January 30, 2026

45 RPMs 100: Elvis Presley ~ Blue Suede Shoes

  ~   
45 RPM, side 1 
    
I missed buying the Elvis Presley 45 RPM version of Hound Dog (link below) because of prejudice favoring the Big Mama Thornton version (I still like it better). On January 30,1956, Elvis Presley recorded Blue Suede Shoes. I had been familiar with the version recorded and written a year earlier by Carl Perkins (link below), so, I was curious and intrigued to hear what Presley would do with it. I threw prejudices aside. I'm glad I did.     
 
Blue Suede Shoes is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position. it appears as the opening track of Presley's debut album. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Of the four versions I like the Perkins one the best (links below).          
 
According to Perkins, he wrote Blue Suede Shoes on December 17, 1955 and recorded it two days later for Sun Records. In ClevelandOhio, disc jockey Bill Randle played Blue Suede Shoes often on his nightly show, and before the end of the month, Phillips shipped an additional 25,000 copies to Cleveland.   
 
Perkins never attained the stardom of Presley, who, according to Perkins, "had everything. He had the looks, the moves, the manager (Colonel Tom Parker), and the talent.         
 
In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where he was regarded as "average". His first public performance was a singing contest at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, when he was 10; he sang Old Shep, composed by Red Foley, and placed fifth.         



        
Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Blue Suede Shoes, written by Carl Perkins - 1:58

Side 2:

B - Tutti Frutti, written by Dorothy LaBostrie*, Richard Penniman - 1:57

Companies, etc.

    Record Company – Radio Corporation Of America
    Published By – Hi-Lo Music
    Published By – Venice Music, Inc.
 
Notes:

1st pressing, black RCA Victor label with dog on top and horizontal silver line.
Very early 1st pressing (August 31 ,1956) with dog on top and no silver line (-1S on matrices) - see release Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes / Tutti Frutti

Barcode and Other Identifiers
         

    Rights Society: BMI
    Matrix / Runout (Label A): G2WW-1230
    Matrix / Runout (Label B): G2WW-1255
    Matrix / Runout (Runout A, variant 1): G2 WW1230-3S
    Matrix / Runout (Runout B, variant 1): G2 WW1255-3S
    Matrix / Runout (Runout A, variant 2): G2 WW1230-5S RCA F
    Matrix / Runout (Runout B, variant 2): G2 WW1255-5S RCA I A
        
Elvis Presley – Blue Suede Shoes / Tutti Frutti
Label: RCA Victor – 47-6636
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Rock
Style: Rock & Roll
        
        
        
        
Viewfinder links:       
         
Eddie Cochran      
Red Foley          
         
     
Net links:       
         
         
         
        
     
YouTube links:      
         
Eddie Cochran ~ Blue Suede Shoes    
Buddy Holly ~ Blue Suede Shoes
Carl Perkins ~ Blue Suede Shoes         
Elvis Presley ~  
                        Blue Suede Shoes                 
                        Old Shep    
                        Tutti Frutti       
                        Tutti Frutti (live)   
Big Mama Thornton ~ Hound Dog                             
         
 

 
        
        

Styrous® ~ Friday, January 30, 2026 






      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Ed Foley articles/mentions

 ~        
      
     
     
mentions:     
Elvis Presley ~ Blue Suede Shoes       
     
     
     
     
     
     
Red Foley - 1944     
photo: page 357 of Billboard 1944 Music Yearbook      
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 

January 26, 2026

The Wild One ~ Marlon Brando & Mary Murphy

 ~       
The Wild One movie still          


Today is the birthday of Mary Murphy who was born on January 26, 1931, in Washington, DC. After leaving school Murphy took a job as a gift wrapper at Saks Fifth Avenue, in Beverly Hills, where she was approached by producer Milton Lewis, head of talent for Paramount Pictures, who offered her a screen test. She was signed to appear in films for Paramount Pictures in 1951.         
 
Murphy first gained attention in 1953, when she played a girl who is intrigued by Marlon Brando in The Wild One. The following year, she appeared opposite Tony Curtis in Beachhead, and with Dale Robertson in Sitting Bull, and the year after that as the daughter of Fredric March  in the thriller The Desperate Hours, which also starred Humphrey Bogart.         
 
She made many television appearances: Perry MasonThe Tab Hunter Show, Wagon Train, I Spy, The Outer Limits, The FugitiveIronside. and The Lloyd Bridges Show.            
 
 
 
Murphey married actor Dale Robertson in YumaArizona in 1956 but the marriage was annulled after six months. She died on May 4, 2011; she was 80 years old.    




         
Viewfinder links:        
     
Humphrey Bogart        
Marlon Brando      
Tony Curtis         
Fredric March        
Dale Robertson        
         
        
Net links:        

         
        
        
         
The Telegraph UK ~ Mary Murphy        
        
YouTube links:        

         
The Sea Hunt (complete series)        
The Wild One (complete movie)       
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Sunday, July 19, 2020       
       
















Fredrick March articles/mentions

  ~        
     
     
      
mentions:   
The Wild One      
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
date & photographer unknown 
     
     
     
      
     















Dale Robertson articles/mentions

  ~        
      
     
     
mentions:      
The Wild One            
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
date & photographer unknown 
     
     
     
      
     















January 25, 2026

45 RPMs 99: Etta James ~ At Last

  ~  
    
    
 
Today is the birthday of one of my very favorite female vocalists, American singer and songwriter, Etta James.     
 
James sang in various genres: gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll and soul and gained fame with hits such as The Wallflower (1955), At Last (1960), Something's Got a Hold on Me (1962), Tell Mama and I'd Rather Go Blind (both 1967). For me,  At Last is at the top of my list! There's never been a song to match her intensity at the realization of having found a love to last a lifetime. It was Tom's and my song of love.     
 
At Last was written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Sun Valley Serenade in 1941. Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US Billboard pop music chart. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.             
 
At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song

Oh yeah yeah
At last

The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you

I found a dream, that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known

Oh yeah yeah
You smiled, you smiled
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine...

At Last  
 
       
Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - At Last, written by Warren*, Gordon* - 3:00

Side 2:

B - I Just Want To Make Love To You, written by W. Dixon* - 3:03

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Chess Producing Corp.
    Published By – Leo Feist, Inc.
    Published By – Arc Music (2)
 
Notes:

From LP-4003
Side A: U-10498 Leo Feist ASCAP
Side B: U-10165 Arc Music BMI

Barcode and Other Identifiers
        
 
    Matrix / Runout (Side A): 10498
    Matrix / Runout (Side B): 10165
    Rights Society: ASCAP
    Rights Society: BMI         

Etta James – At Last / I Just Want To Make Love To You
Label: Argo (6) – 5380
Format: Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1961
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Soul        
        
        
        
Viewfinder links:       
      
Mack Gordon         
Etta James          
Styrous®      
Tom White         
Styrous®         
Harry Warren          
     
Net links:       
         
Good Stuff ~ How Etta James Became a Blonde          
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ~ Etta James         
        
     
YouTube links:      
        
Etta James ~.    
         At Last        
        
      
        
       
Etta James 
photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett/Getty Images 
 
  
        
        

Styrous® ~ Monday, September 7, 2020






      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lisa Levine articles/mentions

 ~     
The Orchard ~ Lisa Levine      
      
     
     
mentions:     
Jingletown Open Studios 2021     
JABC Open Studios 2021 ~ Day One             
      
     
     
     
Lisa Levine - 2026 
photo by Styrous®
      
   
     
     
        












Mack Gordon articles/mentions

 ~        
      
     
     
mentions:     
Etta James ~ At Last       
     
     
     
     
     
     
date & photographer unknown 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 

January 23, 2026

The Orchard / Galleries on 25 ~ Lisa Levine


Lisa Levine is a fine art photographer and educator born and raised in New York, NY. She has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and worked in her Oakland studio for more than twenty-five years. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationally and resides in various corporate and public art collections, including those of the Alameda County Art Commission, Berkeley Civic Arts Center, the San Francisco Arts Commission, the David Brower Center, and the Kala Institute. Her work is represented by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, Danielle Wohl Fine Art, SLATE Gallery, and the Kala Institute Art Gallery.     

In recent years, she has been working on public art commissions and creating large scale artworks for public spaces. She promotes public art as it provides an opportunity for art to enliven and add beauty to spaces that people experience as part of their daily lives. 
 
She says, "In this context the art can provide a bountiful visual experience that creates opportunities for reflection, contemplation and discourse. These projects are also exciting because they have enabled me to actualize my work at large scale and in many different types of materials."        
 
She taught photography at California State University (East Bay) for more than a decade and was an adjunct professor in the photography departments at both Ohlone and Solano colleges. She currently teaches photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in both the graduate and undergraduate divisions.      







 
 
 


  
 


 
 
 
 
 












The exhibition is open until the end of January with a closing reception on Saturday, January 31, 2026.     


 
Fridays and Saturdays 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. 
and by appointment     

     
      
Viewfinder links:       
                     
Lisa Levine                       
Styrous®                                             
 
 
Net links:          
 
Lisa Levine              
Styrous®         
 

         

Styrous® ~ Friday, January 23, 2026         
        


























The Orchard / Galleries on 25 ~ Suzy Barnard


I first saw Suzy's work in the mid-80's. She was doing wonderful oil paintings of cargo ships in the San Francisco bay which she could see from her studio. Then some time at the beginning of this century (that sounds really weird) the images began to slowly morph into abstract studies.  
 
When I saw this installation I was stunned! She was not only doing impressionist work but it was all about flowers! Blow me away!     
 
Suzy Barnard was born in England (she is about to move back there with her husband Michael), earned her Painting BFA in 1980 from Bristol Polytechnic and moved to the Bay Area in 1981.  She graduated from the MFA Painting program at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1984 and has continued to paint and exhibit throughout the Bay Area and West Coast since then.  Her works can be found in many private, and public collections, including the Federal Maritime Commission, Washington DC; Fred Hutchison Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington; Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-Ahsa, Saudi AriabiaZuckerberg General Hospital, San Francisco; San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation; Laguna Honda HospitalSan Francisco; The County of Alameda; the Wharton Business School West at the University of Pennsylvania and the City of Lafayette.     


  
 
 
  
 
 
  



 







The exhibition is open until the end of January with a closing reception on Saturday, January 31, 2026.     


 
Fridays and Saturdays 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. 
and by appointment     
 
      
      
Viewfinder links:       
         
Suzy Barnard            
Styrous®                                             
 
 
Net links:          
Suzy Barnard              
 

         

Styrous® ~ Friday, January 23, 2026