Wednesday, August 18, 2010

8/16/77 - Where Were You 33 Years Ago?

I was 20, home from college washing dishes at the Longhorn Ranch in Concordville, Pa.





During the dinner hour word got out that The King had passed from this world.





The steak house moaned to a halt as the entire posse of young middle-aged cowgirl waitresses wept all over their naugahyde vests. A few fainted.




The managers all freaked out.






Five years later Warren Zevon wrote
Jesus Mentioned.

4 comments:

  1. Jesus Mentioned - WZ

    I'm going down to Memphis
    Memphis, Tennessee
    I'm going down to Graceland
    Thinking about the King
    Remembering him sing
    About those heavenly mansions
    Jesus mentioned

    Can't you just imagine
    Digging up the King
    Begging him to sing
    About those heavenly mansions
    Jesus mentioned

    He went walking on the water
    He went walking on the water
    He went walking on the water
    With his pills

    Can't you just imagine
    Digging up the King
    Begging him to sing
    About those heavenly mansions
    Jesus mentioned

    ReplyDelete
  2. He is a genius (Zevon). Have you heard the song"Keep Me in Your Heart for Awhile," the song he wrote when he was dying? Beautiful. Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, WZ hooked me back in college. "Keep Me..." is such a beautiful, poignant heartbreaker.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was 7 the summer he died. I loved "Jailhouse Rock" at that age and I remember seeing a newspaper with the headline of his death, and I guess I understood what that meant. I remember he was overweight and pretty bloated in the picture they included, which was likely of one of his final performances. I think I thought he was a fat Evel Kineval because of that ridiculous white jumpsuit he continued to wear.

    I can't imagine growing up when he rose to fame, when the theme of the music industry was to co-opt "black" music and start to unravel the hatred of racism (that might have been an unforeseen side-effect. and not like that theme vanished). The Beatles, The Stones, later Led Zeppelin and many bands in between, since, and after all did the same thing: reinterpreted American music from prior eras into pop/rock and/or roll.

    For every Elvis there are countless influences who don't get the mainstream success for one reason or another (timing, money, looks, skin color) though usually not talent. See Freddy King and Buddy Guy, who are largely credited by aficiandos and historians but are never heard on the radio or whatever we call the radio nowadays.

    Great irreverant song by an underrated band: Elvis is Dead by Living Colour, with a vocal interlude by none other than Little Richard. It's about the fervor of his fans and the refusal to believe that he's dead.

    http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-14247154/living_colour_elvis_is_dead_official_music_video/

    ReplyDelete