Rob Grayson

The Patty Duke Show premiered on TV in September of 1963, in which the actress played the dual role of twin-like “identical” cousins. At the same time, Elvis Presley was working on Kissin’ Cousins, a movie with a similar plot twist. In order to keep a lid on expenses, Colonel Tom Parker ordered the soundtrack work to be recorded in Nashville this time, instead of Hollywood. The title track to the film would be Presley’s next single, making it to number 12 in early ‘64, as Elvis waded ankle-deep into the rising tide of what would be known as the British Invasion.

Col. Tom Parker didn’t want Elvis Presley to leave the country. Parker cited security nightmares and instability abroad. Folks who have researched it also figure the Colonel originally came to the states illegally under dark circumstances, cemented his place here by enlisting in the armed services under a fake name, and might have had trouble getting back in should he leave the US. Whatever the back story, this turn of events turned the movie Fun In Acapulco into, more or less, watching someone else on film having fun in Acapulco while Elvis himself had fun on the Paramount back lot. At this point in time, Presley’s movie soundtrack albums were outselling his regular studio albums, and this soundtrack did yield a top 10 single,  “Bossa Nova Baby.”

Have you ever had a song running through your head and it just wouldn’t go away? Rufus Thomas had that problem, exacerbated by the fact that the song was one he needed to record, and the studio at Stax, where he recorded, was out of order. When he finally did get around to moving the song out of his mind and over to a record, the resulting single would be his biggest, but would also send his career to the dogs.

You could probably fill the Mid-South Coliseum with the folks who say they saw Jimi Hendrix play the Ellis Auditorium in April, 1969. The spectacle of the left-handed guitarist who played an upside-down right-handed guitar did not disappoint the folks who plunked down their 3, 4, 5, or 6 dollars for a seat in one of the two

Elvis Presley spent September of 1962 in Seattle, working on his 12th movie, It Happened At The World’s Fair. Probably the most memorable scene from this movie involved Presley’s character bribing a kid to kick him in the shins.