As we approach a momentous 95th episode of Pat's Peeps, we honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day. We'll explore the legacies of American titans, like the indomitable Ted Williams, whose excellence on the baseball field was matched only by his courage in the skies, painting a picture of valor that goes beyond the history books.
Remembering our heroes often brings a lump to the throat, and this episode does just that, as we recount the harrowing tale of Admiral James Stockdale's endurance in the Hanoi Hilton. His is a story of unyielding spirit, echoing the narratives of many unsung veterans who've woven their bravery into the fabric of our nation. We celebrate these giants of patriotism, their sacrifices, and the resilience of symbols like our flag, which has fluttered defiantly through countless battles and conflicts. We'll hear from Johnny Cash and Red Skelton along the way.
Then, we shift gears to the vibrant chords of American music history, where Elvis Presley's legacy remains as captivating as ever. His charisma and Jerry Reed's musical ingenuity are explored through the strings of the iconic "Guitar Man," a tune that speaks to the soul of American culture. This episode isn't just about looking back; it's about feeling the rhythm of stories that continue to resonate, and the melodies that keep the essence of our heroes alive in our hearts and ears. Join us for a heartfelt journey that honors the past and celebrates the timeless tunes that shaped a nation.
As we approach a momentous 95th episode of Pat's Peeps, we honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day. We'll explore the legacies of American titans, like the indomitable Ted Williams, whose excellence on the baseball field was matched only by his courage in the skies, painting a picture of valor that goes beyond the history books.
Remembering our heroes often brings a lump to the throat, and this episode does just that, as we recount the harrowing tale of Admiral James Stockdale's endurance in the Hanoi Hilton. His is a story of unyielding spirit, echoing the narratives of many unsung veterans who've woven their bravery into the fabric of our nation. We celebrate these giants of patriotism, their sacrifices, and the resilience of symbols like our flag, which has fluttered defiantly through countless battles and conflicts. We'll hear from Johnny Cash and Red Skelton along the way.
Then, we shift gears to the vibrant chords of American music history, where Elvis Presley's legacy remains as captivating as ever. His charisma and Jerry Reed's musical ingenuity are explored through the strings of the iconic "Guitar Man," a tune that speaks to the soul of American culture. This episode isn't just about looking back; it's about feeling the rhythm of stories that continue to resonate, and the melodies that keep the essence of our heroes alive in our hearts and ears. Join us for a heartfelt journey that honors the past and celebrates the timeless tunes that shaped a nation.
welcome back to the podcast. Yeah, what's the pat's peeps podcast? I'm pat, call me pat, call me patrick, call me. Dozens have to call me ray. You can call me. Never mind. Remember that guy, that guy, how are you? Hey, happy? What is it Thursday? Thursday, hey, it's Pat's Peeps 95.
Speaker 1:I'm excited about the fact we're about to hit 100, our milestone. We're at number 95. It is the 23rd day of May 2024. And as I peer out my studio windows into the beautiful foothills of Northern California gold country, my friends, by the way, my property is weed-eated, most of it. Still a little bit to do tomorrow, but looking out there into the sunshine and a little bit of a breeze, beautiful day, maybe in, maybe 80 degrees. And, yeah, this is a Thursday, wherever you are, wherever you're listening, thank you for tuning in. Again, appreciate that very much and again, very excited about number 95. And here on number 95, pardon me, by the way, I'm also the host of the Pat Walsh Show as heard nationally internationally, for that matter on your free iHeartRadio app, and I host my own show, the Pat Wall Show, in Sacramento on KFBK. So you may or may not know my show there, but nonetheless this is going to be my last day of the week working.
Speaker 1:I'm going to take tomorrow number one, because I just have a bunch of vacation I need to burn off and so I'm going to use it sporadically throughout the spring and summer. So I'm going to take a day off tomorrow. And then Monday is Memorial Day, so I'm going to have a nice four-day weekend. Maybe you will have a nice weekend as well. Three-day weekend, maybe, a four-day weekend we all love the three-day weekends, don't we? You love that extra day off. It's Memorial Day or whatever the holiday is and you get that day off. If you work hard, as many of us do, it's always so appreciated to have that day off. This day off is Memorial Day and a lot of times when we have these days off, you know, you say well, happy, whatever day it happens to be.
Speaker 1:I always felt a little bit strange, quite honestly, saying happy Memorial Day Just because of what Memorial Day is is. We are memorializing, we are remembering those who have given their lives to defend freedom, to defend this country, to defend the world from tyranny. I don't have to tell you. You know what I'm talking about and whether that's what we call the greatest generation, maybe our grandfathers, you know, perhaps even before that you know the veterans of World War I, world War II. My father was a veteran. My father was in the US Navy, on the USS Ullman during Korea, during Korea. Rest his soul, but what it is, yeah, it's a great time to have that day off. People get together, they barbecue. One of the things I always love doing is going to the Strawberry Music Festival Very peaceful and, you know, it's just a nice gathering of folks who love music and. But as we do this and we do these wonderful activities, we should also, I think, be thinking about what the holiday is.
Speaker 1:Memorial Day and I I talked about it on my radio show about Memorial Day and Bud Anderson, clarence Bud Anderson and what a hero he is, you know, and we have many heroes. Chuck Yeager one of my podcasts I did earlier was with Victoria Yeager, chuck Yeager's widow. We had a great conversation. I hope you've been able to listen to that. So while we say happy Memorial Day to one another I get it. It's not like you're saying, say happy Memorial Day to one another, I get it. It's not like you're saying, gee, how happy it is we've lost. No, no, no, and I get it. It's just you're being friendly and folksy and down to earth and it's a holiday, but I would like to today, if you don't mind.
Speaker 1:We can reflect on some of these people that we have lost and remember them, even in our record spin today, which, as it turns out, when I pulled the record out and, by the way, I think this will be the second time that I've had this particular artist I just kind of pull them at random, and I think it's the second time that I pulled it, matter of fact, I know it is Second time that I pulled this artist at random and again it works out because this particular artist is a veteran and it's well known that this person was a veteran. And, of course, we know that there are all of these great veterans, many of whom we don't know their names, many of whom we do know their names. I thought it'd be interesting just to talk about a couple of them, just a couple of them from the top of my head Someone that's not related to me, someone that's not a friend's parent. God bless all of you veterans. You know this isn't Veterans Day, though. This is Memorial Day, but, of course, thank you to the veterans, the people that serve this country, the men and women who have served this country. And so, as I'm thinking about Memorial Day and I'm thinking about people that we have lost and people that we can call American heroes, you know who came to mind.
Speaker 1:If you know me and you know my show, you know that I am a huge fan of Major League Baseball. I love baseball, and when I think of baseball, if I were to pick out the greatest player of all time, if I were to pick out the greatest player of all time, which would be great, grant you that's difficult in any sport, to pick out the greatest player of all time, but in the mix for me, and perhaps at the top, well, it could be Babe Ruth. I mean, he may be the greatest and biggest base I mean, uh, not in baseball, but sports name of all time. I'm sure you can put like Ali in there, but you know, babe Ruth, man, that might be the number one ever and you could say that. But anyhow, that's the point being. I'm talking about Ted Williams, Theodore Samuel Williams, who was born August 30th of 1918. And we lost Ted Williams in 2002.
Speaker 1:And Ted Williams was a man amongst men. He played 19 years in Major League Baseball, played for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960. 1939 to 1960. Some say he was the best in the game. He was the last time. It was the only time that a man has hit over 400 in a season. The last time. Ted Williams, the splendid splinter, teddy ball game, the thumper he had all these great nicknames. You know what else he did Ted Williams did? Very well known, his career in Major League Baseball was interrupted by military service during World War II and the Korean War. And yet this guy, ted Williams, is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game and, like I said, the last player to hit over 400 in the season. He had a 482 on-base percentage. That's the highest of all time.
Speaker 1:I remember they had this ceremony. Was it the 50 greatest players of all time? I can't remember exactly what it was. It was on TV, maybe during the all-star game, whatever. And I remember there was Tony Gwynn and there was Rod Carew and it was all these great hitters out there and you know. And they roll this golf cart out onto the field and it's Ted Williams in the golf cart and I remember the guys walking up to him and like touching him, like Tony Gwynn, touching him like man. This is Ted Williams here. This is the man, this is the legend.
Speaker 1:So Ted Williams, six-time AL batting champion, think about that. Ted Williams is a two-time recipient of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, a six-time American League batting champ. He was a two-time triple crown winner two times, not once, which is impossible, practically. Miguel Cabrera, hello Motown. But Ted Williams didn't do it once, he did it twice. That's unbelievable. He finished with a .344 batting average, hit 521 homers I mean, it just goes on and on and on. His slugging percentage is the second highest of all time. His career batting average, ted Williams, the highest of any major league player whose career was played primarily in the live ball era, ranks eighth all time. By the way, before I get to what else, he did, his military service, which is Memorial Day, what we're talking
Speaker 1:about. This story comes to mind Because Ted Williams was born and raised in San Diego and Ted Williams played in the Pacific Coast League for the San Diego Padres the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League and the team was playing the Solons in Sacramento. My father played for the Sacramento Solons. I've mentioned that probably many times. So Ted Williams played backup behind Vince DiMaggio, ivy Shiver with the Padres. And again, this is the Pacific Coast League. This is really essentially the West Coast version of Major League Baseball. We didn't have any Major League Baseball teams on the West Coast back then. Edmonds Field there in Sacramento on Broadway where the Target now stands, that was the first lighted park on the West Coast so they could have nighttime baseball. My dad played there. I have one of the lights from the original lighting grid on my property. So Ted Williams met his future teammates and friends, don DiMaggio, bobby Doerr and elsewhere, other fellows, I should say, who were in the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals Anyhow. So the point is he's 19 years old 1938, comes to play in Sacramento at Edmonds
Speaker 1:Field. Now I'm at a Hall of Fame Sacramento Baseball Hall of Fame luncheon one day with the great Harry Dunlop Harry, don't call me Dunlap Dunlop who is my dad's dear friend, harry was my dad's former manager manager. And I'm at this luncheon and a gentleman comes up to me. All these old boys are there, all these players that used to be around the game all the time, writers and players, and all of that from way back when. And this one old boy comes up to me and he starts telling me a story about Ted Williams. And now this guy, when he was about nine to 10 years old, the Solons asked him if he wanted to be the bat boy for one of the games and he said, being very excited yes, I would love to be the bat boy for the Solons. So the parents let him do
Speaker 1:it. And they're out there at Edmund Field right and he's telling me this story. So he says I'm a Catholic family. There was absolutely no cursing in our family whatsoever. You did not curse Nothing. He had virgin ears at 9 or 10 years old whatever, we'll just say 9, I
Speaker 1:guess. So he's going to be the bat boy this day. And he tells me he sees this guy standing in the on-deck circle and he's swinging a bat, getting ready to go up the bat. And he tells me he sees this guy standing in the the on deck circle and he's swinging a bat, getting ready to go up the bat, and he's got these big old forearms. He's a tall, lanky guy and he's swinging the bat and and he says to the kid, to the bat, to the bat boy, this guy who's telling me this story, literally reminiscing about this story, he says. And it turns out that this young guy, this tall, lanky dude with the big forearms in the on-deck circle, is none other than Ted Williams in his rookie year playing for San Diego. Now, of course he hasn't made a name for himself, he's not the Splendid Splinter, he's just starting. And again, virgin
Speaker 1:ears. Ted Williams, a rookie pitcher, as the story goes, pitching for the Solons. And Ted Williams says to this kid he says hey, kid, you see that house out there in the outfield. But that's not what he said. And I know I never curse on my podcast, not because I'm not approved, not because I'm not approved, not because I'm approved, whatever, it's just my thing. He says you see that effing house out there Gates, you see that effing house. And when he says mm eff, you know the kid's like oh my God. He cursed Like freaks the kid out because he's never heard this, he's never heard cursing, his family doesn't curse. He says you see that effing house over there. I'm going to hit the effing roof of that house off of this effing rookie pitcher. Now you can imagine this kid doesn't know what to think. He's like oh my gosh. So he's hearing this cursing
Speaker 1:Anyhow. So, as the story goes, the rookie pitcher strikes out Ted Williams, and Ted Williams, on his way back out to the dugout, tells the kid ah, that effing guy got lucky that he says you watch next time, I'll show you. Next time he gets up there. Sure enough, ted Williams does not hit the roof of the house, according to this gentleman, but he does hit the homer off this effing rookie, and it's the side of the house for a home run. And he comes to the back. That boy just effing told you get up, told you. I told you I hit it off that rookie, so you're more f-bombs in one. You know a couple of experiences with Ted Williams, but then he also told me because I guess Ted Williams also became a a heck of a fisherman that in the presence of women you didn't curse, no cursing. And if you were a guy and if you did curse in front of women, he'd call you out on it. Say that is not gentlemanly to curse in front of a lady. A little side note about Ted Williams, something that I learned and most people don't know. Well, some people do and some people don't know that this man was one heck of a war hero
Speaker 1:too. January of 42, ted Williams gets drafted into the military, put into Class 1A. A friend of his suggested that he see the advisor of the governor's Selective Service Appeal agent, since Ted Williams was the sole support of his mother. He argued that Williams should not be placed in Class 1A, said that Williams should be reclassified to 3A. So he was 10 days later. Then the public reaction was extremely negative. Baseball season of 42, only four All-Stars were a first-line. One first-line pitcher entered the military service during the 42 season. Of the 42 states I should say of the 42 states only four All-Stars and one first-line pitcher entered the military service during the 1942 season. Many others would then enter during the 43 season. Quaker Oats stopped sponsoring Ted Williams. He'd been eating the Quaker products, ate it all the time. Apparently, according to Wiki and other sources, never ate one since. Since the company said nah, we're going to stop sponsoring
Speaker 1:him. Despite that trouble with a draft board, 36 home runs, 137 RBIs, .356 batting average May 21st he hit his 100th career home run, third Red Sox player to hit 100 home runs with a team. He joined the Navy Reserve May 22nd of 42, went on active duty in 43, commissioned a second lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. As a naval aviator. He also played on the baseball team at Chapel Hill, north Carolina, along with Johnny Pesky, who was a teammate of his in Boston. That was in
Speaker 1:pre-flight training. September 2nd of 45, the war ended, ted Williams was in Pearl Harbor awaiting orders as a replacement pilot. While in Pearl Harbor he played baseball in the Navy League there, had an 18 league over there with Joe DiMaggio, joe Gordon, stan Musial some of the greats played in the service world series with the army versus the navy and they get big old crowds for that game. But this is a guy who was a fighter pilot. I mean this guy, this guy served our country while he's playing baseball and had one of the greatest careers in the history of Major League Baseball. How do you do both in the history of Major League Baseball? How do you do both? How could you possibly concentrate on the other and be as good as you are when you're having to concentrate on two different things like this? It's truly an amazing story to me. He was called from a list of inactive reserves to serve an active duty in the Korean War in 52 and passed a physical in May and, after playing in just six major league games, began refresher flight training qualification prior to his service in Korea and just before he leaves for Korea, the Red Sox have a Ted Williams day at Fenway Park. And they gave him a Cadillac, they gave him a memory book signed by 400,000 fans. The governor of Massachusetts was in attendance, along with a Korean War veteran named Frederick Wolfe, who used a wheelchair for mobility, and at the end of the ceremony everyone in the park held hands and sang Auld Lang Syne to Williams. And then I mean it's just an amazing story. It's just an amazing story. Another one, and rest in peace,
Speaker 1:ted Williams. You know there was Admiral James Stockdale. I may have talked about him on this show. He was actually the vice president. He ran with Ross Perot and Ross Perot was running for president in 92. Mr Stockdale was in the conservative think tank at Stanford later
Speaker 1:in life. But he had an incredible naval career, james Stockdale. He was in the Vietnam War. He was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin incident. He was a prisoner of war. James Stockdale was September 9th of 65, he was flying a carrier wing 16 commander from the USS Orskany on a mission over in North Vietnam and he was ejected from his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, had been struck by an enemy fire, completely disabled. So he parachutes into a
Speaker 1:small village. He was severely beaten, taken prisoner and was held prisoner of war in Hollow Prison, which is, of course, the famous Hanoi Hilton, and he was there for seven and a half years and as the senior naval officer he was one of the primary organizers of prisoner resistance, tortured, routinely denied medical attention for the severely damaged leg he suffered during his capture. Uh, he was this man, james Stockdale, who when he came out and said during the vice presidential debate, said who am I, why am I here? People laughed and that's all they remembered. It was a joke to them. Well, this man who was held prisoner of war for seven and a half years, locked in in leg irons, beaten, tortured. I was routinely denied medical attention, like I said, but in the summer of 69, he was locked in the leg irons in a bath stall and routinely tortured and beaten there a bath stall, and routinely tortured and beaten there. When he was told by his captors that he was going to be paraded in public, he slid his scalp with a razor to purposely disfigure himself so that his captors could not use him as propaganda. Yeah, when they covered his head with a hat, he beat himself with a stool until his face was swollen beyond recognition. When Stockdale was discovered with information that could implicate his friends, the so-called black activities, he slid his wrists so they couldn't torture him into confession and during his captivity and due to torture, his leg was
Speaker 1:broken twice. But this man was an amazing, amazing man. What he did, I mean he was one of the 11 US military prisoners known as the Alcatraz Gang and I mean, if you read what he did and what he was all about, this man was truly an amazing like I said, just an amazing man. So I would read up about him. You know, you can go to. There are people like George Mullins If you go to bestdefensefoundationorg, there are people there who perhaps you've never heard of George Mullin being one of them, perhaps you've never heard of George Mullen being one of them, and you can read about veterans that you may not have ever heard of. They are not famous. For instance, george Mullins, like I said, attended basic training at Camp Wheeler, georgia, assigned to the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne, june of 44, landed on Utah Beach and parachuted into the fighting of Saint-Quatremont 327th Liberating Brevards and participated in the liberation of Conotau. And George fought in all the campaigns of
Speaker 1:the 327th. This is a man but if you look at the website you can go to all of the veterans they have on there and just look at their stories. Has wonderful pictures of all of them. You can just click on their story. Betty Huffman Rose Veer, born in June of 21, big Valley, canada, moved with her parents and 10 brothers to Oregon. Trained to become a nurse in a Catholic school in Baker, oregon. Read about her. Enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps in 44, sent to train at Fort Lewis for six weeks, then commissioned. Her husband, billy, was shot down over Denmark, became a casualty of war. Anyhow, I bring these to you because these are the people that we should know about. We should definitely know about.
Speaker 2:I walked through a county courthouse square on a park bench and an old man was sitting there. I said your old courthouse is kind of run down. He said no, it'll do for our little town. I said your old flagpole is leaned a little bit and that's a ragged old flag you got hanging on it. He said have a seat. And I said, al, is this the first time you've been to our little town? I said I think it is. He said I don't like to brag but we're kind of proud of that ragged old flag. You see, we got a little hole in that flag there when Washington took it across the Delaware and it got powder burned. The night that Francis Scott Key said Washington right and say can you see? And it got a bad rip in New Orleans with Packingham and Jackson tugging at its seams and it almost fell at the Alamo Beside the Texas flag. But she waved on though. She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville and she got cut again at Shiloh Hill. There was Robert E Lee, beauregard and Bragg and the south wind blew hard on that ragged old flag On Flanders Field.
Speaker 2:In World War I she got a big hole from a birth of gun. She turned blood red. In World War II. She hung limp and low a time or two. She was in Korea and Vietnam. She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam. She waved from our ships upon the briny foam and now they've about quit waving back here at home In her own good land. Here she's been abused, she's been burned, dishonored, denied and refused, and the government for which she stands Is scandalized throughout the land. And she's getting threadbare and she's wearing thin, but she's in good shape, what a. And she's getting threadbare and she's wearing thin, but she's in good shape. What a shape she's in, because she's been through the fire before and I believe she can take a whole lot more. So we raise her up every morning, we take her down every night, we don't let her touch the ground and we fold her upright. On second thought I do like to brag because I'm mighty proud of that ragged old flag.
Speaker 3:I remember a teacher that I had. Now I went through the seventh grade. I went to the seventh grade. I left home when I was ten years old because I was hungry.
Speaker 2:This is true.
Speaker 3:I work in the summer and I go to school in the winter, but I had this one teacher. He was the principal of the Harrison School in Vincennes, indiana. To me this was the greatest teacher, a real sage of my time, anyhow. He had such wisdom and we were all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance one day and he walked over, this little teacher, mr Laswell was his name, mr Laswell, and he says, he says I've been listening to you, boys and girls, recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it's becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word, explain to you the meaning of each word.
Speaker 3:I, me, an individual, a committee of one pledge, dedicate all of my worldly goods to give, without self-pity, allegiance, my love and my devotion to the flag, our standard, oh glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job. Dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job. United, that means that we have all come together States, individual communities that have united into 48 great states, 48 individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose, all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for country, and to the Republic.
Speaker 3:Republic, a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern, and government is the people, and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people, for which it stands. One nation, one nation so blessed by God, indivisible, incapable of being divided, with liberty, which is freedom, the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation. And justice, the principle or qualities of dealing fairly with others For all. For all, which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine. And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance. Under God, wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too?
Speaker 1:Red Skelton, basically predicting the future, there at the very end. Johnny Cash before that with the ragged old flag. No, I don't own the copyrights to those. I'm playing those no profit, exposing people to the music, educating about good music and celebrating Memorial Day and those that we have lost. Speaking of veterans, people that have defended this country, I'm holding in my hand another one of my vintage TV guides. This is from August 16th through the 22nd. What year is this? What year is this? Oh, 1997. August 16th of 1997, on the cover, speaking of popular veterans, wearing his red jacket, his black leather pants, white shirt elvis man, that's right, elvis. Elvis president, baby, that's right.
Speaker 1:One of collector's covers for the week, and it's a bonus, elvis crossword in here. And I remember they had even a mini little mini disc and I have excuse me, I have that somewhere. So Elvis is on the cover. Elvis obviously was a veteran. So Elvis is on the cover. Elvis obviously was a veteran. And let me see that being a 340 right now.
Speaker 1:What would have been on on a Thursday at 340 back in 1997? Let's just take a peek. Let's see. Days of Our Lives would have been on. Oh, fantastic, 330, days of Our Lives.
Speaker 1:I miss the old soap operas. I didn't really watch them, but still there was something that they were on. My ma always watched them. They were always on the background. Infomercial MASH would be on Cartoon classics, gargoyles, family Ties. This would be all on at 3.30. Charlie Brown 30. Charlie Brown I don't know what the business tonight saved by the bell family matters, rocco's modern life, big bad beetle borgs and the queen oprah. Anyhow, it's pretty cool to have these old collector's guides.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so today when I pull the record from my rare 45 record collection, I happen to pull the king again, because I have a lot of Elvis and this one is a really cool record. This is on RCA Victor and it's a yellow label. Usually I kind of keep it a mystery until I start to play it who the artist is, but I just threw it out to this time Elvis, because we're talking about veterans and Memorial Day and all of that. And so this one here is. This song is a 1967 song written originally recorded by Jerry Reed. It's called Guitar man and Jerry Reed took his version of Guitar man to number 53 excuse me on the Billboard country music charts in 1967 and then, after his single comes out, then Elvis wanted to record this song. So he records it, see, with Reed, with Jerry Reed playing the guitar part on Elvis's version, and it became a minor country and pop hit. Okay, minor, but here I have it right here.
Speaker 1:According to sources, according to Peter Gernick I hope I said that right in his two volume biography of Elvis Presley the singer had been trying to unsuccessfully record this tune but was not happy with the groove. Come on now, I'm not liking this man. Can we pick it up? What's that redneck guitar player? That's what he said. Apparently, according to sources, he couldn't get into the groove of it. What's that redneck guitar player? That's what he said. Apparently, according to sources, he couldn't get into the groove of it. He said something to the effect, according again to sources hey man, give me that redneck pick. Who's on the original tune, man? So his staff brings in Jerry Reed, brings him into the studio and, bam, they nail it on the first take, first take.
Speaker 1:The singles spent one week at number one on the country chart, elvis's. I mean, do you realize? I don't think people realize that Elvis Presley had like 11 number one country hits. Everyone thinks of him as the king, you know, rock and roll man. This guy had like 11 number one country hits. So, in 68, elvis Presley comes out with this, opens up his 1968 comeback special, which is an incredibly popular special. He's got that black leather jacket on. I remember that With this number, with this song, he opened with this song Dark, moody lighting, highlighting, you know, his sneer, alluding to his checkered past.
Speaker 1:He's dangerous, ooh, he's got a dangerous image. He's still sexy, man, provocative, and the song was featured in a medley with Trouble, that's right, t-r-o-u-b-l-a, jailhouse rock. So, yeah, he's a bad, bad man. And then, in 1981, guitar man was re-recorded in a new electric arrangement, with Elvis Presley's original vocal left intact on that track, and it was the last of his 11 number one country hits. And that record also peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the last top 40 hit in the United States. So let's listen to them, shall we? First, though, let's listen to them, shall we? First, though, let's listen to Jerry Reed's version of Guitar man.
Speaker 4:Here we go, I left Kingston with my guitar up under my coat. I hitchhiked all the way down to Memphis, got a room at the YMCA For the next three weeks. I went a-hauntin' them nightclubs, lookin' for a place to play. Well, I thought my pickin' would set them on fire. But nobody wanted to hire a guitar man. Well, I nearly about starved to death down in Memphis. I'd run out of money and luck. So I phoned me a ride down to Macon, georgia, on an overloaded poacher truck. I thumbed on down to Panama City, started checking out some of them all-night bars, hoping I could make myself a dollar Making music on my guitar.
Speaker 1:All right, jerry Reed doing it. He wrote the song, so that's his original version. Of course, jerry Reed did Amos Moses, and when you're hot, you're hot, when you're not, you're not. Also, you know, with Burt Reynolds and Smokey and the Bandit and all that, he's bound to download it up and truck it. So here's today's record. This is Elvis's version. Again, this is on the RCA Victor label. This is Elvis Presley doing the very same song. Here you go.
Speaker 5:Here you go. I hitchhiked all the way down to Memphis, got a room at the YMCA For the next three weeks. I went a-huntin' them nightclubs, lookin' for a place to play. Well, I thought my pickin' would set them on fire, but nobody wanted to hire a guitar man. Well, I nearly about starved to death down in Memphis. I run out of money and luck, so I bought me a ride down to Macon, georgia, on an overloaded polka truck. I thumbed on down to Panama City, started picking out some of them all-night bars. I'm hoping I can make myself a dollar Making music on my guitar. I got the same old story with them all-night peers. There ain't no room around here for a guitar man. We don't need a guitar man. Yeah, man, come on man, here we go, man. So I slept in the hobo jungles. I roamed a thousand miles on the track.
Speaker 1:I think Elvis found the groove. That's a pretty groovy tune right there.
Speaker 5:A little four-piece band was jamming, so I took my guitar and I set in.
Speaker 1:I showed them what a band would sound like. That's pretty cool. That that was the first take. You know the first take. Pretty good, redneck picker huh. All right, so let's's go back to. Let's go to the 1981 remixed version of this song that they did, the electric remixed version of this song, where they took the same vocals that you just heard there from that version and just updated with a new mix in 1981. There you go.
Speaker 5:There you go. At the YMCA, I thought. The next three weeks I went a hundred nights looking for a place to play. Well, I thought my thinking was set him on fire. But nobody wanted to hire a guitar man. Well, I nearly about starved to death down in Memphis. I run out of money and luck, so I bought me a ride down to Macon, georgia, on an overloaded folding truck. I found I'm going down to Panama City.
Speaker 1:So there you go, very different versions. On March 24, 1958, elvis Presley drafted into the United States Army and his arrival there at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas was a major media event, as you can imagine. Hundreds of folks there descending on Elvis as he stepped off of the bus Photographers Everyone's there. And between March and September of 58, he completed basic and advanced training at Fort Hood. I signed a Company, a Medium Tank, battalion, 37th Armor. I'll leave it at that. Happy Memorial Day. I'll say it, happy Memorial Day because I hope it is happy for you, and just remembering and honoring all of our veterans and all those, like I say, our country and our freedom. Thanks for listening. Pats, peeps 95, see you for 96, see you on the radio I guess who's leading that five-piece band, wouldn't you know?
Speaker 5:it's that swing of the guitar.