ELVIS...ME...AND MY TEARS

August 16th...1977...started out like any other day... except I was on vacation with my lovely wife Brenda... Tom Rutherford and Mark Webster in Florida. Brenda and I were staying with my cousin Cathy...and were going to meet up with Tom and Mark in Winterhaven (outside of Orlando).

I remembering waking up...watching some news on the T.V...and then the interruption. Elvis Presley was dead at the age of 42 years old. Everything went into surreal mode...as my mind was racing to try to understand what my ears had just heard. As the reality of the moment sank in...my emotions kicked in...and I did something that I had done 10 years earlier in 1967. I began to cry uncontrollably. Ten years earlier...I had met Elvis Presley...behind RCA...Studio B. But more of that later...as I begin to go back...back to earlier times.


I was born at an early age...on August 15th, 1951. I guess I was just an average kid...doing average things...up until I was 6 years old. In 1957 my Mom and Dad...did something that would change my life forever. They took me to the Starlight Drive-In in Murfreesboro TN...to see the movie JAILHOUSE ROCK. My dad...refused to go to a regular movie theater...because he refused to stand in lines like he had to do when he was in the army. So...there we were watching that new phenomenon...Elvis Presley on the wide, outdoor screen.

The next thing they let me do...was to go to the store and buy...the EP (extended play 45 disc) of Jailhouse Rock. At 6 years old...my friends were listening to Mary Had A Little Lamb or Rootie Kazootie...while I was listening to THE WARDEN HAD A PARTY AT THE COUNTY JAIL. On Saturday night...my mom and dad would drink a little (sometimes a lot)...and when they were feeling..."good"...Dad would pull out the record player and play some tunes...while him and mom would dance. Those were good times...for a couple of reasons...(1) while they were dancing...they were not fighting (2) I got to hear lots of different types of music...including Ray Charles, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Brook Benton and Dinah Washington, The Riverboat Five. But the cream of the crop was my Elvis record.

Over the years...I would go to Elvis movies...and my aunt Christine would buy me the Soundtracks to the movies...GI Blues, Blue Hawaii, Flaming Star, Wild In The Country, Kid Galahad, Girls Girls Girls, Fun In Acapulco, Viva Las Vega, Girl Happy, Tickle Me, Frankie and Johnny...and the movies just kept on coming. In 1964...we took a road trip to Memphis so I could go to Graceland. Thanks mom and dad.

Every magazine I could get...I would cut out pictures of Elvis...and pin, tack, staple them on my bedroom wall...until there literally was not one inch of wall space left. I eventually took them all down...as my Dad agreed to paint my entire room black... with red curtains.

In 1967...a lady named Edith Stone...aunt to my friend Mike and Vicki Pinkerton...took me and a few more of us to RCA Recording Studio...on a Sunday afternoon...because she heard that Elvis was in town to record...so we headed on down to Nashville. There was only around 20 people milling around at around 2:00 that afternoon. At one point...a man came out and told us that the recording session had been cancelled...so we might as well go home. We knew better. Five minutes later...an Elderado Cadillac rolled around the corner...and all of the doors swung open. The Memphis Mafia came out...and then...there he was...in person...in the flesh...Elvis Presley. Again..it was a surreal moment. The man who I had to this point in time... only heard on the radio...and through my speakers of my stereo...seen on the wide screen...was now standing 3 feet from me. The man that my Mom...used as a role model for me...not to smoke or drink...and where I learned to comb my hair...was now more than just some concept of ethics...but a reality.

He was tall...jet black hair (dyed...but who cared)...blue suede boots...blue outfit..white shirt.... looking every inch the king of rock and roll. He was very gracious...smiling...signing autographs for everyone (using my Shaffer cartridge ink pen). NOTE: Some woman tried to get away with my pen...but I did get it back. The first think that Elvis said when he got out of the Elderado was..."Look at my burns." He then showed us the red burn marks on his neck and his wrists. One woman said..."Oooh Elvis...what happened?" Elvis' response...and this is the truth..."Me and the boys were throwing firecrackers at each other on the movie set." And then he laughed. I remember dropping my pen...and it landed next to Elvis' feet. While I was down there to pick it up...I took advantage and touched his blue suede boots.

Do you remember when I told you at the beginning of this Rambling...that I cried 10 years earlier? Well this was the moment. After Elvis went into Studio B of RCA...we got in the car... and everyone was laughing and not believing we met Elvis Presley. At that moment...all of my emotions from 1957 up to 1967...released through my tear ducts...and I began to cry...and I could not stop. My friends were asking what was wrong...but all I could do was eek out..."I don't know."

The next year...Elvis got fed up with just making travelogue movies... where he would go to some exotic location...sing a song...beat up the bad guy and get the girl. Enter...THE 68 COMEBACK SPECIAL. Of course it was not called that then...because no one knew that it would be the resurgence of Elvis' career and playing before an audience again.

It would be a Christmas special... sponsored by Singer Sewing Machines. My Aunt Christine... who would buy me Elvis albums...bought me a brand new Philco Color TV...so I could watch the show IN COLOR.

Elvis was back in black leather...and showed the world that he had not lost anything...since he went into the army...and came back in the movies. He could still sing and command the audience. In 1969...I was in a band called THE BLIND DISTORTION (aka The Black Room) with Dan Bogle, Bruce Fortner, David Sharpe and James Satterwhite. I also was now dating a cute little girl named Brenda Sue Williams. Life was good. I remember going to Sir Pizza and hearing Suspicious Minds on the juke box...and thought...wow...that is good stuff.

Again...Edith Stone arranged a trip for a few of us...to go down to Houston Texas to the Largest Rodeo In the World...who would have the largest entertainer in the world during half time...ELVIS. I got to see Elvis for two shows...one afternoon matinee...and then the night show. The third set of pictures are from that event (off of Google images). Again...another surreal event...seeing Elvis perform. Again...tears...but I concealed these a little better.


I have seen Elvis a couple of times since that time...these pictures were from the concert at Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville.

After I became a Christian in 1970... sad to say...I was convinced by some over zealous believers...to burn all of my Elvis records (along with other artists). I did give away my collection of Elvis Monthly magazines and other stuff to Edith...and I held on to my pictures, pen, autograph, and a piece of grass where Elvis stood. They were eventually stolen along with all of my clothes and my guitar and everything I owed...in Chattanooga before I came home.

Here we are in 2010...33 years since Elvis die at the young age of 42. A tragic death...preceded by what appears to be a tragic life. He sang...I Did It My Way...and died alone on a toilet...BUT no matter what happened...good, bad, or ugly...I still love (yes I said love) Elvis. His songs still move me...his gospel music is next to none...I will even stop and watch a movie if it is on T.V.

Today as my birthday approaches...August 15th...I know what is coming...August 16th...and I know that I will cry again. As a matter of fact...I'm tearing up right now.

Love Me Tender Kisses
Rodney "All Shook Up" Boyd

P.S.

If you can tell me what my favorite Elvis movie is...and my favorite Elvis song is...you will be entered into a contest to win a can of SPAM.