In remembrance of the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, we will finish his profile this week. We’ve already discussed the younger years and his return from the Army. After a decade in films, Elvis Presley was considered a joke by both fans and critics. Now, it was time for some damage control. Colonel Parker made Read More
Search Results for: Elvis
Profile of a Performer: Elvis is Back!
After serving two years in the Army, the time had come for Elvis to return to his public. Would he be able to make the comeback he hoped for? Elvis returned to the United States and was honorably discharged in early March 1960. Less than three weeks later he was in the recording Read More
Profile of a Performer: The Young Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was an early and important figure in changing the landscape of music in his day. The King of Rock n Roll grew up listening to spirituals and crooners such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. However, he would usher in a new generation of music for the post World War II youth. Elvis Read More
Merry Christmas Baby
Merry Christmas Baby is credited to have been written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. Morre’s The Three Blazers originally recorded the song in 1947. The group was looking for a Christmas song, according to Charles Brown, the groups singer and pianists. Baxter volunteered one of his songs, as he had throat cancer and needed Read More
Hound Dog
Hound Dog helped to launch the career of Elvis Presley. The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stroller. The duo wrote the song for Big Mama Thornton to suit her personality. In an interview in Rolling Stone in April 1990, Stoller said: “She was a wonderful blues singer, with a great moaning style. Read More
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bridge Over Troubled Water is a popular song by Simon & Garfunkel. The song appeared on their fifth and final studio album, which was released in January 1970. The song was written by Paul Simon. According to Wikipedia, “The title lyric was inspired by Claude Jeter’s line “I’ll be your bridge over deep water if Read More
Unchained Melody
Alex North was an American composer who wrote the scores for numerous films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Cleopatra, Spartacus, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? In 1954, he was contacted to write a score for a prison film Unchained. While working on the score, he was asked to write a song based on Read More
On Top of Old Smokey
On Top of Old Smokeyis a song many of my residents enjoy singing. The song is an American folk song, which was passed down through the generations. Only when these songs began to be written down around the early 20th Century, was the song preserved for prosperity. Throughout the years of World War I, Cecil Read More
The Yellow Rose of Texas
The Yellow Rose of Texas is a traditional American folk song. “The earliest known version is found in Christy’s Plantation Melodies. No. 2, a songbook published under the authority of Edwin Pearce Christy in Philadelphia in 1853.” Christy founded Christy’s Minstrels. The song became popular during the American Civil War. The song was featured Read More
Viva Las Vegas
When thinking of Nevada the place that most often comes to mind is Las Vegas. Elvis introduced the song Viva Las Vegas in 1963, which has continued to be popular for the grand strip. Viva Las Vegas was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Elvis Presley released the song in 1963, as a vehicle Read More