...And Tell Tchaikovsky The News!

                 In the aftermath of the tragic death of singer Michael Jackson a reporter asked a Los Angles record producer where Michael ranked with the all time singers of our era. The producer didn't hesitate, "There's Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson."

           I didn't exactly agree with that but in light of the situation I was going to let it pass until the big time producer added, "Unequivocally, they are the three best and most influential singers of our time!" In my humble opinion he went a step too far. Best by whose standards? Influential depends a heck of a lot on the influenenceee! And, listen, the word "unequivocally" never showed up on Miss Mildred Dinwiddie's fourth grade vocabulary sheet..but I believe it means without question. Absolutely! Non-disputable! That's a pretty strong statement.

           And I reckon that L. A. record man has never heard of Jerry Lee Lewis! Faron Young. Or Chuck Berry.

           Now, we're talking influence! You know Jerry Lee had some serious sway over folks when he began rockin' out of Sun Records in Memphis back in the day. He cut down on "Flip, Flop and Fly" and every parent in America aged 10 years on the spot! He could get you out of that '57 Chevy in front of Frank's Dairy Bar and get you to moving! And who could ever forget Miss Polly Rucker, our stoic and matronly senior class sponsor, tapping her toes to "High School Confidential" at the prom.  

      You want a little Rock n Roll, Jerry Lee Lewis was the best. He could sing the Blues and you'd be in a funk for a week. His Gospel could lift your spirits and touch your soul. And, on the country side, he could belt out "You Win Again" better than Hank Williams! They haven't invented a music genre that the Killer can't do!

           Just listen to him sing, "It's not her heart, Lord, it's her mind, she didn't mean to be unkind..why, she even woke me up to say good-bye" and you want need any prompting from me. He was near 'bout as good as he proclaimed to be!

           And you think he is not going to be remembered? Mother was a quiet, diminutive, dignified lady as we struggled through our teen years...the exact moment she found out Jerry Lee married his 13 year old cousin, she flat-footed jumped a dinner table with both leaves in and loaded for supper to jerk a brand new copy of "Great Balls of Fire" out of my hand and whack it up against the curved handle on a near-by wood stove... Now that, dear hearts, is a singer with some monumental influence!

           I worked like a dog down at Tommie Hill's DX Service Station for two years just hoping his good looking daughter would come in for an oil change and notice me. Jane didn't seem to realize I was on the same planet with her. Or worse yet, she believed some of those wild rumors floating around town about my irresponsible and convoluted juvenile delinquent past. She had me confused with Ricky Hale!

           We were out at Frank's one night when Faron's "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young and Leave a Beautiful Memory" came blasting out of that jukebox. Jane walked right over to me and said, "The song is correct. I'm going to take a chance..."

           It was the beginning of a wonderful summer. And I have been grateful to Faron Young ever since. Jane and I danced to "Going Steady", "Yellow Bandana", "Sweet Dreams", "Unmitigated Gall"... I believe the last one fit! Jane dropped me like a hot rock that September for Ricky. I reckon she had a wild streak that I didn't see.

           But I never blamed it on Faron. I just appreciate the opportunity he gave me.

           Chuck Berry put words and music together like no one before or after him. "As I was a motivatin' over the hill I saw Maybellene in a Coupe De Ville, a Cadillac a-rollin' on the open road, nothing will out run my V-8 Ford...Oh, Maybellene, why can't you be true." It touched a cord with our world. It transported us beyond the boundaries of a two traffic light town. We spent hours looking for our Maybellene! Or "Sweet Little Sixteen". We all wanted to be "Johnny B. Goode." You can't tell me that there were more influential singers out there than Charles Edward "Chuck" Berry!

           People are still imitating him. Check some Beatles or Beach Boys' music.

           And I've just touched the surface. You reckon Johnny Cash's work hasn't influenced some folks. And Merle Haggard. And we haven't even mentioned the Possum! Six months after Jane dropped me I wasn't playing nothing but Muddy Waters' "Got my Mojo working, but it just won't work on you."

           Unequivocally is a strong word. And the music influence may be in the eye of the beholder. Or, maybe we should say, the sound is in the ear of the listener. We don't need some big time record guy from Hollywood to tell us what we like. Or what has, or has not, influenced our lives.

           I'm light years removed from those impressionable teenage years of growth, wonderment and feeling my way toward life. Me and Ricky are all grown up. But I guarantee you, Jerry Lee still comes around quite often to remind me of "Another Place, Another Time". Faron will catch up with me riding to work and I will remember changing those tractor tires down at the DX station. And Chuck, bless his heart, can still ring my number "because his uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall".

           It's an influence that I'm proud to claim. I believe I'm richer for it. And if you see Jane Hill, tell her Bo Diddley said, "you can't judge a book by looking at the cover".

                 Respectfully,

                      Kes