For Christmas Gerald gave me an Elvis desk calendar. Each day there is a different, gorgeous picture of Elvis to greet me. Sometimes the pages will have bits of trivia. On April 10, the caption read:
"Q: Technically, Elvis' first radio broadcast came at 10 years old, singing in a youth talent show. What song did he perform?"
"A: Ole Shep".
My first memory of hearing Ole Shep was hearing my father's recording by Red Foley. The song always brings a lump in my throat.
Yesterday I was in Aldi's and I noticed that the dog food items are named SHEP; of course, I began singing Ole Shep, in a low voice, using Elvis' arrangement. Listen below:
A woman, bagging her groceries, asked, "What were you singing?" When I told her Ole Shep she told me that her father used to sing it and he was a local musician. When I asked his name she said, "Ralph Streitenberger." and I asked, "So, you are Red and Vanilla's daughter?" She was delighted that I knew her parents and I told her my maiden name, that we were from Bloomingburg, and that I had enjoyed hearing her father perform numerous times, and that he had been my brothers' barber. As I shared several fond memories about her father, she said that it was wonderful to know how well he was remembered.
1 comment:
As Gerald has said, if you went to New York, you'd run into somebody you knew! ML
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