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| Copyright 2007 by JimmyClanton.com. All Rights Reserved. No part of this Website may be used without prior written permission. Contact admin@JimmyClanton.com. |
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| PRODUCTIONS |
- Songwriter Hoyt Axton once
revealed that the first line of
"Joy To The World," which is
universally remembered,
"Jeremiah was a bullfrog..."
was never intended to be in the
song. It was just a fill-in line he
used until he could come up
with better lyrics. Still, he
pitched the tune to Three Dog
Night when they toured together
and the band ended up
recording it with the
memorable "filler" line.
charts in February 1971!
There were no filler lines in Elvis Presley's hit, "Heartbreak
Hotel." The words were carefully crafted by Hoyt's mother,
Mae Boren Axton!
Mae had some 14 previous 'rock'
numbers that had been on the
charts and around 200 numbers
recorded in all.
Mae had written several songs
before with Tommy Durden and it
was he who pointed out an article
regarding a suicide. The man in
destroyed all his I.D. and left a
one-line note "I walk a lonely
street." A discussion ensued, as
did the question "Doesn't
everyone have someone who cares?"
The pair decided to write a song around the tragedy.
It was Mae's suggestion to locate a heartbreak hotel
at the end of that lonely street
- Glenn Reeves, who often wrote
with Mae and Tommy, appeared
on the scene and soon declared
the new title "the silliest I ever
heard." He declined to accept a
third credit because he didn't
want his name connected with it.
Instead of what could have been
Reeves name, Elvis was listed
as co-writer with the other two.
pushing for the song to be recorded.
"Heartbreak Hotel" reached all three Billboard charts in
March of 1956, staying at # 1 on the pop charts for eight
weeks!
It has since been named # 45 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list
of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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| Jimmy Clanton, Bobby Rydell and Bobby Darin (1958) |
In 1959, with the Alan Freed flick Go Johnny Go hitting movie
theaters nationwide, Jimmy Clanton stepped into a New York
recording studio to cut a new song with words by Doc
Pomus and music by Mort Shuman: "I told her when it comes
to talking, I'm the sweetest sweet-talker in the world; she
said you better start talking if you want me to be your girl.
And she said, "Go, Jimmy, go!" She said, "Go, Jimmy, go."
Well, I talked her off the floor when she said, "Go, Jimmy,
go!"
After the recording session, the background
singers came over to Jimmy to ask, "Hey, did you
ever record this song before as `Go Bobby Go'?"
"Nope!" Jimmy replied, wondering why they asked.
Rydell who had recorded it as "Go Bobby Go." Bobby was
riding the charts with "Kissin'' Time" and "Wild One," so the
Pomus- Shuman song wasn't released by his label, Cameo.
Instead, the song was re-named, went to Jimmy, and the
rest, as they say, is solid gold history! Ironically, the same
background singers sang on both Bobby's and Jimmy's
sessions.
theaters nationwide, Jimmy Clanton stepped into a New York
recording studio to cut a new song with words by Doc
Pomus and music by Mort Shuman: "I told her when it comes
to talking, I'm the sweetest sweet-talker in the world; she
said you better start talking if you want me to be your girl.
And she said, "Go, Jimmy, go!" She said, "Go, Jimmy, go."
Well, I talked her off the floor when she said, "Go, Jimmy,
go!"
After the recording session, the background
singers came over to Jimmy to ask, "Hey, did you
ever record this song before as `Go Bobby Go'?"
"Nope!" Jimmy replied, wondering why they asked.
- The song was
released and quickly
shot up the charts,
eventually topping out
at # 5. Not long
afterward, Jimmy
appeared in a show
with Bobby Rydell.
Bobby asked,
good-naturedly, "Jimmy,
why'd you steal my song?"
Rydell who had recorded it as "Go Bobby Go." Bobby was
riding the charts with "Kissin'' Time" and "Wild One," so the
Pomus- Shuman song wasn't released by his label, Cameo.
Instead, the song was re-named, went to Jimmy, and the
rest, as they say, is solid gold history! Ironically, the same
background singers sang on both Bobby's and Jimmy's
sessions.
- By the way, did you know that
Jimmy's golden hit was re-
recorded as a ska tune by Bob
Marley and the Wailers during
1964, which in turn led to the
name of today's internationally-
known ska band,
Go Jimmy Go, formed during the
mid-90s in Hawaii?
A recent note from the band
confirmed the origins of the
name, along with a special
tribute: "That's exactly it. We
changed the name early on but
went right back to it because it
was memorable for people.
We've been around for close to
11 years now and we have two
albums on the way and tours of
Europe and Japan in `08. Go
Jimmy (Clanton) Go!"
Did you know...?
During the 1950s and early 1960s, Pat Boone outsold
every other artist except Elvis Presley.
From 1955 to 1962, he had 54 hit singles, including five #1
songs.
Between 1955 and 1959, Boone was never once off the
pop charts.
Not only did Boone have a legendary career in the music
business, like Elvis, he used it as a springboard for a
successful acting career.
and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
For more information, check out Joseph Farah's story
about Pat's inexplicable snub by the Hall of Fame at
In the meantime, go to the Hit Parade Hall of Fame to vote
for Pat Boone (and Jimmy Clanton, too, of course!)
Click here to vote for Pat Boone. As a bonus you get to
hear the incomparable "April Love,"
And while you are at it, go to www.backpat.com for more
information about getting Pat Boone inducted in the next
Rock `n Roll Hall of Fame class!
During the 1950s and early 1960s, Pat Boone outsold
every other artist except Elvis Presley.
From 1955 to 1962, he had 54 hit singles, including five #1
songs.
Between 1955 and 1959, Boone was never once off the
pop charts.
Not only did Boone have a legendary career in the music
business, like Elvis, he used it as a springboard for a
successful acting career.
- After 50 amazing years
of showbiz success, Pat
Boone has been
honored with three
stars on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame for his
many contributions to
music, television and
motion pictures.
Yet, for reasons
unknown to virtually
any knowledgeable
and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
For more information, check out Joseph Farah's story
about Pat's inexplicable snub by the Hall of Fame at
In the meantime, go to the Hit Parade Hall of Fame to vote
for Pat Boone (and Jimmy Clanton, too, of course!)
Click here to vote for Pat Boone. As a bonus you get to
hear the incomparable "April Love,"
And while you are at it, go to www.backpat.com for more
information about getting Pat Boone inducted in the next
Rock `n Roll Hall of Fame class!
| No induction yet in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for one of the biggest stars of his era? |