album art

Artist:

Elvis Presley

Song:

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Album: 

The Number One Hits

Year: 

1987

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"Before Elvis, there was nothing," John Lennon once said. An overstatement, of course, but Elvis Presley's ascendance to superstardom in the...
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madeliaette | MEMORY FROM 1994

A surprise

LOCATION: at home , Elizabeth, South Australia

YEAR: 1994

TAGS: radio, surprise, Elvis

PUBLISHED: February 29, 2008

I tend not to bother with mainstream popular music unless it actually sounds good. The media can tell me that it does, but if my ears disagree, they do not want me to bother with it. For this reason, I usually stand back and stare blankly with zero interest if the conversation happens to turn to someone famous and musical. It was often this way with Elvis Presley. Everybody seems to love the guy, except me.

I watched a few of his movies during my teenage years and I heard numerous songs on the easy-listening radio channel I played nearly everyday as a young Mom. Nothing stood out as being spectacular, yet people claimed him a master of the music world.

One day, I was listening to the same old radio channel I always tuned in to, just pottering about the house doing something or other with my young son when a song came on that I recognized. My son was at the age where he chattered about everything, so when he saw me attending to some alternate audio than his voice, he began to question this strangeness. I could only respond by talking about the song that was playing, which had caught my attention. I explained, "I used to have this tune on a record some years ago." My son listened, not convinced that it was really worth it.

I was quite astounded when I heard the show host talking afterwards. He had not introduced the song, but after it ended, he named it. A song by Elvis Presley - and I liked it? What a shock!

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COMMENTS (3)
alynn said: I experienced a similar reaction to the Beatles when they first hit the airwaves. Nice to know there are others out there that are not easily swayed by what everyone is playing. (2/29/2008)

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my-memoirs said: It's good to know that there a lot of people who do not succumb to "what is in" just because a lot of people say so. But you know that song, Are You Lonesome Tonight, is actually a favorite of my Dad. =) (3/14/2008)

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mjlhowell said: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" has worked for others as well. I got over a BAD breakup by listening to Leon Redbone sing it thru 20 times a night. Something about a deep voice sharing your pain is better than any other painkiller I've ever found. (4/8/2008)

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