I grew up listening to Oldies. Mostly to the Beatles and the music of the late 60s and 70s when my parents grew up but we also had a couple local stations on the AM that featured the even older stuff. Dean Martin. Sinatra. Roy Orbison. The Andrews Sisters. It was all really, really good. More polished than the subsequent music for sure even if it lacked the same fire that rock & roll gained through its association with the hippies, the Civil Rights Movement and its exposure to the great songwriting of the folk and blues artists. But there is something utterly delicious in listening to Oldies in general, like having a virtual time capsule in a song. I can envision my mother as a little girl sitting on her bed listening to a Beatles record. Or my Grandmother puttering about the kitchen making supper while Elvis is playing in the background.
Elvis vs. the Beatles. My Grandma vs. my mother. Mentions of Elvis always drew a hilarious adolescent eye roll from my mom, like she had never quite gotten past razzing her for her older tastes. I listened to a lot of the Beatles growing up. A lot! Mom owns every single album they ever recorded and a few they didn't as well as all the movies and virtually every book written on John, Paul, George and Ringo. George Harrison is her favorite. John Lennon is mine.
For some reason I never really listened to Elvis. Until recently. I was strolling through Bookmans (I'm there a lot; just check out my previous post) thinking I should really get some Oldies cds. Patsy Cline, for example. Johnny Cash, certainly! And then I saw it:
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
I took it home and stuck it in my cd player. And I was hooked!
Elvis has an energy to his music that is utterly contagious. It's like you can hear, in the rhythms, in the syncopation, in the blues, in the electric guitars, the very fabric that came together so that Elvis could exist. He has all the fire of a gospel singer, the sexy swagger of a blues man, the rich voice that could have recorded anything on Tin Pan Alley.
Before I knew it I was playing the cd to get ready to go to work in the morning. I was playing it while pouring myself a glass of wine and dancing through my living room at night. I ripped it to my mp3 player and discovered just how hard it is to sit still on a public bus crowded by people while Elvis is shouting "That's alright mama!" in my ear! I could just imagine being in a live audience, maybe during the fifties having to fight for breath amongst the crush of screaming teens. I could imagine being in Vegas, being dazzled by the rhinestone covered white jumpsuit while he plays his hits and karate chops his way across the stage.
My favorite songs? That's All Right. Heartbreak Hotel. Jailhouse Rock. Viva Las Vegas. And on and on and on.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. Publicity still from Jailhouse Rock (1957).
I now own six Elvis cds. I've turned into an Elvis groupie! And it doesn't help that he is pretty darn hot too. ;)
If you are interested in snagging The Essential Elvis Presley, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Elvis-Presley/dp/B00138H1MS
Or, for you Tucsonans, check out your local Bookmans or Zia Record Store.
Have a fascination with the King of Rock & Roll? Or another figure from popular music from times past? Leave me a comment and tell me about your Oldies music obsession!
No comments:
Post a Comment