Tag: It Happened in Memphis
Reblogging: Elvis Aaron Presley, 1/8/35-8/16/77
July 5 – Sun Shone On A New ‘King’
I wrote about Elvis and some other early influencers in It Happened in Memphis. Happy anniversary to “That’s All Right!”
If today’s birthday boy, Huey Lewis (73 today!), sings about the “heart of rock and roll,” another event today perhaps signifies the “start of rock and roll.” The “King”, Elvis Presley recorded his first single this day in 1954. If you didn’t know that, “That’s All Right!”.
It’d been a long road towards stardom for Elvis by that point, even though he was only 19 at the time. Young Elvis was obsessed with music as a kid, and growing up originally in Tupelo, Mississippi, he grew up listening to a lot of Black music on the local radio. Around the time he was 10, he picked up a guitar and began to teach himself to play. By his teen years, he’d moved with his family to Memphis and in time began to hang out in the Beale street clubs and listen to a lot of the country music…
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Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale 2023
Hi, everyone. Two of my titles will be free of charge on Smashwords for the entire month of July. Click the highlighted link to get your copies. Should you read and enjoy my work, I hope you will leave reviews at your favorite sites.
Rose in Bloom (Contemporary, friends-to-lovers romance)
Rose Davis always prided herself on being sensible. But when she loses her job, she takes an uncharacteristic leap of faith and agrees to spend six months living in Wisteria Cottage, just outside of the tiny village of Shalbourne, England. It will give her the chance to fulfill her secret dream of writing a book, and an opportunity to figure out next steps.
What she doesn’t reckon with is Welsh gardener Gareth Llewellyn. With his long hair and scruffy beard, he’s definitely not Rose’s type. And yet, there’s something about him …
Pocketful of Stories (Short Fiction Collection)
As comfortable as your favorite jeans, these short stories are perfect for a break in your day.
Each tale is its own adventure. With settings as varied as Paris, London, and Memphis, Tenn., and peopled with characters both historical and fictitious, you’re sure to find something delightful.
This book includes the award-winning short story, “Ghosts of Tupelo.”
A Little Something About “Sun Records”
Back in 2017, when I was doing the research for It Happened in Memphis, CMT produced a TV series about Sun Records. Only eight episodes aired at the time; the show received mixed reviews and was cancelled. We didn’t get CMT, so I never saw it.
It’s now streaming on Paramount+ and I have watched all of the episodes. They did a reasonably good job with the facts … and I’m disappointed that the show never went further. Carl Perkins doesn’t show up until episode 8, at which time Jerry Lee Lewis is still in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Johnny Cash is just back from the Air Force. We really only see the beginnings of Elvis Presley’s career, up to the point where Sam Phillips sells his contract to RCA in order to get Sun out of debt.
So, yeah … it was disappointing, but only insofar as there is no more of the program to see and discover how they might have dealt with the label’s eventual successes.
If you would like to see my take on the early influencers in Memphis, it’s right here: It Happened in Memphis
Sharon E. Cathcart 