One of the interesting things about the history of songs, is discovering what inspired the lyrics and/or melody of the song. For To Know Him is to Love Him, that inspiration was a tombstone. Phil Spector was nine years old when his father died. His family then moved from New York to Los Angeles. As Read More
Category: Rock and Roll
That’ll Be the Day
Buddy Holly longed to write a hit and make it big in the music industry. One evening he and his band mate, Jerry Allison, decided to see a John Wayne western, The Searchers. Wayne keeps repeating “That’ll be the day,” when he felt something was unlikely to happen. The phrase stuck and one evening while Read More
Profile of a Performer: Elvis Presley– The Comeback King
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
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
Blueberry Hill
If you’ve ever seen Happy Days, you’ll probably remember Richie Cunningham singing “I found my thrill….” These are the opening lines to the 1940 hit Blueberry Hill. The tune to Blueberry Hill was written by Vincent Rose. Rose, who was born in Italy, was a musician and bandleader. He conducted the Montmartre Orchestra in the Read More
The Untold Story: Tutti Frutti
The invention of Rock n’ Roll has no definite founder. We all know that Elvis was the King of Rock n’Roll, but others such as Bill Haley and Little Richard also form the foundation of Rock n’Roll. Little Richard has gone so far as to call himself the “Architect of Rock and Roll.” On September Read More