Dewey Phillips with Jerry Lee Lewis- 1957

[JSngry]

[Dave James]

Dewey and Elvis. A little history behind an interesting and, apparently not so successful, relationship,

http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/dewey-phillips.html

[JSngry]

Jerry Lee Lewis Explains It All

[paul secor]

Dewey Phillips was a wild man who never had a chance of lasting long - either as a dj or as a person.

Was just listening to Red Hot & Blue, a collection of radio show airchecks. At one point, he's trying to read a list of requests, and he mumbles, "I cain't read too good. I just had a morphine shot." At another point, singing along on air with a melismatic portion of an Amos Milburn record, he comes out with, "I just swallowed my gold tooth."

Listening to him is entertaining, but it's immediately obvious that it wouldn't be long before he imploded and crashed.

[JSngry]

Yeah, I got that CD. The airshots of him from the 60s are sad, but it's still funny as hell when he plays some band's lame B-side and says "better luck next time, boys". Like, the business has passed him by, he knows it's passed him by, but he just don't give a fuck, because he knows more about the real business than the business knows about itself. Can't bullshit a bullshitter, and all that.

On the plus side, so much of the "wildness" in rock-and-roll is either staged or exaggerated or managed/controlled that when the real real thing comes along, it's cause for perspective.

[paul secor]

Yeah, I got that CD. The airshots of him from the 60s are sad, but it's still funny as hell when he plays some band's lame B-side and says "better luck next time, boys". Like, the business has passed him by, he knows it's passed him by, but he just don't give a fuck, because he knows more about the real business than the business knows about itself. Can't bullshit a bullshitter, and all that.

On the plus side, so much of the "wildness" in rock-and-roll is either staged or exaggerated or managed/controlled that when the real real thing comes along, it's cause for perspective.

Before I forget, thanks for bringing Dewey Phillips to Organissimo. It had been a long time since that CD was in my player.

[ejp626]

On the plus side, so much of the "wildness" in rock-and-roll is either staged or exaggerated or managed/controlled that when the real real thing comes along, it's cause for perspective.

While I hear what you are saying, I grew up in the era of corporate, plastic rock djs and that's what I know and to a certain extent like. I found listening to those clips of Dewey unpleasant.

[JSngry]

Yeah, I got that CD. The airshots of him from the 60s are sad, but it's still funny as hell when he plays some band's lame B-side and says "better luck next time, boys". Like, the business has passed him by, he knows it's passed him by, but he just don't give a fuck, because he knows more about the real business than the business knows about itself. Can't bullshit a bullshitter, and all that.

On the plus side, so much of the "wildness" in rock-and-roll is either staged or exaggerated or managed/controlled that when the real real thing comes along, it's cause for perspective.

Before I forget, thanks for bringing Dewey Phillips to Organissimo. It had been a long time since that CD was in my player.

My pleasure!

On the plus side, so much of the "wildness" in rock-and-roll is either staged or exaggerated or managed/controlled that when the real real thing comes along, it's cause for perspective.

While I hear what you are saying, I grew up in the era of corporate, plastic rock djs and that's what I know and to a certain extent like. I found listening to those clips of Dewey unpleasant.

So what you're saying is that you can live with watching porn, but seeing your neighbors doing it in their backyard because they make so much noise you can't help but look makes you squeamish?

Edited September 5, 2012 by JSngry

[ejp626]

On the plus side, so much of the "wildness" in rock-and-roll is either staged or exaggerated or managed/controlled that when the real real thing comes along, it's cause for perspective.

While I hear what you are saying, I grew up in the era of corporate, plastic rock djs and that's what I know and to a certain extent like. I found listening to those clips of Dewey unpleasant.

So what you're saying is that you can live with watching porn, but seeing your neighbors doing it in their backyard because they make so much noise you can't help but look makes you squeamish?

Not sure that's quite analogy I'd use... but it is one I'll remember...

What I really thought was he was a pushy, hyper DJ so in love with his own voice that he kept crowding the artist(s) and wouldn't let them get a word in edgewise. I've run into too many people like that, and I prefer the more polished and (at least on the surface) respectful approach of today's djs (the few that are left) and interviewers.

[JSngry]

Sure he was hyper and pushy...but so was the music that was formulating as "rock and roll", as well as the image it so successfully projected.

But that image, that vibe, that edge, was very, very soon co-opted, and for the most part has been ever since. Everybody and everything has "handlers" now.

I like to keep that in mind. Especially nowadays when everybody's so "alienated" and stuff and there's such a good market for it.

Dewey Phillips had no handlers, and if he was his own worst enemy, hell, who better or more appropriate (or more cosmically correct) to fill that role?