

Elvis' recording of Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees is here in this YouTube Video presentation. It was written by entourage member and body guard Red West and another songwriter, Glen Dale Spreen. Elvis published it himself, buying it for his Elvis Presley Music, one of three publishing entities he owned.

Can you tell we're warming up to the holidays here?

Well, we think today is the first of the twelve days of Christmas.

And Elvis always made a big deal of Christmas, with gifts to others, gifts to The Entourage, gifts to his employees, gifts to his family, gifts to his friends, and gifts to strangers, through generous donations to a great number of charities, mostly Memphis-based.

But for Elvis this spirit of giving had everything to do with his idol, the only idol he ever had,

King of all Kings,

Jesus Christ.

VIDEO TAKEN DOWN 2013