BackinMemphis

Lamar Fike, former member of Elvis Presley's inner circle (nicknamed The Memphis Mafia by the press) has passed away. The "Memphis Mafia" was the nickname for a group of friends, associates, employees and "yes-men" whose main function was to be around Elvis Presley from 1954 until he died. Several filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour logistics and scheduling. In these cases Elvis paid salaries, but most lived off fringe benefits such as gifts, cars, houses and bonuses. Over the years, the number of members grew and changed, but for the most part there was a core group who spent a lot of time with the singer.

Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965), also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll. His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s. and if you ever want to see a great movie about Alan Freed and rock and roll...check out American Hot Wax. See below: (side note) "I've got four beautiful women back here from Bayonne, NJ, The Delights" And the Delights come out singing Mr. Lee. Bayonne is my hometown so that's a cool clip for me. Sandra Dee who was married to Bobby Darin and starred in many films like A Summer Place is also from Bayonne! But this is about Alan Freed. And American Hot Wax is a great rock and roll movie with cameos by Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee lewis. Check it out, you won't be disappointed...

They say a dog is man's best friend....then why are so many animals abused and homeless? If you can, send a donation now to the Memphis Humane Society, even if it's a dollar or two. That's a few cans of dog or cat food which will help an animal. This time of year, many have purchased a cute little kitten or puppy for their children for Christmas and right about this time, they figure out they don't have the time or money to keep the animal. And many just abandon the animals to the streets. The animals then mate and by the spring, there are many litters of homeless animals running the streets. Let's help the humane society rescue as many of these innocent animals and find them homes. Every dollar counts! One dollar can feed a dog or cat for one day! Please donate today! Donate Now To The Memphis Humane Society

Pat Boone, Cowboy, and Chet Atkins Jack Clement Newsletter December Question: Ron from Nashville, TN asked: Do you have any favorite stories, memories, or interesting notes associated with RCA Studio B from the recordings you produced there? I have a lot of memories of working and playing in RCA Studio B.  The first time I recorded there I was working at Sun Records in Memphis.  That was around 1957.  I had not yet learned to love the Sun Studio and I had written a couple of songs that I felt needed a dose of the Nashville Sound.  I had always wanted to meet Chet Atkins anyway, so I took my piano player and my favorite guitar and drove to Nashville.  We recorded a session in the RCA Studio with one of Chet's bass players.  It wasn't known as Studio B then because Studio A was still about 10 years in the future. I moved to Nashville from Beaumont, Texas in January, 1965 and rented 2 offices in the new RCA Studio building which is about 15 feet fr...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy Don Kirshner, the impresario behind Brill Building pop, the Monkees, the Archies and his own music-television show, has died of heart failure. Kirshner was 76 and died in Boca Raton, Fla., according to a statement from his publicist. Called “the man with the golden ear” by Time magazine in 1966, he wrote songs with Bobby Darin as a college student. In the late 1950s he co-founded Aldon Music, a publishing company whose songwriters included the hit-making teams of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. “Kirshner was like a father figure to us all,” Mann was quoted as saying in “The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll” (1980). “Everyone’s first thought, as we sweated over our battered old pianos, was whether Donny would be pleased.” After selling Aldon to Columbia Pictures, Kirshner moved into TV. He supervised the music for “The M...

Carl Perkins & I in Memphis - August 1991 Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954. His best known song is "Blue Suede Shoes". According to Charlie Daniels, "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins' songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Cash, which further cemented his place in the history of popular music. Called "the King of Rockabilly", he was inducted into the Rock and Roll, the Rockabilly, and the Nashville Songwriters Halls of Fame; and was a Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipient. We miss you Carl!

Carl Perkins 50th Anniversary Edition Sun Records Limited Edition CD Track Listing: Blue Suede Shoes Boppin The Blues Gone, Gone, Gone You Can't Make Love to Somebody Honey Don't All Mama's Children Dixie Fried Pink Pedal Pushers Matchbox Everybody's Tryin' To Be Be My Baby Roll Over Beethoven Glad All Over