Cleveland: A Blast Of Rock & Roll Past

“It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled,
It’s been a long time since I did the Stroll.”
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back,
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from.
It’s been a long time, been a long time,
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has.” (Led Zeppelin, Rock and Roll)

In spite of my inevitable emergence into the dreaded senior years of life, a steady dose of “rock and roll” fuels a renewed sense of youthful vigor these days. My friendships, it seems, share a similar anti- aging disposition. I think of my sports buddy in Santa Cruz California, for example, whose fanaticism for buying/selling oldies albums grows into a productive source of extra income after retiring as a teacher. Or I contemplate my spirited lunchtime chats about rock &roll legends with a former professor colleague in Fort Lauderdale who delivers popular lectures at a local Jewish Community Center about famed rock icons of the past. Social media interactions with my baby boomer Facebook friends daily also reveal a heavy bias toward classic rock postings of upcoming concerts, You Tube video clips, and nostalgic slang/paraphernalia.

As for me, a travel heavy lifestyle keeps rock music most relevant as I strive to search online ( eg.Stub Hub and Bandsintown…)for live concerts to book in conjunction with road trip itineraries, weekend “getaways”, cruise shows, and European festivals. Fittingly then, my short visit to Cleveland Ohio, last week, would provide plenty of magical musical moments in my latest visit downtown to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I urge you now to this settle into the musical vibes of “Cleveland Rocks” in the following photographs.

The intense Southern croons of Elvis Presley, the “King”, evoke timeless memories of his musical greatness at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Cousin Brucie rolled the AM radio waves with rock&roll madness on date night Saturday’s as simulated on this music box.

Historic galleries here revealed that dressing for the part of rock and roll stardom in the past required creative imagination.

With teenagers buying 45 rpm records like this Beatles song in mass, early rock & roll appeal spread widely throughout America via record players and jukeboxes

So did “boombox” blasts from cassette tape cartridges later.

If you were cool to rock & roll music you often read Rolling Stone Magazines like the ones displayed in this exhibition.

Vivid memories of “The Who” presence in this gallery reminded me that a guitar never seemed safe from physical destruction at the end of their “gigs.”

An eye catching poster such as the the one shown here would often promote an upcoming live performance before the advent of the Internet.

In today’s times at the Rock Hall “Garage”, you might even create your own musical “riffs” of classic rock & roll tunes.

Or visit downtown Cleveland and re-embrace in an open arena setting the “retro” aliveness surrounding a classic rock & roll concert.

September 28, 2019 5

Roots Of “The King” Immortal

“More than anything else, I want the folks back at home to think right of me.” (Elvis Presley)

On a previous road trip, Ruth and I experienced the legendary aura of “The King”, Elvis Presley at Graceland Estate in Memphis Tennessee. At that time, we learned of Elvis’ humble beginnings at his birthplace of nearby Tupelo, Mississippi. Seeking to learn more about the roots of his musical greatness, Ruth and I thus decided to pay a follow-up Elvis visit to Tupelo on the 5th day of our American road trip. During our two hour tour there, we observed a very realistic depiction of his thirteen year childhood life in Tupelo as revealed in the following pictures.

Elvis was born in this two room shack as an only child of Vernon and Gladys Presley on the outskirts of Tupelo during the impoverished times of the “Great Depression. This shack was lit only by a single lightbulb in each room. Notice the family portrait, which exists as one of the few surviving relics of the family together at that time.

Elvis attended church services regularly in the “Assembly Of God” facility below. His musical roots began here as he learned to enjoy the uplifting spirit of gospel music during lively sermons while Reverend Frank Smith taught Elvis to play the guitar here as well.

As Elvis grew up in Tupelo, a family radio and 78 rpm record player provided additional music enjoyment. Undoubtedly, emerging country, blues, and big band artists that Elvis listened to then broadened his musical outlook during this time.

Although Elvis moved on to Memphis and the world stage to solidify his musical fame, he never forgot his time in Mississippi. Accordingly, he continued to perform in Tupelo and other nearby towns, thereby expressing gratitude to his adoring fans.

This godlike statue at the rear of the birthplace site attests to Elvis’ immortal status as a musical legend in the eyes of the Tupelo community.

March 16, 2019 5

Retro Road Trip Revelry

“Driving around, living the dream. I’m cruising the town, digging the scene. I’m not gonna stress, not gonna worry. Doing my best, no need to hurry. (Beach Boys Lyric)

I usually get antsy in the days preceding our springtime road trips. Anticipating once again the excitement of extended freedom from our accustomed routine, an emotional flashback to times of youthful optimism provided a useful theme to satisfy such restlessness last week. What could make a more fun combination than nostalgically indulging in Beach Boys music, spring training baseball or “hot rod cruising” to re-experience the vanishing bohemian spirit of the late 1960s?

So many pop music idols in my adolescent past have faded away into non-existence yet The Beach Boys remain immensely popular in today’s times. While I remember their surf culture vibe in my era once rivaling “Beatlemania” in popularity, regrettably only two original members ( Mike Love and Bruce Johnston), still perform live with this iconic band in today’s times. Fortunately, my wife and I continue to relish The Beach Boys sound as tunes like “California Girls”, “Help Me Rhonda”, and “Little Deuce Coupe”…. once provided a fun escape outlet for idealized youth like us growing up in a turbulent era of extreme political unrest in America. It follows that we would accordingly “loosen up” to dance and singalong to “hit after hit” in the Beach Boys live performance at Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida last Thursday.

Classic American cars of the 1960s-70s additionally evoke “deja vu” visions for many men of the “baby boom” generation.For owning a fast car then often meant challenging drag races after school accompanied by bragging escapades about one’s engine horsepower capacity. Thus I made up for lost time it seemed by cruising with my lawyer friend in his vintage Corvette last week. Regrettably, the high speed performance of this vehicle could only briefly be displayed as we cautiously zig-zagged through the tourist clogged, I-95 corridor on Saturday afternoon.

Spring Training baseball for me has never really been about winning but rather a place of silly refuge from the more serious pursuit of growing up. Who cares then that I would be witnessing the Miami Marlins, arguably the worst team in Major League baseball on this sunny Saturday afternoon in Jupiter, Florida. An outfielder dropped an easy pop fly, a mustard package splattered on my lap, and an umpire made a bad call. It seemed “all good” in this insignificant ballgame of relaxing retreat.

As my wife and I begin our marathon road trip on March 9, we seek new opportunities to sustain such youthful exuberance. I hope you will similarly enjoy this nostalgic ride through my upcoming blogs. Basking in this fun spirit of travel, I leave you to ponder ways to find your own “Good Vibrations ” in the following Beach Boys video.

March 4, 2019 8