Going down the road

Well, I feel like a got a mountian , but in the good news is I will be moving to Memphis by the time this is published next. And you can do a lot of research without being there - I wrote this article for another blog. It was bit hard tracking down all his cars, as he seemed to change them as much as clothes. My favorite story is him trading a Merreschimdt for a two hour shopping spree at Lansky's I'll let you read, as I've got to TCB.

The birth of a ....

Some Folks want to Elvis credit with inventing rock-n-roll. The truth is lot longer than what I want to blog on, but a lot of folks were doing that kind of music. Elvis (and Scotty and Bill) were just lucky enough to be with a producer that in turn, was crazy enough to put out of record of them doing it. And it's true, the times were changing. The problem is for me as an author, is how to explain with coming across like the plot from Pleasantville. I took a little different tack, of having a teenager who aspires to be an ordinary housewife, and goes in to cut a 'Vanity' record on the day that Elvis signs his first ever contract. Along the way, she falls in love (a couple of time, actually) and winds up getting a little more educated about what we might call modren life.

On Being Elvis....

I posted Elvis singing Happy Birthday, Baby to my Facebook account. One of FB friends came back with "Why are all the Elvis impersonators old,fat and in jumpsuits?" A very good question!
For starters, not all are old:

<br>

But yes, the vast majority of Elvis tribute artists(every wonder why folks who do the Beatles are 'tribute acts', and not impersonators?) are firmly in  the late 60's -early 70's era. Why's that, you say?
Well, part of it is a lot of folks are into 'the king' are old(er) and it's a little harder to carry off  a teenage Elvis with bags under your eyes and wrinkles in your face. And let's face, Elvis would be seventy-nine if he was still alive - most folk if they remember Elvis - remember 'Vegas' Elvis versus the 'Sun Records' Elvis.
Also, Seventies Elvis is an easier performance to get right - a white jumpsuit(which you don't have to make, but can buy), Black wig, and sunglasses, and your'e in business. Not to mention that he's strikes me as something as something an actor could really sink their teeth into for just his sheer over-the-topness during this era.
Me - as a writer, I like the earlier era better. This is the man who quite literally changed the world without meaning to. I always like his quote that 'I didn't want to be famous'. And by keeping him in Memphis, I'm  able to apply the old adage of 'write what you know'.
But that's not to say I don't appreciate those guys with B&K enterprises jumpsuits belting their hearts out. I often wonder what Elvis would think of all the hoopla. I think he would enjoy the diversity. After all, you have Lady Elvii:





African Elvis:



Kid Elvis (who says being Elvis is a dead end?)


Asian Elvis:


and even El Ves:



I think he'd enjoy it. After all, aren't we all following that dream?



TCB,
Jana

So, who was Elvis Aron Presely?

Sam Philips says it better than ever could. He was someone who had that charisma, but had fatal flaws that ultimately did him in. That's part of why I've focused on his early career, as it gives more of a chance to show his good side, plus a few fun details (like his real hair color), and of course, his cars and guitars (The only person to hit the charts with a $10 guitar) I'll leave you with the King, live and in person

Where is Elvis?

View Larger Map
3864 Elvis Presely Blvd in Memphis, right? At least there's his earthly remains are. But you know, he didn't grow up there:

But any way, he is from the south. As is the fusion of Blues and Country he popularized. You probably call it Rock N' Roll. And therein lies an issue, as Southerners, and especially those from the out of the way places don't get much credit for the brains department. I call it the Honey boo-boo effect. So despite the fact that you can trace most early attempts at Rock right back to 706 Union, the hall of fame is in Cleveland. But some folks know who the pioneers were:

. And being from the South, our boy was religious nut. That's just the way it is there, partly due to fact that a lot of the folks there are descending from folks who came here to escape religious prosecution (the so-called "god gene"). And his flashy outfits in Later years? You know the most dangerous thing to society? Guns? Drugs? Obamacare?

Anyway, My muses have taken the day off, so TCB

Why Elvis?

I was working on another story when I got a case of writer's block. At the time I had just moved my mother back to Memphis, and I was thinking about my family. Actually, the idea came to me while watching this video:

Elvis was a very spiritual person, so the Idea I had of combining his love of Gospel with his role in the Birth of what we know call rock 'n roll, and so far I've got about 300 pages in a very rough draft. Not bad ,and that's further than I've gotten in my previous attempts. Thrown in a love interest and some baddies that are against rock and roll and are for 'Decency', and viola. Plus it helps to have a few nuts around:

And like the revolution ,they are re-enactors. Only they call themselves tribute artists. some are bad:

and some are quite good:

And speaking of writer's block, there it is again. We'll talk more later.
Jana