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June 10, 1972, was no ordinary day at Madison Square Garden. The hallowed halls, famous for hosting legendary sports battles and unforgettable music performances, were about to witness another momentous event. Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, was back in New York City for the first time since the ’50s. This wasn’t just…
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On June 5, 1956, Elvis Presley stepped onto the stage of The Milton Berle Show, ready to perform his latest single, “Hound Dog.” Little did anyone know, this performance would become one of the most talked-about moments in television history and a defining point in the evolution of rock and roll. Presley, already a rising…
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“There has to be a party. Which is why there have to be as many inductees crammed in as groupies at a Mötley Crüe orgy.”
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From the PMA vault, this article was initially published in August 2022 and is worth revisiting. One of my favourite and most memorable listening experiences this year was of the state-of-the-art Dayton Wright Hommage (French for Homage) loudspeaker, a cutting-edge re-imagining and redesign of the Dayton Wright XG-10 of yore. The Hommage uses nine XG-10…
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On the third day of April in 1956, a spectacle unfolded that was nothing short of a cultural earthquake, with Elvis Presley at its epicenter. This wasn’t your garden-variety television appearance; it was an event that would ricochet through the annals of music and television history, leaving an indelible mark on the fabric of American…
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In the neon-lit heart of Las Vegas, where the desert meets decadence and the nights are longer than the odds, a photograph was snapped in 1969 that would freeze time in a frame, capturing a confluence of kings, a chairman, and a hoofer. This wasn’t just any night; this was the opening night shindig for…
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On the evening of November 20, 1955, the usual calm of Sunday night television was shattered by the electrifying strum of a square guitar. Bo Diddley stepped onto the stage of “The Ed Sullivan Show,” not just to perform but to ignite a cultural revolution. Scheduled to play Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons,” Diddley instead…
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Beginnings in the Delta Cotton Plant, Arkansas, 1915: Nestled amidst a sea of cotton fields, this town, where the Mississippi Delta begins its stretch, bore witness to the birth of Rosetta Nubin. It wasn’t just any place; the Delta was the cradle of American music, a melting pot of African rhythms, field hollers, and church…
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In the sultry heat of a Southern afternoon, amidst the intoxicating scents of cotton candy and the rural festivities of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show, a rebellious rhythm began to play. It marked the homecoming of Tupelo’s most illustrious son, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. The year was 1956, a transformative…
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Elvis Presley’s 1954 Opry Debut remains an iconic moment in music history. While today we easily associate Elvis with his swiveling hips and captivating dulcet tones, the music world of 1954 did not immediately recognize the impending legend from Tupelo, Mississippi. Yet, on October 2nd of that year, he stepped onto the revered Grand Ole…
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In the kaleidoscopic universe of Las Vegas, where neon lights pierce the desert night and every high note echoes the clink of a jackpot, legends Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis Presley found a friendship as enduring as their tunes. It all came into focus on July 31, 1969—Elvis’s comeback night at the International Hotel. There,…
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In the annals of music history, July 18, 1953, marks a momentous occasion. It was on this day that Elvis Presley, the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, ventured into Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, and made his first-ever recording. It was a modest start, a heartfelt gift for his beloved mother, that would inadvertently…
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Welcome to my series Treasures from the Vinyl Vault. In it, I will feature select gems from my approximately 12,000 ever-growing vinyl collection, accumulated over a 45-year period and counting.
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At this time of year, I have always been fascinated by the question of what draws musicians from nearly every musical genre to Christmas music. Google “Christmas music” and you’ll see literally thousands of listings, everyone from Cheech & Chong and XTC to Charles Brown and The Flaming Lips. Even The Rolling Stones have a…
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The apocalypse was clearly at hand. Bob Dylan was dead and done. He had snapped and self-destructed. As the ‘80s dawned, even those who worshipped the man were having their doubts. The rebel, the doubter, the immensely skeptical, infinitely gifted oracle from Minnesota who predicted that the times they were a changin’ was suddenly, unexpectedly,…