We All Will Be Received in Graceland — Except for Bruce

We All Will Be Received in Graceland — Except for Bruce

All the king's men. That's a royal court that could include every seasoned rocker whose creative spark was first lit by the sight and sound of Elvis Presley. They started out wanting to be him, and spent their lives dying to meet him. Most artists had to wait till they were big league players before even contemplating a face-to-face with Elvis. And even then it wasn't easy to enter his well-guarded world. But one late night in 1976, a young musician on the cusp of superstardom had the chutzpah to drop by Elvis's Graceland mansion, and pay The King a personal visit.

Continue Reading We All Will Be Received in Graceland — Except for Bruce

Robert Plant: In the House of the Holy with The King

Robert Plant: In the House of the Holy with The King

Rock blaster Robert Plant, like his Led Zeppelin bandmates, was known to have "entertained" thousands of groupies in hotel rooms all across the land, back in the day when cocksure male rock gods reigned supreme. But when Elvis came to town, the tables were turned, and Mr. Plant found himself playing the part of adoring groupie. Just what went on behind closed door between those two? (It's safe to say it didn't involve a mud shark.) Actually, the story goes like this...

Continue Reading Robert Plant: In the House of the Holy with The King

Elvis 11 Times

Elvis 11 Times

My mom was washing dishes and I was drying them when we heard the news on TV that Elvis died - August 18, 1977. Like the day President Kennedy was assassinated, you always remember where you were and what you were doing the day the King left the throne. (Actually, he had fallen off the toilet, but you get my…

Continue Reading Elvis 11 Times

Thank you, Elvis (and Radio Luxembourg)

Thank you, Elvis (and Radio Luxembourg)

Way back in drab, post-war England, teenaged boys with bad teeth and sun-starved skin - bored to tears with BBC Radio's unflinching policy of airing nothing but show tunes and classical music - were stringing wires around their small, government-built "council houses" so they could tune in to the one radio station that gave them a reason to live. What they found - from across the English channel - was the infamous "pirate station," Radio Luxembourg. What they heard was a black-sounding white man named Elvis Presley. And what changed their lives was a moody little tune called "Heartbreak Hotel." Here's a tribute to Elvis, on what would have been his 80th birthday.

Continue Reading Thank you, Elvis (and Radio Luxembourg)

Happy Birthday, Scotty Moore: Rock’s First Lead Guitarist

Happy Birthday, Scotty Moore: Rock’s First Lead Guitarist

"Everyone else wanted to be Elvis; I wanted to be Scotty," Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards once told music writer James L. Dickerson. He's referring, of course, to Scotty Moore, the finger-picking phenomenon who has long been considered rock's first lead guitarist. Mr. Moore, who turns 83 today, was Elvis Presley's sizzling sideman from 1954 through the mid-'60s. He combined elements of country, western, blues and R&B to create the signature sounds you've heard on countless classic recordings: "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "That's All Right," "Good Rockin' Tonight," and "Mystery Train," to name a few.

Continue Reading Happy Birthday, Scotty Moore: Rock’s First Lead Guitarist