Elvis is Dead, and I Think I May Have a Sore Throat

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            The summer was hot in 1977. My dad's boyhood friend, James Loveless, came up from Kentucky and stayed with us for several weeks, and he and I did several odd jobs together. He was tough as nails but always really nice to me. He and I dug out and framed sidewalks around the front and back of our house. It was August, the state fair was going on up in the city, and Elvis died. That's what I remember most. Elvis died. I also remember my mom making us a lot of Country Time lemonade.

            As we set the string tight from end to end across the grass, I learned how to dig along the line and set rebar for the frame. We had a small radio near our work area, and all that played that week was Elvis. I had never been exposed to such love for an artist. It seemed like the whole world stopped and wept for the king. I remember my dad came home from work one afternoon and told us about a winter he spent in New York and had actually seen Elvis in the early part of his career, gold coat and all. I was pretty impressed.

            I remember not saying anything about it, but being more than a little bothered about Elvis controlling the airwaves entirely though. Oddly, there was a song that was out on the radio I was crazy about. It was called "Telephone Line", and it was by a band called Electric Light Orchestra. I loved the compression on Jeff Lynne's voice on the recording. I'm not at all sure about this, but I have always figured that the song fell quickly out of the charts simply because Elvis Presley died. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cyndi Coner)

            I have already told you about my exposure to early rock and roll via a monster stack of 45's. I had listened to a recording that had "Don't be Cruel" on one side and "Hound Dog" on the other. That was powerful. I had listened to "Jailhouse Rock", and it took me to another planet. Everything that guy did until he joined the service seemed slick and perfect. His voice seemed like an instrument itself, and the guitar and bass seemed to jump off the vinyl.

            Our television, the one with five channels, showed Elvis movies back-to-back every weekend. It was during "Viva Las Vegas" that I saw Ann-Margret for the first time, and once again, I was pretty impressed. That woman was freaking beautiful. Sorry, I got off track for a second. What I didn't understand (remember I was a kid) was why the movies didn't have deep pockets of quality songs. But Elvis was alive and healthy on our television at least, and we watched and wondered what could have happened if he could have lived a full life.

            It didn't take long for the countless new compilations of Elvis singing country, Elvis with pictures on the record itself, and Elvis like you had never heard before. Nothing but cheap and sad attempts to make money, but I expect a lot of records were sold. All kinds of books came out from people that had known him in some way. I admit I bought into some of the books, some of the made-for-TV specials, and everything else. But I noticed even as a kid that his music was tarnished by such a circus. He didn't deserve how he was treated. He was the king.

            Before I go, I wanted to tell you first, that his pre-army music was and still is some of the best music ever recorded. But he had many special moments in his career. One of my favorite songs he did later in the '60s was called "If I Can Dream".  I hope he knew that the whole world loved him, and I hate it that he had to leave at such an early age. Anyway, school started not long after his passing, and I got chicken pox. It's a pretty cool little sickness, and if you ever get the chance to catch it, I say go for it. Because of my pox, I got to stay home and truly study the music he left us with. Up until that moment in time, I knew about the talent, understood the charisma, and a collection of B movies had been viewed. But, sitting there alone in my room with corn starch all over my body, I began to better understand that he was not just a great voice. He had truly harnessed rock and brought it to all of us without any pre-existing road map. Now, that is impressive.

            Scott Coner is a country/Americana/Southern rock artist whose latest music video has been downloaded more than 150,000 times on Facebook. Learn more about Scott at http://www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, http://www.ScottConer.com, or http://www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Download his latest single, "Sweet Mary", at https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/sweet-mary-single/id1052955133?app=itunes .

'Sweet Mary'... a Wrinkle in Time

By Scott Coner

Singer/Songwriter/Author

         The years have virtually flown by haven't they? I look in the mirror these days, and I barely recognize the man that stares back. There was a time though, and that time has long since passed, that I remember with great fondness. As a kid, I was blessed with the great fortune of growing up around a very tight-knit family. My dad and his brothers, as well as one sister, had all moved from Kentucky to Indiana in order to get better-paying jobs. This being said, I found myself in Kentucky quite a bit, and it was here, deep in the heart of southeastern Kentucky, that I discovered the 45rpm record, "Sweet Mary".

The single I played on my Aunt Janice's farm in Kentucky.

         My dad's youngest sister Janice was just out of high school during this time, and when she got married, she left behind a pretty nice record collection and a small, simple, stereo. I remember the sun shining through the old farmhouse window as I shuffled through the records. I don't remember all of the songs, but I do remember looking at a Beatles record that had a green apple on it with the other side showing the apple sliced. Creedence Clearwater Revival was in the stack, Andy Kim was in the stack, as well as The Lemon Pipers and lots more. What I remember most was a record called "Sweet Mary", recorded by a band that called themselves "Wadsworth Mansion". I don't have a definitive answer for why the song attached itself to me, but I suspect it was the repetitive construction of the song itself. It was simply loaded with simple and happy hooks.

         Years have passed, loved ones have passed, and much of my memory seems more like a dream than a reality. But there are certain parts of my childhood that have remained alive and well in my heart. I am certain that the song has found residence in my mind after all of these years because it simply represents a warm and happy moment in my life. I write my own songs these days and this has given me a tremendous amount of joy. I'll tell you, for me, there is nothing like taking a song from a private moment of writing all the way to its fullest interpretation in the studio. It is very rewarding and hard to put into words, but I think it has something to do with completing something from my soul that will last after I'm gone. But, there is another side of me that wants to share other music with people. This music I didn't write, but I want you to listen just the same because they are a part of me, a part of my make-up. I want the listener to hear and feel what I did so long ago. 

Country artist Scott Coner

         In the past few years, I have recorded several of the songs I grew up loving. And although it's true that I have given the songs my own "feel" and interpretation, I have truly tried not to rattle the integrity of the song. A few weeks ago I recorded "Sweet Mary". I usually find a deep sense of calm while working in the studio, but this time I found myself nervous and unsure. To me, the song seems to take part of my life full circle, and I couldn't help but wonder if this didn't somehow represent a larger, more looming type circle than I was aware of. I had originally hoped to reach out to the writer and original singer of the song, Steve Jablecki, and ask if he would enjoy being a part of this recording. Sadly, I found out that he had passed away some years back. But it was fantastic to talk with his sons Matt and Marc, as well as other friends from the Rhode Island area. It was important to me that these people know, especially Steve's son's, that their dad had truly been a blessing to me even after all of this time.

Wadsworth Mansion back in 1971 (photo from the Steve Jablecki family)

         As you listen to the song, I hope it brings you the joy that it brings me. I hope you will download the song and crank it up real loud in your car, your house, and your headphones. I hope that Steve's family and friends like what we have done with the song, and I hope to come up to their neck of the woods and lift "Sweet Mary"  towards heaven all the way to Steve Jablecki.

         Before I go, I wanted to thank my aunt, Janice Coner Dye, for the songs she left behind for me to enjoy at that old farmhouse. The cool thing is she still has all of those records today! Those records are a snapshot of my life, and I will always be thankful for that moment in time.  

         To learn more about country artist Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.ScottConer.com, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer.