Listening to rock 'n' roll is indeed a joy. When I'm blue, or feel a little down, it's music that elevates my mood. And if it's old time rock 'n' roll,the effect is rea; fast. And how can any such write up be complete without Elvis, the king of rock 'n' roll. He was someone who defined 'rock n roll' as a musical genre and also made it a big part of youth culture.
The king is regarded as one of the originators of rockabilly, an uptempo, back beat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues alongside guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. His fame has transcended generations and crossed boundaries.
At the age of 21, he became one of the most popular persons of the world. Even many who don't know American showbiz as such, know Elvis. I for one, as a child growing up in a small town knew very little about Hollywood, but knew Elvis pretty well. The legacy lives on...
There were many others who came, saw and conquered.
Check out more from the oldie goldie collection...
I must always admit that it was the Richard Valenzuela better known as Ritchie Valens' biopic La Bamba which I only saw not too long agoin TV, that got me stuck even more on rock n roll. Lou Diamond Philips did a wonderful job as a debutante. I've shed many tears every time I have watched the movie 'La Bamba'. Here was the story of an incredible teenager who achieved a lot but left every thing too early...
He was wise beyond his years. The support of his mother and love but also resentment(rising out of jealousy)of his half brother Bob is well portrayed. This youngster was different from his brother and the others. While other teenagers were seeking fun, he wanted to compose, write songs, be a star and really, truly love his girl Donna. This real life Valenzuela family fully supported that movie. Bob Morales and Connie Valenzuela came to the set to help the actors portray their characters correctly, and Connie makes an appearance as an older lady sitting next to Ritchie at the family's first party.
Lou Diamond Philips bonded greatly with the Valenzuelas and, at one point, actually became Ritchie to them. There was an incident when the actors began shooting for the final fatal scene and started boarding the plane. The scene was interrupted by Connie Lemos, Ritchie's real life sister who was only six years old when the accident happened. She hysterically tried to keep Phillips from boarding the plane. She was heard shouting, "Don't go Ritchie!
Please don't get on the plane! Why did you have to die?" Later she admitted she realized at that moment that she never fully accepted her brother's death.Of course it was a very hard thing to accept when the brother was just 17 years old and had just become a star...
Even Buddy Holly's wife(who was pregnant at that time) later admitted that if she was around that day she would never have let him get on that airplane. Wonder what would have been, if it was so... If that would have actually happened, the rock 'n' roll scene would have been different today.
The legacy truly lives on, thanks to the lasting power of the music and the true blue fans!
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