Monday, September 28, 2009

Shall I Come Back Again?

http://musicmasteroldies.com/2009/09/28/shall-i-come-back-again/
Posted by joeknapp at 2:00 PM

9 comments:

  1. joeknappSeptember 28, 2009 at 7:17 PM

    Oh, by the way, the Blue Barron doesn't sing. The vocals on that recording are by Bobby Beers and the Blue Notes, with the narration part done by John McCormick. One more thing, you'll probably find that some of the facts in my post don't quite jive with Wikipedia. All I can say about that is: Don't believe everything you read on Wikipedia!

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  2. LaurieSeptember 28, 2009 at 9:50 PM

    I'm glad you are refuting the Elvis speaking prophetically through Are You Lonesome Tonight theory because conspiracies tend to distract us from the truth. One thing I would suggest, however, is that Elvis did sing the song and add the spoken lines for another reason. Not to suggest that he was going to come back after death and appear before old ladies in Las Vegas supermarkets, but perhaps
    he was expressing something. He may have been truly lonely, have recognized that the "love" he had from his fans was fleeting and that once he left the stage he would be lonely again. I will never forget an interview that he recorded back in the earlier days of his career where he was talking about how he hadn't met the right woman yet, but when he did he hoped that she would be true to him because, quote, "I get lonesome sometimes. I get lonesome even in a crowd." When I heard that interview and then listened to Are You Lonesome Tonight, which was recorded so many years and heartaches later, it seemed pretty meaningful. Maybe it wasn't a prophecy, but I'd still like to think that it meant more to him than just another song...

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  3. LaurieSeptember 28, 2009 at 10:11 PM

    Let me amend my last comment. I'd heard that interview years ago while putting together an audio project. After recalling it here, I did a little digging to see if I could find it. It's actually from a 45 released in 1956 called "The Truth About Me." I also saw it on a couple of 6 inch 78 rpms, all with different labels. One version was sent through the Weekend Mail. Another was included with a Nov. 1956 magazine titled "Elvis Answers Back" - though some versions of this magazine edition were released with a "Speaks - In Person" 78rpm. In 1997, the magazine was re-released with the "Truth About Me" record.

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  4. joeknappSeptember 29, 2009 at 7:29 AM

    Thanks for the comments, Laurie. I play excerpts from the Elvis Answers Back interviews on MusicMaster Oldies, and I know what you mean. It seems the best music conveys genuine emotion from the heart of the performer. As hard as it may be for some to believe, Elvis Aaron Presley was a human being, just like the rest of us. He had the same feelings, both joys and heartbreaks. However, I also think most performers who rise to the levels Elvis did are isolated by their own success. Their "money problems" shift from not having enough to having way too much. Everyone wants to be your "friend" when you're spreading money around, but it must be really hard to separate the true friends from the parasites. When you're surrounded by bodyguards all the time, with a crowd of strangers always trying to get a glimpse of you, with another crowd behind them trying to snap a picture or get a quote to publish, you must feel alone. It's ironic, but I can see how someone like Elvis could be alone in a crowd. Or, as country singer Don Williams once put it, "Standing knee-deep in a river, and dying of thirst." And then, after all that, you end up dying alone in the bathroom of your mansion. He never even got a chance to fade back into obscurity, and you can't take your wealth and possessions with you. I'll bet there were times when he wished he could go back to being a truck drivin' kid again. That should make the truck drivin' kids feel better about themselves, but I doubt it will.

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  5. joeknappDecember 28, 2009 at 10:45 AM

    I'd like to thank the many people who have e-mailed me with additional information about this post!

    Many people appear to be confused by the matrix numbers on the early recordings by Charles Hart and Ned Jakobs. Considering how the recording process worked back in 1927, the matrix number is the best way to determine the age of a recording. The matrix number on the Ned Jakobs release clearly indicates a later recording date than Charles Hart, which pretty much confirms that the Charles Hart version came first. Others have told me that it's been confirmed that no earlier versions were made by Bob Haring.

    Now I'm wondering if the rumor of an earlier "recording" by Ned Jakobs involves a test pressing that was never released. Ned may have recorded the song again on May 17, 1927 for the final release. Otherwise, I am at a loss to explain how this rumor might have been started. Rumors like this do tend to have some kind of truth behind them.

    Given all the information available, I am confident that, as I said in my post, the Charles Hart pressing is the first released version of this song. However, I thought it was important to mention the rumors of earlier recordings.

    Jaye P. Morgan released her version of this song in 1959, not 1949. This was indeed just a typing error on my part. Sorry about that!

    Thank you everyone for your e-mails and additional information. I appreciate your feedback very much!

    Here's another blog that talks about this recording:

    http://halfhearteddude.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/the-originals-vol-21-elvis-edition-4/

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      I am using Blogger, a service from Google. It's working pretty well for me, so I have not bothered to check out any of the other options. Good luck with your blog!

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