In a special Elvis Week episode of the Along For The Ride radio show, we discuss my memories of August 16, 1977, the day Elvis Presley passed away. We also look at some of my mom’s Elvis records from the 1950s and talk about what they mean to me.
The new episode is embedded below, or you can watch it directly on YouTube.
In this outtake from today’s episode of Along For The Ride, I struggle saying the outro.
One of our annual traditions this time of year on The Mystery Train is that I make note of the fact that I haven’t posted in many months.
Indeed, it has been many months since I posted. Outside of a quick tribute to Elvis Presley in August, my last real post here was in April! I did have a seemingly strong start to 2023 as I began (but never finished) a multi-part review series of Sony’s then-new Elvis On Tour set. I also examined two more Elvis movies.
In the Elvis world, 2023 will be remembered with sadness due to the loss of Lisa Marie Presley on January 12. Nearly a year later, I still find it hard to believe. On a brighter note, Lisa’s daughter, Riley Keough, seems to have risen to the occasion as far as taking up the Presley mantle. Her mom would be proud.
A few tidbits when it comes to Elvis news since I last posted. While reviewing the top-notch Elvis On Tour set back in the first few months of 2023, I kept thinking, “If only Madison Square Garden would get a similar treatment.” I thought it would never happen, since that event had already been revisited as recently as 2012 with Sony’s excellent Prince From Another Planet set. Wow, did I underestimate the Elvis re-release machine. Indeed, the FTD collectors label for Elvis fans released new mixes of the Madison Square Garden concerts not long after I had that very thought.
On the main Sony label, a set containing new mixes of the 1973 Aloha From Hawaii concerts and related material on 3 CDs as well as a Blu-ray version of that event were also released. Sony’s 2023 Aloha From Hawaii release was slightly controversial, though, and rightly so.
FTD only a year before had already released 2 of the 3 CDs of new mixes at a premium price. The remaining CD of the 2022 FTD set used a vintage 2013 Sony mix – meaning that, Blu-ray aside, fans that already bought the 2022 FTD set but wanted all of the new mixes would still have to buy the 2023 Sony set for the 1 CD. Why Elvis’ music catalog continues to be treated in this haphazard manner is beyond me. Incompetence? Contempt? Greed? A little of all of these? Your guess is as good as mine.
While I originally intended not to touch Sony’s 2023 Aloha set until after I had listened to the “new” As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, I couldn’t help but watch the Aloha From Hawaii Blu-ray the night of August 16. I wanted to experience it as a fan rather than as a writer, so I did not take any notes or watch it from a critical or analytical perspective. I just sat back and immersed myself in the shows again. As I’ve mentioned many times on here, my mom was a first-generation Elvis fan who first started listening to him in 1956 when she was 12. For her, 1973’s Aloha From The Hawaii was the absolute pinnacle of Elvis. I miss seeing her watch it.
Elvis Presley conquers the world during the 1973 ELVIS: ALOHA FROM HAWAII VIA SATELLITE television special (NBC)
As for that FTD Madison Square Garden set, I still haven’t even opened it. So, I’m looking forward to listening to it in 2024.
There is also word that Baz Luhrmann, director of 2022’s very successful ELVIS movie, might be assembling a re-edit of “lost” footage from documentaries Elvis: That’s The Way It Is (1970) and Elvis On Tour (1972) – possibly as a streaming series à la Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back (2021). While intriguing, when it comes to any Warner Brothers project involving Elvis, I will believe it when I see it. I am very cautiously optimistic.
I still have a couple of posts to go in that review of Elvis On Tour. Will I ever finish them? I am not sure. Maybe. I will surely continue my re-watch of Elvis’ movies, Lord willing. My goal is to cover at least three Elvis movies in 2024. There is also at least one new-to-me book I would like to feature in a future post.
2023 has been a year full of blessings for me – more than I could ever begin to list here. Know that I count those of you who take the time to read my infrequent ramblings here to be among those blessings.
Thank you for reading. May your 2024 be full of joy.
“I pray that God, the Source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Before we get started with the main feature, I want to take a brief moment to remind you that Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS movie begins playing next week in many locations around the world. Based on the trailers, the attention to detail looks amazing. I love that this trailer throws in a couple of brief shots of the real Elvis as well.
I have also watched and read a few interviews with Austin Butler, who plays Elvis Presley, and he seems completely invested in the role. Many actors have tried and mostly failed to fill Elvis’ shoes before him, but this 30-year-old really seems to have discovered his spirit. We’ll find out soon.
As I’ve said before, after seeing so many horrible attempts to tell the Elvis Presley story in the past, I never even thought I’d watch this movie at all, much less go to the theater opening weekend as I’m now planning to do. The trailer above concludes with “Suspicious Minds (Caught In A Trap),” my mom’s favorite song. She would have been excited to see this movie with me and, though she passed away over three years ago now, I know she’ll be there next to me.
Continuing my rewatch of movies featuring the real Elvis Presley, next up is Kid Galahad – his 10th movie. I have only seen this one a couple of times before.
“Presley Packs the Screen’s Biggest Wallop…with the Gals…with the Gloves…with the Guitar!”
Kid Galahad (United Artists)
Wide Release: August 29, 1962 (United States)
Starring: Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman
Screenplay By: William Fay
Story By: Francis Wallace
Music Score By: Jeff Alexander
Produced By: Davis Weisbart
Directed By: Phil Karlson
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Sugarboy Romero (Orlando de la Fuente) faces off against Kid Galahad (Elvis Presley) in the climax of 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Elvis Presley stars as Walter Gulick in Kid Galahad. After a stint in the Army, Walter returns to his hometown of Cream Valley, New York, for the first time since becoming an orphan at 14-months-old. The 22-year-old is looking for a job fixing cars, but since he arrives too early in the morning for the auto shop to be open, he naturally checks out a nearby boxing camp instead to see if they need a mechanic.
The fictitious Cream Valley, New York, coincidentally enough, looks remarkably like Idyllwild, California. I suppose that’s better than trying to pass off California as Europe, at least. “Cream Valley” – the name sounds like a magical place where they make salad dressing or something like that.
Shockingly enough, the boxing camp doesn’t need a mechanic. However, Walter does find a job there as a sparring partner. It turns out his Army background has provided him with both auto repair and boxing experience.
As a sparring parter, Walter is a bit of a failure. He stands there and takes a beating from the fighter – over 70 punches. Walter doesn’t try to defend himself or even at first throw any punches in return. He finally throws one punch, proceeding to knock out the now worn-out fighter. While this doesn’t make for a great sparring partner, the boxing camp’s owner, Willy (Gig Young), sees dollar signs and soon puts Walter on the professional boxing circuit.
Several movies before this one, the screenplay adaptation of A Stone For Danny Fisher was changed once Elvis was attached to the project such that the boxer lead character became a singer instead. That 1958 movie, one of Elvis’ best performances as an actor, was also eventually renamed King Creole, after one of the songs in the film.
A few years later, in Kid Galahad, Elvis finally got his chance to play a boxer. According to longtime friend Sonny West, if Elvis had his way, he would have reunited with King Creole director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) on this film, which was produced in late 1961. Curtiz had also directed the original 1937 version of Kid Galahad, starring Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart. Despite Elvis’ campaign, Phil Karlson received the directing nod instead. Curtiz passed away in April 1962 at the age of 74.
Willy (Gig Young) and Lew (Charles Bronson) listen as Walter (Elvis Presley) sings “Riding The Rainbow” in a Model T Ford in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Charles Bronson appears in Kid Galahad as Lew, who acts as Walter’s trainer. Lew seems genuinely enamored of “the kid” and tries to look out for him. Bronson does a terrific job in this role and is a highlight of the film. This is apparently one of the few movies where Bronson smiles – and he smiles early and often in Kid Galahad.
Elvis Presley is Walter Gulick in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Willy, it turns out, has gambling and other problems that are putting his boxing camp in jeopardy. A mobster leaves two thugs to stay at the camp for insurance.
When Ralphie (Jeff Morris), one of the goons, makes an unwanted advance at Willy’s long-time fiancée, Dolly (Lola Albright), Walter knocks him flat out without even needing to take a beating first this time. “It wouldn’t have happened, but he don’t know how to behave himself with a lady,” explains Walter.
Dolly says, “Thanks, Galahad” to Walter, and the name sticks.
“Dolly, please take the Eagle Scout out of here before Ralphie wakes up and kills him,” quips Lew before they find a loaded gun on Ralphie. Incidentally, I must note that it is hard to take a mafia henchman seriously with a name like “Ralphie.”
Joan Blackman is Rose in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Willy’s kid sister, Rose (Joan Blackman), travels in from the Bronx to reorganize the camp when he keeps phoning her for money. She owns half of the business, apparently an inheritance from their father. Galahad is immediately all googly eyes for her. Blackman had appeared with Elvis before in Blue Hawaii, and the pair here manage to show more chemistry together than they did in that 1961 movie – which is admittedly a pretty low bar.
Willy is not too happy when the couple gets engaged. “You can’t yell loud enough to make me shut up,” Galahad tells him during a heated argument. “I’m not marrying Rose because she’s your sister, Willy, but in spite of it.”
Hearing the ruckus, Dolly intervenes and asks Willy what’s wrong as he is about to punch Galahad. “What’s the matter with me? This cream-headed clown wants to marry my sister, that’s what’s the matter with me,” he answers.
The long-suffering Dolly delivers this stinger, causing Willy to storm off: “Well, at least he’s not asking her to hang around for three or four years, Willy.”
Soon enough, Dolly leaves Willy (what is with the names in this movie?). This exchange is one of my favorites in the film – great acting from Lola Albright. Dolly at first seems happily surprised when Willy appears to give in, thinking he is finally going to marry her – but then realization dawns and she becomes sad again.
Dolly: “It’s just that you and marriage have never learned to mix.”
Willy: “All right.”
Dolly: “‘All right’ what?”
Willy: “I’ll lay you 3-to-1, angel, I never bet on another horse. … What’s the matter? What did I do now?”
Dolly: “You’ll probably never know. Excuse me.”
Lew (Charles Bronson) holds up an old poster found advertising 1921’s Dempsey vs. Carpentier fight in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
In a fun, blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Galahad tosses Lew an old boxing poster he found. The poster advertises a real match that took place on July 2, 1921: Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier – “the fight of the century.” The event was over 40 years old at the time of Kid Galahad and is, of course, over 100 years old now.
Galahad proves an unexpected success in boxing. He uses the same strategy each time – stand and take a beating for awhile and then throw one punch to knock out the other fighter. He identifies himself as being from Cream Valley, and the little town loves him for it. One of the locals notes, “All these other muscleheads up here, not one of them said he was from Cream Valley.”
I kept expecting a relative or at least an old family friend to show up from Galahad’s past – especially when a priest looks incredulously at his 1939 Cream Valley baptism certificate. Alas, Lew is apparently not Galahad’s long-lost older brother.
Ed Asner is Frank Gerson in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
The legendary Ed Asner makes his first appearance in a feature film in Kid Galahad, playing a district attorney who is trying to get Willy to testify against the mobsters.
Galahad (Elvis Presley) trains with Lew (Charles Bronson) for the big fight in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Willy signs Galahad up for a fight against an especially tough opponent, Ramon “Sugarboy” Romero (Orlando de la Fuente), so Lew works hard with him to prepare for the climactic battle. All that’s missing is the Rocky theme.
Speaking of music, most of the songs in Kid Galahad are unfortunately mediocre or worse. Though not mentioned if he learned this skill in the Army as well, Galahad, of course, is a singer.
“I Got Lucky” is a bit of a highlight, including Galahad doing “the Twist” with Rose.
The film’s best song, the clever “King Of The Whole Wide World,” is ruined by jazzy overdubs during the movie’s opening titles. The best version of this song can still be found on 1986’s Return Of The Rocker album – the first release of the extended master including Boots Randolph’s complete saxophone solo.
One thing I will note is, I doubt there are any other boxing movies out there where the fighter who was knocked out in the previous scene invites the guy who just walloped him to sing a song with him. Ah, Elvis Movies, you’ve gotta love them.
Kid Galahad is notable for another reason – Elvis’ hair. This is one of only two color movies for which Elvis did not dye his hair black. Instead, he opted for his natural brown hair.
Elvis Presley is Walter “Kid Galahad” Gulick in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Kid Galahad is often enjoyable and certainly stands apart from many of Elvis’ other movies, particularly in terms of effort – most notably with the boxing details. Though it never quite delivers a knockout punch, Kid Galahad is still a winner.
Boldly Go
Michael Dante plays Joie in Kid Galahad and appears as Maab in the 1967 Star Trek episode “Friday’s Child.”
Joie (Michael Dante) spars with Galahad (Elvis Presley) in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Michael Dante is Maab in the 1967 STAR TREK episode “Friday’s Child” (Paramount)
In addition, multiple uncredited cast members from Kid Galahad went on to appear in Star Trek, including:
Honorable mentions:
While researching the various Star Trek connections, I also noticed there are tons of cast and crew crossovers between Kid Galahad and the Rocky movies. I just don’t have the energy to capture them here, so I leave it to a more industrious Elvis or Rocky fan in the future to document them elsewhere.
Elvis Presley is Kid Galahad and Orlando de la Fuente is Sugarboy Romero in 1962’s KID GALAHAD (United Artists)
Kid Galahad Tote Board
Songs In Kid Galahad
The Mystery Train’s Kid Galahad Scorecard
Kid Galahad Around The Web
Click image for larger, full-color version
“I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:26-27
This is Part 3 of a look at Sony’s 2019 Elvis Live 1969 boxed set, which contains all 11 concerts RCA recorded in Elvis Presley’s August 1969 concert engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.
International Hotel marquee as displayed on back of a CD holder from Sony Legacy’s ELVIS LIVE 1969 boxed set (2019, from TY’s collection)
“When I was in the Army, the guys would say […], ‘Watch him, boy, he’s a squirrel, he’s just out of the trees.'”
–Elvis Presley, 1969
I mentioned last week that I prefer Elvis Presley’s overall Summer 1970 Las Vegas shows over the Summer 1969 Vegas shows – even though the 1969 versions of songs performed in both seasons win out in most cases.
One of the reasons I prefer the Summer 1970 engagement is the expanded setlist. Newly added songs like “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”, “Just Pretend”, and “I’ve Lost You” expanded the dimensions of the show for his third concert engagement at the International Hotel. Not to mention songs that Elvis retained after first introducing them in his second concert engagement earlier that year, like “Walk A Mile In My Shoes” and the show-stopping “Polk Salad Annie.”
Another reason I prefer the Summer 1970 engagement over the previous year is the amount of talking by Elvis in 1969. Though I prefer a “talkative Elvis” over the “all business Elvis” of, say, June 1972’s Madison Square Garden concerts, where he barely says a word between songs beyond the customary “thank you,” in the 1969 shows Elvis simply talks too much. Way too much.
Don’t believe me? Here are a couple of examples, using the shortest and the longest shows on the 1969 set:
The worst offender in driving up the talking times in 1969 is the “monologue” in the middle of each show where Elvis provides a joke-infused retrospective of his career for about ten minutes. While I’m sure it was entertaining to audiences in the showroom, it becomes a tough listen show after show on CD.
I understand he probably needed a cool down after “Tiger Man” or “Johnny B. Goode,” but the energy of the show is completely sapped each time before Elvis finally resumes singing – with an often uninspired version of “Baby, What You Want Me To Do,” completely lacking the raw magic of his versions from the previous year’s ELVIS special. For these Vegas shows, if only Elvis had bought himself a Gibson Super 400 CES like he borrowed from Scotty Moore in the special’s “sit down” shows, as Elvis accompanied himself so well on that electric guitar compared to anything else I have ever heard him play.
Overly long and bizarre introductions to “Hound Dog” and similar bits also detract from the listening experience when heard show after show. Repetitive jokes with the lyrics of “Jailhouse Rock,” “Yesterday,” and others become tiring, too. I imagine poor Felton Jarvis (producer), trying to capture material for the Elvis In Person album, getting his hopes up, thinking, “He’s going to sing it straight this time” and then, “Nope, not this time. Maybe tomorrow night.” Elvis did eventually perform straight versions of each song, probably after being asked to “clean up the act” as he mentions in some of the later shows as well.
Occasional lyrics twists are fun, don’t get me wrong. It is just hearing the same ones over and over that gets old. Of course, Elvis never intended or envisioned that someone like me would be listening to a complete collection of these shows over 50 years after the fact. From Elvis’ perspective, these shows served their purpose at the time in entertaining those audiences (of course) and supplying the 12 songs featured as masters on Elvis In Person. Yet, here I am, blessed to hear them all, so I might as well comment on them.
Anyway, it is actually a lyric twist on “Are You Lonesome Tonight” during the August 26 Midnight Show that results in one of my all-time favorite Elvis recordings – the “laughing version” of the song or, as I like to call it, “Are You Laughing Tonight.” If only movie cameras had been rolling like they were the next summer. Incidentally, the other eight versions of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” on this set are serious. I suspect if he performed a laughing version night after night, it would have lost much of its appeal.
I first heard “Are You Laughing Tonight” on the radio for what would have been Elvis’ 50th birthday in 1985. I recorded a radio special with a little cassette tape player my older sister gave me a Christmas or two before that, so Mom and I must have listened to that tape 500 times in the car before I finally found and bought a proper version of the song in 1991 (Collectors Gold).
I don’t have a tape player anymore, but I still have that cassette (below). It was one of the cheapest tape brands you could buy, yet it has survived all these years. I even played it several years ago so I could write down the song titles (of course, I have lost that list).
1985 cassette tape of “Elvis On The Air” radio special, including “Are You Laughing Tonight”
Mom went to see Jesus over a year ago now, but every time I hear “Are You Laughing Tonight,” I remember her laughing right along with Elvis. I still feel her with me sometimes, and I turn this one up for her.
Next week, (I promise) I’ll wrap up my unintended review of Elvis Live 1969, and we’ll even get to my original idea for this post!
Blessings,
TY
“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!”
Psalm 30:11-12
For some modern fans, enjoying the music of Elvis Presley is a family experience. This has certainly been the case with me. Mom became a fan in 1956. She later passed her “Elvis gene” on to both my older brother and me. Some of my best memories involve listening to Elvis music with my family. By the time I was in middle school, my brother allowed me to borrow his Elvis records. I would take albums one at a time from his bedroom and carefully play them.
I heard so many Elvis songs for the first time via my brother’s albums. As much as I enjoy listening to CDs and iTunes, there is nothing quite like hearing Elvis on vinyl. These days, my brother no longer has a turntable. Since he felt they would be in good hands, he gave me all of his Elvis albums. His touching generosity more than doubled my Elvis record collection. It has also inspired this series of posts that will examine a variety of Elvis records – starting today with one I received from my brother.
SUSPICIOUS MINDS (Camden, 1982; from TY’s collection)
Suspicious Minds
Label: Camden
Catalog Number: CDS 1206 (Label) / CDSV 1206 (Outer Sleeve)
Recorded: 1956-1969 | Nashville, Hollywood, Memphis
Released: 1982
Since the title song is one of my brother’s favorites (mine as well), I have decided to kick off this series with Suspicious Minds, a 1982 compilation album released by the United Kingdom’s Pickwick International on the Camden label.
I remember loving the “in your face” cover of this album when I first played it around 1988.
As far as I have been able to determine, there was not a United States version of this album. This appears to be a German pressing that somehow made its way here to the US.
Side 1 of SUSPICIOUS MINDS (Camden, 1982; from TY’s collection)
Side 1
Side 2 of SUSPICIOUS MINDS (Camden, 1982; from Tygrrius’ collection)
Side 2
Back cover of SUSPICIOUS MINDS (Camden, 1982; from TY’s collection)
While Suspicious Minds did not contain any previously unreleased material, it is an entertaining album that is well worth picking up if you ever come across it in vinyl format. Thank you to my brother for giving me the Elvis records that inspired this series of posts.
While the soundtrack of my life has varied over the years, there has been one constant – Elvis Presley.
Some of my earliest memories involve listening to 45-RPM Elvis records that Mom played loudly on her record player console. I was about 2-years-old.
This was not only a record player, but also a massive piece of wooden furniture with record storage and integrated speaker(s). You could also stack albums or singles so that it automatically played the next record after one finished.
Years later, that console finally gave out, and we dumped it to free up space. How I wish we had saved it.
I must have fancied myself quite the Elvis impersonator as a toddler, because I remember singing along to those records while holding a blue stick with a red ball on top – a toy’s handle that served as my “microphone.” To “dance,” I simply turned around in circles. Sadly, my dance moves have not improved since then.
Another early memory is Mom crying as she told me that Elvis had died. At 2, I did not really understand death. I believe she explained it to me as a kind of permanent sleep. She probably mentioned Heaven, too. I do not remember for sure.
What I do remember for sure, though, was the innocent question I asked next, “Will his voice still be on the records?” My heart sank as I imagined playing records of silence.
“Yes, his voice will always be there,” Mom said. This made me feel better.
I remember our family watching press conferences and tributes that night. There was more talking than music, and I understood little of the talking.
I remember watching the funeral procession with Mom a couple of days later on TV. Reporters wore large headsets with microphones, as if covering a sports event.
Surrounded by motorcycle officers, a white hearse led a trail of white cars from Graceland, while thousands of people lined the streets of Memphis trying to catch a final glimpse.
From that moment on, Elvis was gone forever.
Gone, but the story continued.
Goodbye From Elvis
Yesterday marked 38 years since Elvis passed away. Along with millions of others, that little 2-year-old is still listening.
Due to alternate takes, outtakes, and live recordings, exponentially more Elvis music has been released since his death than ever came out during his lifetime.
I own over 4,000 different Elvis tracks. If I were to play Elvis constantly without sleeping, I could go for over a week without hearing a duplicate track.
This is a staggering number, yet I do not even have every Elvis track officially available. Not even close.
When it comes to the music, it truly is as if Elvis never died.
After 38 years, that magic vault of unreleased music is no doubt starting to look barren. However, I believe there will still be a few genuine Elvis surprises to emerge in coming years.
If I am wrong, and all the valuables have already escaped, it is hard to dispute that 38 years makes for a long encore.
Besides, as a wise woman once said, “His voice will always be there.”
Elvis, 1973
I am a second-generation Elvis fan. My mom first heard Elvis in 1956, during the initial wave of his national success. By the end of that year, after multiple television appearances and a movie role in Love Me Tender, Elvis had earned millions of new fans. Mom was one of them.
Through marriage and kids, good times and bad times, she stuck with Elvis over the years. By the time I came along in the mid-1970s, both my mom and my brother were fans. You could say I was born an Elvis fan.
Many of the first records I ever heard were Mom’s old 45s from the 1950s and 1960s. Though I remember listening to them when I was about two-years-old, I cannot recall specific songs. The earliest ones that I can remember are “My Way” and “America The Beautiful,” two sides of a single that came out in the months after Elvis’ death in 1977.
I have told stories here before about Mom blasting cassette tapes of As Recorded At Madison Square Garden and Elvis In Concert in the car when I was young. Though she has upgraded to CDs and expanded her selection of albums, she still does this.
Though Mom is a first-wave Elvis fan, she does not turn her nose up at his post-Army work like some of her contemporaries. She actually prefers his 1970s music above all.
That being said, she also prefers songs with a beat. This makes my work difficult when trying to buy her a CD, as Elvis had evolved beyond rock ‘n’ roll in her favorite time period.
I will share a couple of recent examples. I was playing a bit of A Boy From Tupelo for her. This is the ultimate boxed set collecting his 1953 to 1955 recordings. I wanted her to hear the “dry” 45-RPM SUN version of “That’s All Right.”
Ty: Listen to this. Isn’t this cool? This is how it sounded back in 1954, before RCA changed it.
Mom: I never did like that song.
Ty: You don’t like “That’s All Right”? That was his first record. The one that started it all!
Mom: I just never liked it.
Ty: You like the 1970s versions, though, right? Like on Madison Square Garden?
Mom: No, not even that one.
Ty: I can’t believe you don’t like it. I never knew that, after all of these years.
Mom: I’m sorry.
Ty: All I can say is… that’s all right, Mom.
I also gave her the FTD compilation Our Memories of Elvis, which contains alternate mixes of various 1970s songs. I had enjoyed the release the first time I heard it, so I thought the unique mixes would be a sure-fire winner.
Ty: What did you think of Our Memories of Elvis?
Mom: Oh, I liked it. I think I played it once.
Ty: Wait. You played it once? Are you sure you liked it?
Mom: It was okay. It just wasn’t fast enough. Too many slow songs.
Ty: I know, it didn’t have “Suspicious Minds” on it. [Any album that has a 1970 or later version of “Suspicious Minds” on it is an instant hit for Mom.]
Mom: I like a beat!
Ty: I know, Mom. I know!
I am actually picking on her a little here, which is not a nice thing to do on Mother’s Day. For one thing, even I did not not enjoy Our Memories of Elvis as much the second time through. I must have been in a fantastic mood the first time I played it. I actually thought it was one of the best releases ever. I am sure glad I did not review it, because then my initial overreaction would be preserved on the Internet for all to see.
For every example like the above, I should point out, there are dozens of examples of Elvis recordings and albums that Mom does love. Her favorite album is Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite. Her favorite song, as you might have guessed, is “Suspicious Minds,” especially the version on The Alternate Aloha, which has the drums more prominent in the mix.
Though she may not enjoy 1950s recordings as much anymore, Mom still has a rebellious streak in her. She likes to do things her way, no matter what anyone says. I have inherited that trait, I must admit.
Another funny thing is, while most moms are after their sons to get haircuts, my mom thinks I get my hair cut too short.
We joke around often. I love talking about Elvis and other topics with her. Elvis music is but one of many gifts she has given me. I am very proud to have such a gentle and loving woman as my mom.
With much love, here is a playlist in her honor.
Elvis: Sweet Rock ‘n’ Roll
Thank you, Mom.
The Mystery Train 