On This Day – Big Joe Turner Dies
Nov 24, 2011 On This Day
On this day in 1985 Big Joe Turner died. Sadly, he is little remembered today but he had a huge influence on the growth of Rock and Roll.
Born in 1911 Turner performed from 1920 until 1980. A Blues shouter he played with or on the same bill as many wonderful musicians such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Wynonie Harris. He recorded throughout his career but found real fame in the ’50s. Moving away from Jazz and Blues he was a pioneer of rock and roll. He is best remembered for writing and recording “Shake Rattle and Roll”. His, original version was a hit but eclipsed by Bill Haley’s version. BH’s version removed all the innuendoes of the original (Elvis used the original lyrics) and was not as raw and powerful as Turner’s.
More hits followed notably; “Well All Right,” “Flip Flop and Fly,” “Hide and Seek,” “Morning, Noon and Night,” and “The Chicken and the Hawk”. His influence has been hailed by many people including the NME when reporting his death in 1985 they referred to him as “the grandfather of rock and roll.
Later in his life he returned to Jazz and Blues performing until 1980. He died of a heart attack.
Tags: big joe turner, bill haley, billie holiday, Blues, classic rock music, elvis, elvis presley, love rock music, On This Day, real rock, real rock and blues, rock, rock and blues, rock music
On This Day – Elvis Slapped and Fights Back!
Oct 18, 2011 On This Day
“I’ll regret this day as long as I live. I guess lots of people were waiting for this kind of thing to happen. It’s getting where I can’t even leave the house without something happening to me.” (The New York Post, October 19, 1956)
So said Elvis after having an altercation with a Petrol station (gas station for those of you in the USA) on this day in 1956.
Elvis had pulled up to have a smell of petrol coming from his car checked and a crowd had grown round him, people asking for autographs and just plain gawking. The petrol station owner was not amused, no one was buying petrol. He asked Elvis to go away. Elvis stayed so Edd Hopper (the owner) slapped him upside his head. Elvis threw a punch and then an employee of the station Aubrey Brown joined in. The cops arrive and all 3 were arrested. Presley was bailed later in the day. Hopper and Brown were eventually fined $25 and $15 respectively.
All in all, not much of a fight and not much to make a fuss over. However, Elvis being Elvis the news of this minor altercation was featured in the national press. Rock hysteria was pretty new at the time and so was the feeding frenzy of the media. The judge said to Elvis “In the future you should take into consideration that you have a large following and should cooperate fully with business people in order to avoid disruptions.” Elvis said that he would, and left the court surrounded by young women. (Not a bad job being a rock star, there are certainly upsides)
This was not the end of Elvis being involved in altercations. November 1956 saw Elvis in a minor bar brawl over a woman, 1957 Elvis pulled a gun on a Marine in a dispute about a women. Something of a pattern developing there.
It would seem that Elvis was something of a scrapper when he was younger but there is nothing to suggest that he was a thug. being involved in fights would appear to be a reflection of the less than affluent area that was home to the young Elvis.
Tags: classic rock music, elvis, elvis presley, love rock music, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock and blues
On This Day – Elvis Hits 3,000,000!
Nov 9, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1958 “Hound Dog” by Elvis exceeded 3 million sales in the US alone.
His was the 3rd record to sell more than 3 million copies in the States. Any Idea of what the other 2 were?
While you think about it here a clip of Elvis.
Worked it out yet?
The first 2 records to exceed 3 million sales in the USA were;
White Christmas, Bing Crosby
(I know a particularly dreadful clip….)
The other song to sell more than 3 million copies?
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autrey
If you dare here it is……………………
Tags: bing crosbie, classic rock music, elvis, elvis presley, gene autrey, love rock music, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock and blues, rudolph the red nosed reindeer, white christmass
On This Day – Great Balls of Fire!
Nov 3, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis released Great Balls of Fire on the Sun record label.
One of the great pioneers of rock and roll Lewis came from a poor familly in Ferriday, Louisiana. He bagan playing piano while young with two of his cousins. His passion for the [iano was such that his parents raised a mortgage to buy him his own piano (thank god they did, god bless ‘em).
Lewis was expelled from his school (Southwest Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas) into which his mother had enrolled him in the hope that he would learn to play “godly” music. He was expelled for playing “worldly” music. Years later he was asked by an old school friend if he was still playing the Devil’s music. His reply, “Yes, I am. But you know it’s strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don’t.”
His style came from what he heard on the radio and from the rythms he heard in the local black joints. In those days black musicians could not play for white audiences in the main and the white kids were ready for this rebellious, liberating music. He went to Sun Records in Memphis for an audition but Sam Phillips was away. Even so it did not take Phillips’ engineer, Jack Clement, to recognise his talent. Signed to Sun Lewis began working on session backing all the greats on the Sun label including, Elvis, Carl, Perkins and Johnny Cash among others. His distinctive piano playing can be heard on many tracks recorded at Sun during late 1956 and early 1957, including Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox”.
A great talent later lost to rock when he moved into country music after the scandal of his marriage to his young cousin Lewis helped start what we all enjoy to this day. As someone has said all we dio is to build on the shoulders of giants that went before, Lewis is one of thos giants.
Tags: carl perkins, classic rock music, elvis, elvis presley, jerry lee lewis, johnny cash, love rock music, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock and blues, rock and roll, sam phillips, sam phillips. real rock, sun records
On This Day – Bobby Darin Sings Rock Island Line
Mar 10, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1956 Bobby Darin made his first appearance on TV when he sings “Rock Island Line” on ‘The Stage Show’.
‘The Stage Show’ was a variety programme on CBS US TV. One of the interesting things about the show (this blog was going to be about Bobby Darin, then it was going to be about ‘Rock Island Line’, now it looks like it is going to be about some defunct US TV show. Go figure) was that it had alternate hosts. One week it was Tommy Dorsey the next it was his brother Jimmy. Both were noted jazz musicians and band leaders.
At that time Jimmy had stopped leading his own band and was working with Tommy’s which was billed as ‘The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Featuring Jimmy Dorsey’. A bit of a mouthful but it seems to have worked.
Apart from Bobby Darin’s first TV appearance the show also gave Elvis a spot on 28 Jan 1956. The response was so overwhelming they booked him for another 5 appearances in the next 8 weeks!
Tags: bobby darin, elvis, jimmy dorsey, On This Day, rock and blues, tommy dorsey
