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- “What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death?” — James Cameron
- The last photo and the Stutz
- “I had never seen anything like him . . . I vowed nothing would stop me from signing this boy for films.” – producer Hal Wallis on Elvis Presley
- “There’s no one ‘right’ way of making a science fiction movie; there’s no one way of making any kind of movie, really!” — Nicolas Roeg
- “Yeah, and I’m buddies with Alfred.” — Eminem on Alfred Hitchcock
- “I like myself poems that are gentle rather than arrogant intellectually. Where language fades into cries or whispers.” — Medbh McGuckian
- “One day I hope I can write happier poems, but most of the things I think about aren’t very cheerful.” — poet Philip Larkin
- “I gave my eardrums to MGM. And it’s true: I really did.” — Esther Williams
- On This Day: August 7, 1934: “It must always be remembered that his locale was Celtic and his season Spring.”
- “These kids only want to talk about acting method and motivation. in my day all we talked about was screwing and overtime.” — Robert Mitchum
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- Lyrie on “I think something once broken and put back together is even stronger.” — Jared Padalecki
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- Lyrie on “I think something once broken and put back together is even stronger.” — Jared Padalecki
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Tag Archives: Elvis Presley
The last photo and the Stutz
Celebrating Elvis Week is not my thing, although of course I always mark it here, because what the hell else would I do with my time. Other anniversaries matter more to me. But I figured I’d share here the last … Continue reading
“I had never seen anything like him . . . I vowed nothing would stop me from signing this boy for films.” – producer Hal Wallis on Elvis Presley
Published during Elvis Week in 2017, here’s my piece for Film Comment on Elvis as an actor. And here’s the talk I gave at The Memphian in Memphis, on Elvis’ acting career. And finally: the piece I just wrote for … Continue reading
“People are always asking me if I thought Elvis was a handsome man and my answer is ‘I am not blind you know’!” — Millie Kirkham
Millie Kirkham had an unearthly high soprano voice, and recorded with some of the biggest stars of her era (and other eras and ours). Perhaps most famously, she provided the swoopy woozy soprano part on Elvis’ original recording of “Blue … Continue reading
For Father’s Day:
Photo by Alfred Wertheimer, 1956 Because when you become a father, you never know how it’ll all turn out. Vernon looks like an anvil dropped on him from the sky, an anvil in the shape of his famous son. Lisa … Continue reading
“I’m not very popular here with those inside the system, as you might guess. I never wanted to be.” — Waylon Jennings
It’s his birthday today. Like a lot of artists whose music I own (I still like to own music: will never give it up), Waylon Jennings is on almost constant rotation. He’s always there. In playlists, first of all, but … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Eric Church, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson
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Happy Birthday, Chips Moman
Elvis Presley and producer Chips Moman, American Sound Studio, Memphis, 1969 Great music producer, songwriter, and American Sound studio owner Chips Moman was an essential part of the thrilling warp-and-weft of the Memphis music scene from the 1960s on. His … Continue reading
Happy Birthday to “Mr. Excitement”, Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson’s voice is otherworldly. He had a four-octave range. You listen and there are times where you can’t even believe what you’re hearing. Wilson started out in Detroit talent contests, where he had a tendency to win. Big fish … Continue reading
“I dread to think about life without singing.” — Tom Jones
I’ve written about him before, mostly here. He’s still out there. His voice is not only intact but as powerful as it ever was. He is recently a widow after 59 years of marriage. He is beloved by his fan … Continue reading
“I never heard the term ‘rockabilly’ back then. Nobody did…When people asked what music we played, we were rock ’n’ rollers.” — Sonny Burgess
“This record sold like hotcakes. TOO BAD IT DIDN’T SELL LIKE RECORDS!” — Sonny Burgess, introducing one of his songs, as related by Deke Dickerson It’s the birthday of Arkansas-born Sonny Burgess, who died in 2017. Burgess was a Sun … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Billy Lee Riley, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Sam Phillips, Sonny Burgess, Sun Records
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