RockerJohn's Believe it or Not - Volume 2
(December 1996)
- Well, the Christmas season is upon us so here is some yuletide Rock
trivia that's suitable for roasting on an open fire! In Elvis' recording
of
"Merry Christmas Baby," the key lyric of the song is "gave me a
diamond ring
for Christmas, now I'm living in paradise." Towards the end of the song,
Elvis changes the line to "gave me a diamond ring for Christmas, now
I'm
putting it through Al's mike." Apparently a reference to a recording
engineer named Al, Elvis sings this line so clearly and forcefully that
many
people don't realize that it's there! Would I lie to you?? Check it out
if
you are a non-believer!! It's best heard on a blues compilation album
called
RECONSIDER BABY which is a damn fine Elvis record for anybody out there
that
doesn't own it!!
- In the same song, Elvis shouts "Wake up, Put!" to one of the
band
members that was falling asleep!
- To prove to you that I have a little too much time on my hands,
check this one out: On "Double Shot of My Baby's Love" by the
Swingin'
Medallions, there is a line in the second verse in which the boys sing
"it's
a good thing for me they don't bottle that stuff." Listen closely
after they
say "stuff" and you can hear a cork being pulled out of a bottle!
This is
best heard on a CD called TOGA ROCK (Dunhill DZSO29) and even then you
better
have a damn good pair of headphones!!
- A key lyric in Hole's "Doll Parts" is "I love him so
much it just
turns to hate." Well, in every bootleg version of the song that I've
heard,
Courtney Love very clearly sings "I love him so much it just turns to
rape."
Now there's a lyric that the girl groups of the 1960's wouldn't have
dreamed
of singing. You really have come a long way baby!! So Courtney, why did
you
change the line to "hate" in the official studio version? I guess some
spineless record executives told you to tone it down huh? If anybody out
there hasn't heard this, check out the bootleg called HOLE LOTTA LOVE.
Great
title huh? Get it - Whole Lotta Love. The old Zeppelin song. By the way
-
bootlegs are illegal so don't ask me where to find it!
- Remember "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by the Monkees? Yeah, I
know,
you probably wanna forget it right? Well here's something else about the
song that you can forget - there's a difference between the single version
and the album version. In the first verse, listen for the line "just
came
out to mow his lawn." Micky Dolenz puts a different vocal emphasis on
the
word "out" depending on which version you are listening to. Other than
that,
the vocal track appears to be the same! I prefer the album version but
since
this is the Monkees, forget it! By the way - did you know that Mike
Nesmith's mother invented Liquid Paper? Totally true! Do they still make
that stuff?? Who uses typewriters anymore?
- Elvis was the original punk rocker. You don't believe me? Check
out a CD called ELVIS, SCOTTY, AND BILL: IN THE BEGINNING (TopLine 509).
It
collects some of Elvis' early live recordings which were made in the South
before he became nationally famous. At one point in a show, Elvis
introduces
the song "I Got a Woman" by saying "this one's called little
darling you
broke my heart when you went away but I'll break your jaw when you come
back!" Johnny Rotten - eat your heart out!!
