(176) WEST TEXAS WALK OF FAME

This is probably a good place to mention that in September of 1994 Buddy Knox was inducted into the WEST TEXAS WALK OF FAME in Lubbock, joining Buddy Holly and other West Texas Talent like the great song writer Mac Davis, whose songs Elvis Presley loved and recorded.

Also from Lubbock and inducted in the WEST TEXAS WALK OF FAME, amazingly enough, Snuffy Garret, the record producer who while with LIBERTY RECORDS, worked with my friend, and Elvis', Cliff Gleaves. Cliff wrote his own contract with Snuffy.

I don't know what it is about West Texas that makes it the fertile ground for so much musical talent, singing, song-writing, entertainment but maybe it has a lot to do with the area being a lot like the Smokey Mountains where I was raised up and people having to make their own fun!

Click on the title above to go right to the West Texas Walk of Fame website!

(172) RECORDING INDUSTRY OF AMERICA (RIAA)

Click on the title above to get to the official web site of RECORDING INDUSTRY OF AMERICA, a trade group that, like ASCAP andBMI, is involved in supporting and protecting the intellectual properties of music makers in the United States. One of the ways they do that is by certifying a record as certifies Gold®, Platinum®, or Multi-Platinum™. That means they watch sales. This site has lists of music that has recently gone Gold or Platinum as well as information for parents, educators, and young people, about Music and the Internet.

These days there is lots of controversy about the Fair Use of sound clips (usually a few bars attached to an educational site is fine, like RCS Discography does) and downloads of music and videos. YouTube, the site we've been leaning heavily on for the videos we attached to our commentary is one of the most successful and we are truly grateful to the contributors who have allowed us to do this so we can allow our readers to actually see and hear performances in historical context. Because of these videos we have also been able to show you the differences between black and white versus color telecasts.

Some artists object to downloads of music for free, some do not, seeing the interest in their music to be a positive thing, part of their celebrity, and sound sampling this way to only lead to more sales. At the same time many artists (including me) have had intellectual properties deliberately stolen and used without benefit of approval or seeing a dime on sales, and seen their work pirated through various methods. Let me tell you it doesn't just hurt in the wallet.

On this blog we attempt to follow the guidelines for Fair Use in the United States of America as understood legally at this time. (And as we post on our own Rights information, anyone who objects to us linking to their site, please get in touch with us, and we will respectfully take it down.)

At the same time, several of my friends mentioned on this blog have thanked me and feel excited to be remembered and linked to. This blog has been an opportunity for a number of my old friends and me to be reunited after taking separate paths years ago. I feel so lucky when that happens.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON Quote on Friendship

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

WES BRYAN - A 10" COLLECTORS RECORD

Photobucket Album

My United Artists recording came out in a 10" record as well as the smaller 7".

WALTER WINCHELL Quote on Friendship

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
- Walter Winchell

(167) A CHIMP INTO SPACE and SCATTER !

A YouTube video circa 1961 about the first chimp in space...

Now I have to tell you that this chimp in space proved to us that chimps were very intelligent beings, and I really think this is what got Elvis thinking about having a chimp as a pet, the infamous playboy chimp named Scatter! Scatter was actually gifted to Elvis, after he saw him performing on television and offered to buy him!

Scatter drank a teeny bit of whisky that the guys poured him when they had a drink and pulled a bit on a cigar, just like Elvis. Elvis hated pretentiousness and Scatter mimicking our "playboy" lifestyle kept it down to earth around the house.

(166) HISTORY MOMENT : ALAN SHEPARD TRAVELS IN SPACE

I'd been a bit embarrassed singing "Tiny Spaceman," the novelty song that was on the flip side of "Lonesome Love," put out by United Artists, even though for me this was a Gold Record. But today I realize that it is one of many songs about space travel through the years that became popular, engaging our imaginations about what was possible - human potential.

I had to practice, get my timing just right, to sing "Tiny Spaceman," as it was really a difficult song with a lot of space alien Do Wop talk in it!

"They welcomed the spaceman and gave him a gold key. He ate the key..."

Here's a YouTube video that preserves the excitement of 1961, Alan Shepard as the first American man in space for the United States. Click the title above to go right to this video.

(160) NEIL SEDAKA 1961 DON'T LEAD ME ON and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SIXTEEN

If you recall (or if you want to use the search feature of this Google Blogspot!) you know that it was Neil Sedaka in the Brill Building who ran and got Bobby Darin, who was downstairs recording, and brought him up to meet me when I first moved to New York to be close to the action as a just signed United Artists singing-acting sensation. Neil was at the piano singing a song he'd just written, pitching it to me. You can click on the link to Neil's own web site and learn more about him. Here is Neil singing his 1961 recording of "Don't Lead Me On," presented on YouTube...




NEW UPDATE by Christine Trzyna on May 26 2010 :two replacement videos for expired videos and a link to his web site.

Here's his song "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" from the same year.

Very 1950's wouldn't you say?

POST UPDATED MAY 2010 by Christine Trzyna,

CAN'T BUY ME LOVE ? Elvis CARED about SINGING

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.

ME AND THE MOVIES - IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS SENT

Friends, Thank You for sending comments and questions to me and Christine about my acting career. Let's try and let this blog answer some of those.

If you read from the beginning of this blog, you know that I was given a tremendous opportunity to be an actor early on. Then, well... The details of what happened with my acting career are in my unpublished memoir and might even shock you, but my focus became my music career.

This blog is focusing on my life in music because ultimately that is where I went when I followed my own North Star. Still, I feel that I learned so much about life being in New York young, studying acting and James Dean, and being part of a generation who emerged into the 1960's at a time when technology was advancing rapidly, allowing us to perform live on radio and television, moving from black and white to color, and, more than anything, living through changes in social attitudes and conditions that were reflected in music.

We posted a comment someone sent in that said this:

"The United States of America, that you grew up in, is rapidly falling apart. God bless you and your generation that lived and thrived in a country unique in human history. I am so sorry to see the rapid demise of a democracy that stood alone for such a brief moment in world history. Never again, in our brief life time, will we see a time when a young man from North Carolina could rise from the masses to follow a dream that all humankind shares. God bless you, Wes Bryan."

Now I appreciated the God Bless, but actually both Christine and I have more hope than this person. We still think that common people have a chance to rise up from their beginnings and become famous or at least have a great career. We know it happens all the time even if it is a rare thing and it happens more in this great United States of America than anywhere else in the world because here you don't necessarily live the life you were born into.

How much is anyone's fate we don't know. We know that hard work alone won't do it, though hard work is necessary. It is always fascinating, if not downright mystifying, to see how some idea takes hold and spreads, how trends come and go. So we want to encourage you all to know what it is you want out of life and then try your damnedest to make that happen! You never know if you don't try...

Wes and Christine

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS Quote on Friendship

"Life is partly what we make it, and partly what is made by the friends we choose." -Tennessee Williams

(152) STATE FAIR - A ROCK AND ROLL MOVIE

Gene Vincent, in that interview we posted recently, mentioned that he was going to the states to do the movie called "State Fair." This was a rock and roll movie, young and hip, and guess who else was in it? My friend Bobby Darin, as well as Pat Boone and Ann-Margret.

Go to the IMDB movie database STATE FAIR link above!

Now, take a look at this YouTube video that features the sexy Ann with someone who you might be surprised did a bare-chested love scene with her - Pat Boone! Yea, really!

(151) THE ACADEMY AWARDS

I attended the Academy Awards a couple times because Phil Sadona, who was on the board of the Academy liked me and gave me tickets. He was one of the people who felt that I should not give up on acting. Phil had once had a contract with 20th Century Fox at the same time as Marilyn Monroe, my favorite actress. He had curly black hair and looked like the old actor Errol Flynn. He used the stage name Tony Roman when he was an actor.

There is always controversy over the Academy Awards and how the Academy selects the winners. But I believe that the Academy Awards has elevated the art of acting and that this is a coveted and desireable acheivement to be recognized by them.

GOING Going GONE! E-BAY AUCTION OF TINY SPACEMAN

What the heck! Christine and I decided to give ol' JD's record shop a little help in auctioing off a copy of my Gold Record, "Tiny Spaceman" and "Lonesome Love." Click on the Title above Going Going Gone! and give a listen to my 1957 hit that lauched my United Artists career!

Trying a new Google Blogger Feature - Presetting Time for Publication

We're trying a new Google Blogger feature that allows us to preset the time and date for publishing a blog entry. We think that this may be of benefit to those who subscribe to our RSS FEED due to the consistent time of day we set up. A trial run of this feature in the last week or so has resulted in a concern for us. This involves the font we choose for this blog which is Georgia. We've checked our blog on the net and noticed that some of our posts showed up in a different font, primarily Ariel. So that makes us feel that using this preset may result in an overall inconsistent look of the blog and that it is not safe for us to not check in every day quite yet. Any feedback?

(150) THE HOLLYWOOD BUG CONTINUES TO BITE ME

In New York acting was respected as a dramatic art and the stage was the place to be. I studied at Actors Studio in New York with Lee Strasberg, who is now legendary.

The Studio System of Hollywood put actors on contract. The amount of money to be made was quite limited in those years compared to what successful actors demand and get today - very limited. Even when an actor made millions for the studios on a picture, or a top agent like Henry Wilson was going to negotiate for you, the actors take was limited.

Of course some stars managed to get their contracts rewritten for more money. Wealth for many didn't come outright from pay or overnight but from investing what they earned in real estate - land especially - in Southern California, which had experienced a first surge of the building boom after World War II.

So you had to love acting and love it enough to do it knowing you might never make a lot of money. You had to appreciate the many perks that came with being a famous actor, including meeting people and making connections that could do you some good, but you had to earn it all the time. You had to do things their way.

Just as James Dean had moved to Hollywood and making films, many of my peers, including of course Bobby Darin, looked forward to a movie acting career. It was one thing to make grueling promotional tours around the country, one radio or television station after another, and another to be known almost instantly around the whole country because you were seen in the movies. So long as the move from stage to screen included musicals, it made sense to the viewing public that an actor would launch into song.

(149) THE INSIDERS RULE ON PRIVACY and PHOTOS of ELVIS

As soon as a actor had a contract with a movie studio, they had to be concerned with morality clauses in the contract which instructed them to live their lives clean or at least conduct themselves so that they didn't get caught in a compromising situation.

THE INSIDERS RULE was a Rule about keeping the privacy of your famous friends.

It meant not telling anyone what you knew, of keeping private life private - theirs and yours.

A real friend was never someone who would call a rag sheet with a story that could cause you trouble. Sadly, many stars who were jealous of their competitors did call the rag sheets and tell what they knew or make up stories. These publications thrived on scandal but could also make or break a star's image. Many stars were afraid of them, while others fed them.

Elvis went by the insiders rule and the entourage and his close friends at the house were expected to do so as well. Being with Elvis every moment could have been a "photo-op," but those of us close to him never demanded photos. Remember too that this was the era of the flash bulb going off indoors, or being temporarily blinded by picture taking.

Elvis was the first to pose with just about any fan that approached him but outside his home. Home was not the place for such intrusions.

WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC - RIGHTS INFORMATION

Once in a while we'll be posting a notice like this one that reminds readers that the content of this blog is Copyright Wes Bryan and Christine Trzyna with all rights reserved including Internet and International Rights. If interested in speaking to me, Wes Bryan, please contact us at the e-mail address we've provided. (By the way folks, don't phish us or spam us, or try to scam us; We report it all and block offenders addresses!)

We are linking to a good many web sites, favoring the official web sites of various famous and important people as well as reference sites. If we link to your site and you don't want us to, please let us know, and we'll take down the link.

The content of other people's sites remains theirs.

Thank you for your consideration and courtesy.

Christine Trzyna & Wes Bryan

http://wesbryan.blogspot.com

WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC

e-mail is wewritethebook@yahoo.com

ROCKIN' COUNTRY STYLE

We want to THANK ROCKIN' COUNTRY STYLE, also called RCS Discography, for all the hard work they've done over there at Emory University to present a viable history of Country Rock and Roll - sometimes called Rockabilly - to us.

If you've been reading this blog and listening to the sound samples, you know we've been leaning on RCS heavily. Now folks, RCS can't take donations as things are set up, but you can always express your appreciation in other ways. Send them a note in the U.S. mail or an e-mail ! Or get involved if you have some records you are willing to share for a time so that more clips can be uploaded!

The volunteer team there headed up by Terry Gordon has done a great job of supplying music clips as well as photos of actual records and covers.

Using the GEOGRAPHICAL search is a fascinating way to see what SMALL LABELS existed and who recorded on them. Elvis Presley and so many others walked into Sun Records in Memphis to produce a recording - vanity or low budget. Other Rockabilly and Country artists to be were doing so all over America in smaller towns and markets. Go to the state and the town/label and give a listen to a local hopeful giving it their all!
You can also use the RCS LABEL search to see who was recording at Sun besides Elvis and get a feel for the body of work from a particular studio.

RCS MAIN PAGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/index.htm

(148) ERSEL - LIPS OF ROSES - 1961

And here is Ersel Hickey and his 1961 song "Lips of Roses."
Also, let's take another look at Ersel's RCS Discography page - linked above!

(147) ERSEL HICKEY - I GUESS YOU COULD CALL IT LOVE - 1961

Here's Ersel's song "I Guess You Could Call It Love." Now you may know this, but if you click on the block icon to the bottom left of the YouTube video screen, you will enlarge the picture to the size of your computer screen.

(146) ERSEL HICKEY

Ersel Hickey, as you know, was one of my best friends in New York, one of the best friends of the guys. I invited Ersel to come out to Los Angeles, follow the guys who were moving West for their careers, and told him he could stay with me and one of my brothers who was now living with me in Hollywood. But Ersel remained a true New Yorker. I doubt he even considered it.

New York always had an element of excitement and energy to it. I always felt myself to be at the center of creative enterprise there and when I look back on my days in New York now, I feel the same way.

1961 proved to be a good year for Ersel and music. So the next couple blogs will be Ersel's music. Now these YouTube videos unfortunately do not feature his performing. I shared the stage with Ersel more than once and believe me, the girls went crazy for him and those shakin' legs of his. Maybe someday some old film of Ersel will appear.

Just so you know, Ersel passed away a couple years ago. I had an old TV guide that had an ad with him in it to give him for his own career collection and before I could, we learned he had gone to his reward of eternal life. Christine lights a candle for someone when she hears they have passed and while working on our book she lit quite a few- including for Ersel.

(145) GENE VINCENT 1961 BRITISH INTERVIEW

What do you know! AOL video site has an 1961 interview with rock 'n roller Gene Vincent!
Click on the title above to go right to the interview!

(And check out our previous posts on Gene with a search of our blog or go to the links about him to the left!)

(144) PHIL AND DON EVERLY 1961 - THE HITS GO ON

Here's a YouTube presentation of Phil and Don Everly doing one of their recently older hit as well as the newer "Cathy's Clown."




Click on the Everly Brothers Links to the left to learn more about them or search this blog with their name to read what we've posted on the brothers already.

And don't forget about the RCS Discography for the Everly Brothers NEW LINK MARCH 2011 above!