Showing posts with label Elvis Presley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elvis Presley. Show all posts

Thursday, September 7, 2017

This Is Elvis Country ...


“Well, it’s one for the money
Two for the show
Three to get ready
Now go, cat go

But don’t you
Step on my blue suede shoes
You can do anything
But stay off of my blue suede shoes …”

           ~  “Blue Suede Shoes”
            ~ Written & recorded by Carl Perkins
                           ~ 1955
            ~ Recorded by the great Elvis Presley
                             ~ 1956

There’s a cool slice of Elvis country tucked into Charlotte Fay’s Main Street Diner, Slatington, Pennsylvania, as showcased in this poster on the diner’s wall promoting Elvis Presley’s August 10-11, 1956 appearance at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida.

Elvis Presley’s “Blue Suede Shoes” may well be one of the hits you hear playing at Charlotte Fay’s, where retro is king at this cool and cozy eatery.

The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll is well represented at Charlotte Fay’s, joined by photos showcasing retro icons such as Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean in the 1956 film “Giant,” Marilyn Monroe, Route 66, and a young Elvis and Johnny Cash posing for a snapshot. There’s also a nod to the New Jersey Seashore and Steel Pier. The large map behind Elvis depicts President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, championed by the then-president when it was formed June 29, 1956.

And of course there’s the tasty food, wonderful to nosh on as you drink in the nostalgic atmosphere. Owner Jason Ruff named the diner after both his great-grandmothers, and uses their recipes.

The menu and atmosphere are the perfect mix to stir up a recipe for success fit for a king.

Background texture by Jai Johnson added for artistic effect.


Monday, July 31, 2017

Art Of The Rails ...





“Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well that long black train got my baby and gone

Train train, comin’  'round, 'round the bend
Train train, comin’ 'round, 'round the bend
Well it took my baby, but it never will again
No, not again

Train train, comin’ down, down the line
Train train, comin’ down, down the line
Well it’s bringin’ my baby, 'cause she’s mine all, all mine
She’s mine, all, all mine

Train train, comin’ 'round, 'round the bend
Train train, comin’ 'round, 'round the bend
Well it took my baby, but it never will again
Never will again
Ooh, woah”
                          ~ “Mystery Train”
                       ~ written & recorded by
         American blues musician Junior Parker
                                     ~ 1953
          ~ recorded by the great Elvis Presley
                                  ~ 1955
       ~ Produced by Sam Phillips at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee it features Elvis Presley on vocals & rhythm guitar, Scotty Moore on lead guitar & Bill Black on bass. Mystery Train is now considered to be an “enduring classic.” It was the first recording to make Elvis Presley a nationally known country music star.

I captured my artistic depiction of this wonderful tribute to the Ironton Railroad on an early October evening along the Ironton Rail Trail.

It was an Eagle Scout project of Samuel L. Raub II, Troop 57, in 2012.

The Ironton Rail Trail loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township in Pennsylvania.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.

Monday, June 26, 2017

You'll Never Walk Alone ...



“When you walk through a storm hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone,
You’ll never, ever walk alone.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone,
You’ll never, ever walk alone.”
              ~ “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
             ~show tune from the 1945 
Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “Carousel”
              ~ recorded by the great Elvis Presley
                                                      ~ 1967

“At the end of the storm is a golden sky…” These lyrics from the beautiful and inspiring  “You’ll Never Walk Alone” came to mind when I saw this gorgeous sunset at the close of a stormy summer day in August at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.         

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Until Next Summer ...



“I’ll remember you
Long after this endless summer has gone
I’ll be lonely oh so lonely
Living only to remember you …

To your arms someday I’ll return to stay
Till then I will remember too
Every bright star we made wishes upon
Love me always, promise always
Oooh, you’ll remember too
I’ll remember you.”
                            “I’ll Remember You”
                   ~ written by Kui Lee, 1964
   ~ recorded by the great Elvis Presley, 1966

A trail running through the State Game Lands to Bake Oven Knob, Germansville, Pennsylvania is spun into a summer memory as my most favorite of seasons shows off the last of its sun-dappled beauty on a mid-September afternoon.