You Cannot Be Serious!

Okay, so it was a boring Sunday afternoon today, and when the U.S. Open was rained out, we were forced to channel surf. At one point, we stumbled across VH1's "Greatest Artists" show. Full disclosure: we never take these "Rankings" shows very seriously, and neither should you. There is no real way to "rank" the importance of artists, albums, songs, etc., and even if all the critics could agree, then everyone in the general public still has their own varied opinions, and they're entitled to those opinions. This is still America, right? Well, at least until the Republicans take over Congress.
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Anyway, we were watching this countdown of the 100 "Greatest Artists", and we came in somewhere in the 80's. Immediately we knew something was amiss. They had Janis Joplin and Otis Redding ranked in the 80's. What? Joplin was one of the most important and influential female rock singers of all time, and ditto for Otis Redding in the evolution of R&B. The 80's? Stop it. But then came the most ridiculous cut of all. Justin Timberlake was ranked as a "greater artist" than Joplin and Redding. Stop, stop, stop the madness! It was at this point that we almost lost a lung retching up our breakfast. Okay, we know we just said that you cannot take these lists seriously, but seriously, come on! Justin Timberlake is a "greater artist" than Janis Joplin and Otis Redding? It was at that point that we turned the channel, knowing that VH1 just lost what little credibility it might have had on this topic. And even if Timberlake might have, at one point, been on his way to "greatness", oh please, we can't stop laughing, he lost that trajectory when he made "The Love Guru". There is no way in hell that Joplin, Redding, Dylan, Hendrix, Jagger, etc. would have ever donned a speedo and done "The Love Guru". What is it with Timberlake and his generation that they have absolutely no sense any longer of what it means to be "cool". To be considered a great artist, you have to have an innate sense of "cool", not be a laughing stock. Bitch, please!
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Okay, and now, with that rant out of the way, we happened to turn the VH1 show back on, just now, to catch the "Top 5". Michael Jackson was ranked #2 and The Beatles were #1. Okay, we can handle that, but the #1 greatest pop musical artist of all time is still, and always will be, Elvis Presley. Sorry haters, but it's true. And that's not coming from a generational prejudice, Presley actually came before our time. But when you consider his world-wide popularity at his peak, his influence on other artists, his helping to create rock and roll itself, and his success in other mediums, i.e. film, television, etc., no one, not even Michael Jackson or The Beatles ever equaled him. Even now, thirty years after his death, he's one of the top selling musical artists in the business, and his following is still cult-like. Say what you will, but thousands of fans aren't gathering to remember Jackson or The Beatles, and they certainly won't be gathering years from now to worship Justin Timberlake's speedo. Thank you, Jesus.

He Was No Hank Snow

September 4 marks another important day in the history of popular music.
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On September 4, 1954, Elvis Presley made his first appearance at the venerable Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. In 1954, rock and roll hadn't caught on yet, and the crowd that night was there to hear more traditional country music. The audience reception for Elvis was so poor that the Opry manager, Jim Denny, told Elvis that he should go back to driving a truck. Denny sounds like the Simon Cowell of his day.
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Also on this day in 1962, The Beatles made their first formal recordings at the famous Abbey Road studios. They recorded six songs, including "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me".

You're So Square, Baby I Don't Care

It's an odd coincidence that two of the world's biggest pop stars would share such an important day. While Madonna was born on August 16, the day is actually even more famous for being the day in 1977 when The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, died. His girlfriend at the time, Ginger Alden, found him dead from a heart attack on his bathroom floor at Graceland; he was 42.
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Elvis is long but forgotten. His estate last year made over $60 million in royalties, and thousands of his fans gathered last night at Graceland, his home in Memphis, Tennessee, to mark the 33rd anniversary of his death. Currently, the company which owns the rights to Elvis' name, image and likeness, CKx Inc., is entertaining offers to sell those rights. CKx also owns the t.v. blockbuster, "American Idol", and the co-creator of "AI", Simon Fuller, is one of the persons who is consdering making the purchase of the pop star's money-making name and image.
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Despite Elvis' immense popularity and influence, much has been made of the fact that he only won three Grammy Awards, and those were for his gospel recordings, not for his pop/rock hits. But to understand this anomaly, one must understand that in the early years of the Grammy Awards, (they began in 1958), the Awards had a certain snobbishness to them; only "serious" pop music of the day was rewarded. The early Grammy pop trophies went to artists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Ray Charles and Henry Mancini. None of the early rock and rollers, rockabilly singers or young teen pop idols were recognized. If the early Grammys had been given out as they are now, (to anyone who has a hit song and who has a pulse), then there is no doubt that Elvis would have a roomful of Grammy Awards.
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In other related Elvis news, his granddaughter, 21 year-old actress Riley Keough is being considered for a role in the upcoming "Mad Max" film, starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The stunning daughter of Lisa Marie Presley made her film debut this year in "The Runaways".

One Day You're In, and the Next Day You're Out

Many historians have noted that, for some odd reason, an inordinate amount of important world and national events tend to occur in August. And in the world of music, it's no different. On this day in 1958, August 14, Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys, died and the rock and roll star was devastated. Two days later, 500 policeman had to stand guard at the funeral to keep a gigantic crowd of the singer's fans at bay.

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(above: Vernon, Elvis and Gladys Presley;
upper left: Gladys' funeral)

On August 14, 1962, John, George and Paul, of The Beatles, and their manager, Brian Epstein, decided to kick drummer Pete Best out of the group. Many biographies have been written about the most famous band of all time, and thus, there are many varying theories as to why Pete was given the boot. The most interesting one is the theory which many people believe, that John and Paul were jealous of Pete's extraordinary good looks; that Pete was getting more attention from female fans. Ringo Starr was asked to join the group, and four days later, on August 18, he appeared for the first time as a Beatle.
 

(above: Pete Best is second from the right)

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And finally, on August 14, 1965, Sonny and Cher began a three week run at #1 with their first smash hit, "I Got You Babe".