My Only Prayer Will Be, Someday You'll Care For Me...

Okay, I said I'd be back tonight with the second half of my post on Marshall Crenshaw, and his hit song, "Someday, Someway." Actually, Crenshaw's song was first recorded by retro-rockabilly star Robert Gordon in 1981. Recall from my entry on Elvis Presley the other day, I went way in for rockabilly in the early-1980s, and next to the Stray Cats, Gordon was the absolute coolest. Plus, there's a lot of emotional baggage there as well. I saw Robert Gordon in concert at the Hollywood Palace in 1981. (Now the Avalon, at that time the Palace, at Hollywood and Vine, was the very best concert venue for smaller music events). Just as Robert Gordon's band started playing, I was walking up toward the stage and a young woman stepped on my foot. I apologized, then she apologized, and the next thing I know I had my arm around her waist and we were swinging to the music. Her name was Kathleen. We exchanged phone numbers and were soon dating. Kathleen's father was Richard Egan, who was a big movie star in the 1950s. He starred as Elvis Presley's older brother in Love Me Tender in 1956. This of course wasn't my generation, but my dad's best friend was Ruble Blakey, who was a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Ruble was the one who told me all about Richard Egan. The Egans lived in Brentwood, and I would drive up there on the weekends to go out with Kathleen. I had a head injury in 1983. Kathleen went away to college again, and we drifted apart. I was heartbroken, of course. A freewheeler with the ladies, I was swept off my feet by Kathleen. I remember driving home late night from Los Angeles sometimes and I first realized what it meant to be in love. I was simply floating after being with her. We had fun together, just hanging out. We enjoyed each other's company. So, that's what I meant yesterday when I said that hearing Marshall Crenshaw on the radio triggered some memories. Robert Gordon's version of "Someday, Someway" is at bottom below. It's a better cut the Crenshaw's. But especially pay attention to the two videos at top. The first, "It's Only Make Believe," is a cover of the 1958 hit by Conway Twitty. Glenn Campbell had a hit with the song in 1970, so I was vaguely familiar with the tune - and I loved Gordon's rendition. It still reminds me of Kathleen when I hear it. The second video below is Gordon's cover of Billy Lee Riley's 1957 hit, "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll." But listen carefully to the clip: Gordon's guitarist is Link Wray, who was the original "power-chord" guitarist of American rock and roll. (The power chord became "the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists.") So, take your time listening for a few minutes, and especially to the hammering guitar jams during "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll":