ROULETTE RECORDS used the carnival roulette wheel as a pictorial representation of the chances taken on artists when they signed and recorded someone. Being signed by Roulette was eased for me by Jimmy Bowen and Buddy Knox, who were already signed by the label. I would tour for two years with Buddy Knox and meet up with Jimmy Bowen along the road to perform with him too. Besides my own songs, recorded on United Artists, Clock, and Roulette records, I also covered Rock and Roll hits by stars like Carl Perkins and Eddie Cochran.
George Hamilton IV was a lanky farm boy about my age and from my neck of the woods, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He had a song called "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" that I especially liked.
I had the pleasure of introducing George Hamilton IV and Buddy Knox. Buddy and I were visiting my dad when he lived in Winston-Salem and we went to the Greyhound station which had a giant coffee shop where all the kids used to sit around and listen to the jukebox. I used to hang out there myself when I lived in the area. It was the place to be.
It was about midnight when I called George from the payphone and woke him up. When he heard I had Buddy Knox with me, he raced to dress and came right down. The two men enjoyed each other's company. In fact the three of us stayed there drinking coffee and talking for about six hours!
I have to admit one of the perks of being a bit famous for me was being able to introduce people who wanted to meet each other. Sometime later I brought Buddy Knox to visit Elvis at his home in Los Angeles. Buddy and Elvis had met briefly while both were in the army and stationed at Fort Hood but a home visit was something else, and Elvis even answered the door himself and saluted Buddy on the way in.
Here's an Rockin' Country Style discography for George Hamilton IV.
Would Elvis would put on a suit and become a crooner like Bobby Darin and Fabian, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra?
Well, the answer to that seemed to be yes - and no. The American public did get to see Elvis on TV suited up. Frank Sinatra had a television special that introduced this new mature Elvis, a man who, I knew, was continuing to exercise his voice and singing capabilities to sound like the American tenor Mario Lanza. (His inspiration for the way he sang on "It's Now or Never.") Elvis's facial expressions and restrained but ever-Elvis body language communicated that beneath that straight suit he was still nothin but a hound dog!
To be sure Colonel Parker had as many members of the Elvis Presley Fan Club in the audience as he could get, and they out did the applause Frank got too.
Interestingly, the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra's entourage) was there, all but for Dean Martin, the one Elvis liked the most.
Frank Sinatra's daughter Nancy, looking like a prom queen, not yet hip, and with her naturally not yet blonde blonde hair, made an appearance on the show, which had the highest ratings for the evening.
After being there for Elvis return to Memphis, I got back on the Buddy Knox tour, and was in New York City watching the show with a friend of mine, the country boy George Hamilton the IV. He was in our home state of North Carolina and we stayed on the telephone long distance with each other, comparing notes about Elvis' performance and the entire show. We agreed, Elvis sounded better than ever.
Here's a couple You Tube videos of Elvis on the "Frank Sinatra Special" which also got called the "Welcome Home Elvis" special which was broadcast live from Miami Beach, Florida, and sponsored by Timex, the watch company.
In this first You Tube video, Frank performs a tune - written for the show - about the army. This video includes Nancy Sinatra, Joey Bishop (he just died a day or so ago at 89!), and Sammy Davis Jr. Elvis walks onto the stage in his army uniform. This may just be the set up Colonel Parker needed to route Elvis Presley back to Las Vegas eventually but at this point Parker is going to use Elvis' military background to his advantage. And my friend Elvis was always a patriotic American, proud of his military service, and one for the veterans of this great country, so believe me, Elvis didn't mind one iota.
Elvis and Frank share songs but who are the girls screaming for? You can put Elvis is a suit but you can't take the Elvis out of him!
So Elvis was worried about Waylon Jennings and Fabian, and personally I think it was his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who decided it was best for Elvis to show his versatility by going more crooner than country.
Then again, Elvis may have seen that Bobby Darin was also making a move towards crooner with his success with "Mac the Knife" in 1959. It was the number one record in 1959 in the United States and in Great Britian!
Here's a You Tube presentation of Bobby Darin doing Mac, another suited up Rock and Roller, going the way of the Frank Sinatra "Rat Pack."
No matter what direction Elvis took musically, he would never give up singing Gospel music.
Elvis also confided in me that he was worried Waylon Jennings as his competition. I honestly don't know exactly why but someone told Elvis he could sound like him. Lots of singers were imitating Elvis. Usually he was honored if one of us tried to.
Now Waylon is today known for being a Country Music "outlaw," but in 1960 Waylon was just about a year away from being on a Rock and Roll tour. Waylon was from Texas, just like Buddy Knox and Buddy Holly were, and he was once considered Holly's protege. He started out in Rockabilly.
He was on tour with the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly when the plane crash killed them. There wasn't enough room for him on the plane. He had stayed behind and avoided the same fate. I never met Waylon, but I admired him. Buddy Knox and I knew that he had been shaken, confronting Fate and his own mortality after that crash. Just as we had.
Elvis confided in me that he was worried about his career. "Music's changin' Wes," he said. He was worried about two men... Fabian Forte, called Fabian, an Italian kid from Phili, younger than Elvis, was a big worry for him.
Fabian was a friend of mine from New York. He was part of the "in crowd," an all for one and one for all guy I spent time with who had encouraged me to move ahead in my career by leaving United Artists, just as several other musical peers had. Fabian had seemingly captured a great number of Elvis Presley fans while Elvis was away in Germany, record releases or magazine and newspaper articles about Elvis or not. Fans could not wait to see their idol, Elvis, on television again, and it had been communicated to Elvis that it might be Fabian who had taken what we would call today his "market share."
Perhaps Fabian was also on Elvis' mind because he had the attention of Dean Martin, and Dean Martin was someone Elvis admired, imitated in his youth, and wanted to meet. Dean Martin did not seem to share the same enthusiasm for Elvis, but he liked Fabian! He had Fabian on his show, singing with him. Maybe Fabian was even Dean Martin's protege?
Now as you watch these You-Tube presentations, I want you to notice how Fabian is dressed in a suit, presented as a sort of young Dean Martin, a crooner. Fabian is younger than Elvis, handsome, and talented, and he fits in his tailored suit.
An early Fabian singing "Turn Me Loose" in his early, Rock and Roll personae. Cliff Richard, "The English Elvis" also covered this song, complete with Elvis-like sneers. Fabian had a hit with "Turn Me Loose," which came out as a single on Chancellor Records.
Fabian wasn't objecting to becoming a crooner. Should Elvis? Is Fabian Dean Martin's protege? Fabian singing "All of Me" seems to be part of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack" here!
UPDATED JANUARY 26, 2011 NEW LINK TO FABIAN's OFFICIAL SITE above!
Well, we can't leave you hanging on the cliff too long can we?
The day finally came that we got word that the U.S. Army had all the service it would get from Elvis Presley.
It was time for him to come home.
Today, hundreds of people who were not there claim to have met the train that day that it arrived in Memphis. Some of these people are even celebrities in their own right, eager to claim a close personal friendship with Elvis that never was.
Yes, there was a bit of a crowd - fans! Just as there had been a crowd saying goodbye to Elvis in Germany. He was a star after all. That was to be expected. And it made for good news footage and photographs. It was exciting!
March 24th 1958 Elivis was inducted into the army and March 5, 1960 was the official date of return to the United States. Elvis hated to fly at that time in his life, which is why once he got to the states he elected to take a train to Memphis.
Here came the train down the tracks, the whistle blowing to a stop. There is something to the power of a train, the wheels on the tracks. The train stopped and Elvis came off wearing his full army uniform and looked terrific. You could sense a new maturity about him. You could see the genuine happiness in his face to be home.
I was among a group of Elvis' friends and employees and family members who were there to meet him when the train pulled into the station, those there by invitation. That meant that I was part of a relatively small group of people who got Elvis in a car, and then packed into other cars, and followed him in a caravan to Graceland TM where a "Welcome Home Elvis!" party was waiting.
Graceland TM had not been home long to Elvis and the Presley's when he left the country and it was missing the one thing that makes a home a Home Sweet Home.
If a wash of sadness or a moment of thoughtfulness dressed his face during those first days when Elvis was back in Memphis, it was because there was one person he could never come to again, his mother, Gladys.
Here's a video of Elvis from a You Tube presenter that has some footage of Elvis leaving the army and arriving home at Graceland. (Where do people get the footage?) This one has Elvis singing "It's Now Or Never." Towards the end there, is Colonel Tom Parker, who I first met at this party, and who was in and out of the house. He and Elvis never did take to socializing with each other much.
Now, the party lasted for days. There was Southern food. Food, food, and more food. Cake and more cake. We talked and we ate. We danced to the jukebox and ate some more. Elvis demonstrated karate moves he'd learned while in Germany. I didn't see anyone get drunk. Everyone was too busy catching up with Elvis and each other. It was a true "house party," with people making themselves at home. And it was during a moment in the kitchen at this party that Elvis and I talked the two of us, and I told him that I had left United Artists.
The early entourage wasn't called "The Memphis Mafia" TM then. They were called "his guys" or "his crew," and at first it was men who were friends who were then asked to work, be on payroll, people Elvis wanted around to make his life easier, to take care of things that needed to be done around the house, people he liked personally. Elvis liked talented people, musical people, particularly those who were tied to the music business, around him. People like ex-DJ and hep cat comedian Cliff Gleaves, who would one day be the entertainer at Elvis' parties in Hollywood.
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 :
THIS PHOTO WAS IN ONE OF THE FIRST ARTICLES PUBLISHED ABOUT ME.WHEN DAD SAW THE MAGAZINE HE WENT RUNNING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD SHOWING PEOPLE MY PICTURE. He was so proud of me and it was the beginning of him getting behind me and giving up all his doubts about my making it in the business.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
If you think you're on a cliff-hanger here with my story about meeting Elvis at the train, you're right. There's just so much of a story to tell. And already I'm a bit off on a tangent.
These You-Tube videos are addictive. This one is just so good, we've got to give a hand to the contributor, and well, you can see what I mean when I say that Elvis Presley was the best advertisement the U.S. Army ever had! You can see a few pictures here of Elvis singing autographs for fans, which he did on an almost daily basis, outside his house. "Soldier Boy" was released after he returned home, by the way, but it's fitting for this fine video.
No, Elvis may have been lonely for the United States of America, but he was never without women, not since he became Elvis the Pelvis, the millionaire, and a star.
Now, before Elvis left for the army, it was understood that Anita Wood, a talented singer in her own right, who put out records and was a DJ who had her own radio program as well, was his girl. Early on it was an understanding between Elvis and the men who surrounded him, friends as well as employees, that no one would go after one of his girlfriends - if she really was. So everyone was hands off Anita. (Anita put out a song called, "I'll Wait Forever," which was assumed to be a song she was singing to Elvis, because it was about her real life dilemma.)
Here's a web site dedicated to Anita Wood Brewer that has a number of photos of Elvis and Anita enjoying each others company and of her seeing him off to the army. The second link below is right to a photo that shows Vernon and Gladys Presley as well, overwrought that their son in leaving... The beautiful blonde with her arm through Glady's is Anita.
These days there are a couple books out by women who have elaborated their affairs with Elvis in the late 1950's, and many women are mentioned connected to him in many other books. There was one woman that Elvis was very attracted to that he did not get involved with - because she might have been flirtatious but she belonged to someone else. That was Debra Paget, his co-star in 1956 in "Love Me Tender." In this Milton Berle show clip, presented by a You-Tube contributor, a comedy skit is made of Elvis' interest in Debra - her type.
So, George Klein sent me the money for the ticket and I flew to Memphis before Elvis was due to return. There I was greeted by George Klein and introduced to another person who had been very important to Elvis' early success, yet another DJ (That's 3 in Elvis' personal collection of friends at the time - Cliff Gleaves, George Klein, and Dewey Phillips.) Dewey was the first DJ to ever play an Elvis Presley record, and when I say played it, I mean over and over again without another record in between. It was a copy of the song Elvis had recorded over at Sun Records with Sam Phillips (no relation to Dewey) "That's All Right, Mama."
Dewey Phillips, like Cliff Gleaves, was one of the Personality DJ's of the era, and shortly, when radio stations stripped Dj's of much of their power to discover talent and play whatever they wanted to, Dewey would find himself trying to hold on to his style and ultimately find himself out of work. But Elvis appreciated him and he was an informal member of the group of friends Elvis surrounded himself in those early years, and into his early years in Hollywood. (Since this is going to come up sooner or later, the term "Memphis Mafia" which is now a TM, never referred to Dewey, or me, or people who were friends of Elvis' rather than employees!)
After sleeping on the sofa at George Klein's for a while, Dewey Phillips invited me to stay at his house with his wife and children. During this time before Elvis returned from the Army I went to the radio station to hear George Klein on the air and went around quite a bit with Dewey. I liked him a lot, and I felt privileged to have been accepted by so many of the "insiders," who surrounded Elvis.
I also began to realize that it wasn't just Elvis friends' idea that I be there to meet the train. Those parting words the night I met him in the fall of 1957 "See you on the coast!" really had meant something.
Here is Jim Dickenson speaking on Dewey at a terrific Internet site, the Experience Music Project... Jim says Dewey's impact on Memphis Tennessee was incredible and I have to agree. Red, Hot and Blue was a program on which both Black and White artists' music was played - an integrated program at a time when Segregation was still the law in the South. (Jim was the last artist to release a single on Sun Records, the label Elvis first recorded on, then owned by Sam Phillips - no relation to Dewey. His song was "Cadillac Man."
Be sure to hear the audio of Dewey Broadcasting at the Cruisin the 50's link here and remember, this is the personality, the voice, that launched the great Elvis Presley!
The design of our blog is intended to be read from start to finish for eternity - or, well, as long as we are hosted free by Google and Blogger, which we greatly appreciate. You can read a bit about my story - and no we're not giving away my memoir - this is more like making just the index of the manuscript come alive with pictures and sound - every day. Or you can start with the first posting August 18, 2007, and begin there. I hope you will. We've worked hard on the presentation, hoping to bring the era and rock and roll and rockabilly alive for you.
We will also be checking that links are alive, as well as adding links where we think we found better ones or new ones that apply to our subject of a particular blog.
Before Elvis Presley was actually sent to Germany, while he was in basic training at Fort Hood, his mother, Gladys Love Presley died. Her condition seems to have come on suddenly, but maybe she was hiding it from her son. Elvis, who was afraid to fly at this point in his life, actually got leave and flew home to see his mother. She died soon after and his grief was profound.
Elvis has been called a Southern Mamma's Boy, and maybe it's true, but no Southern boy (me included) was ever ashamed of loving his mother! As an only child, the bond between Elvis and his mother was special.
The night I met Elvis, when I met Gladys and his father, Vernon Elvis Presley, and various members of his early entourage, his girlfriend Anita Wood, and George Klein and Cliff Gleaves, Gladys had asked me about my family. She said they also had kin in the Smokey Mountains. Showing interest in someones family and heritage was the Southern way. That night I told Gladys, Vernon, Elvis - everyone sitting at that dinner table - that my own mother had died when I was 16. The Presleys were sympathetic. So Elvis knew that I'd already lost my mother when he lost his. The understanding we had about that kind of loss is one of the things that bonded our friendship.
Maybe it was good that Elvis had so much to do in Germany, to divert his attention from his loss. Because he was already famous before he left the United States, he was given special consideration and allowed to live off base in a house where his father and grandmother joined him. Also along were a few of his employees who came from the states to be with him. Funny man Cliff Gleaves was one of the men who made a trip over at Elvis' request and on his dime to provide him company. While German fans lined up for autographs outside the house, Elvis was not too lonely when it came to women either. He had a few lovers there in Germany, some in relationships, some without. Some of his employees served to screen women or bring home ones they thought would meet with his approval. There was an understanding that Elvis had a type he liked, and any man who managed to introduce Elvis to a woman he would marry would have a feather in his cap.
The thing was, before he left several of us were under the impression that when he returned he would be marrying Anita, and well, things had changed for Elvis while he was in Germany, though they kept up a correspondence and she would be with us waiting for him in Memphis, just as she was there to see him off.
As a famous star who didn't shirk his duty, Elvis became the best advertisement for joining the army there was.
One day in New York I got a phone call from DJ George Klein. I had met George when I played on his radio program during my tour of the mid-south, the same tour in which I had met Elvis Presley for the first time in 1957. George was Elvis' best friend in high school in Memphis and he and his family had been very generous to Elvis and the Presley family in those days when Elvis was still wearing hand-me-downs from George. I was staying in New York with Theresa Brandies, the President of the James Dean National Fan Club, at her big flat in New York where many of the rock and rollers and a good number of young actors were always welcome. I was on a respite from the Buddy Knox tour. George said "You should be here when Elvis gets home."
We are all awaiting the day when Elvis Presley would be released from his tour of duty with the United States Army, where he was stationed in Germany.
Now the whole while that Elvis was out of the United States, Colonel Parker, his one and only manager, made sure that records by Elvis were released periodically and that he stayed in the news - the fan magazines as well as the newspapers.
There was speculation that Elvis' career might never the less be damaged by his time away, despite the success of those records and his ongoing presence in the press. Elvis himself was worried about being outdone by Fabian, among other stars. Most of all, there was a concern that Elvis had been tamed by his time in the army, that he would never quite be the "Elvis the Pelvis," we all knew and loved.
Now when I told George I didn't have the funds to travel to Memphis to be there when Elvis came back home, he told me to go over to Western Union. I went over and found that he had provided the funds to buy a first class plane ticket to Memphis. George told me I could stay with him and his mom!
To get to the information on George's book, which came out for the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death, click on the title above!
George has also established a college scholarship for Broadcasting! This is typical of his generosity!
The Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson, is best known for his hit record "Chantilly Lace." I never met J.P. so I have little personal to say about him. He's part of the history of rock and roll and Elvis and I did love "Chantilly Lace," that part about "a wiggle in her walk..." The thing about people at the height of their fame who die unexpectedly is that you never know what they would have become if they had lived. The death of JP, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly had Buddy Knox and me wondering about our mortality.
By the time I left Clock Records and signed with Roulette Records I was at another crossroads. And there was Buddy Knox, the Rockabilly Superstar, there by Fate I suppose. I had signed with Roulette Records, the same label that Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen were on. Buddy asked me in New York to go on a tour of the great United States of America with him which I did beginning in 1959!
Buddy Knox had a lush touring bus and a caravan of late model cars while Jerry Lee Lewis still traveled in a school bus. We passed Jerry's gray painted school bus on the road in ours!
After all the radio and television variety shows and record hops and dance parties I had played and sang at, I had never been on the type of tour that Buddy was on, playing nightclub venues all over the country!
Earlier in this blog I posted some You-Tube videos of Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen performing on Ed Sullivan's television show and Jamboree. Buddy's "Party Doll" was his signature song, unique with two guitar solos, and a song he had written himself. Here's a video a fellow put up with a song Buddy did on the tour, "Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep."
Another show that I performed on, as did many of my musical peers, was the Jack Paar Show, which is now The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Here's a bit about Jack Paar.
Jack Paar at the Museum of Broadcast Communication link above!
The Ed Sullivan Show, broadcasting from New York City, was one of the most popular variety type television shows there was. Ed Sullivan was one of a kind. He had an attitude to him at times like he wasn't sure that he approved of the entertainers who had been booked on his show. And over time he became notorious for censorship, particularly when it came to Rock and Roll, be it Elvis Presley, or in years to come the Beatles, or the Doors. A lot of people know that Elvis Presley performed on The Ed Sullivan show, but believe it or not, so did I, and so did Buddy Knox and a number of my other friends.
Because Ed Sullivan had been warned that "Elvis The Pelvis" might offend Americans, Ed insisted on having Elvis filmed from the waistline up on his first show. When I performed on Ed Sullivan I was on my mark before he and I got a look at each other. Ed was worried that I might also offend Americans, but I sang "Tiny Spaceman," so there wasn't much of a chance of that. Here's some links to sites about Ed Sullivan that are sure to interest you!
Time/CNN The 100 Best Television Shows of All Time (See the video of Ed with comedian Jerry Lewis)
As I mentioned earlier, I first met Jimmy Bowen at a record hop in Akron, Ohio, where I took my demo record that I had made in a kitchen in Winston-Salem with some other kids. DJ. Art Roberts and Jimmy Bowen loved my little record. About that time Jimmy Bowen and Buddy Knox were recording together. I met Buddy Knox in New York after I was signed by United Artists Record label.
YouTube is a a popular Web video sharing site that lets anyone store short videos for private or public viewing. It was founded in 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim and it was acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion, according to an article on PCMag.com's encyclopedia. We were looking at You-Tube and found these circa 1957 videos of Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen.
Enjoy these! They are music history!
BUDDY KNOX performing "Party Doll," his number one hit, and "Hula Love."
This is the Ed Sullivan television show according to Buddy's son Michael Knox!
I've earned 8 Gold Records in my career, my first as the performer, the rest as a songwriter. I've been the writer or co-writer of over 800 songs. I've had an uncommon life and now I'm writing about it.
WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC is a labor of love rooted in our excitement about our subject.
