The Note

T h e   N o t e 

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Rock & Roll and I more or less grew up together. I was born in 1956. I've seen numerous subgenres come and some have gone. Like many of you, I was around for Elvis Presley and dubstep. The Beach Boys and dark ambient. And so on. Like all of us, part of my life has been about the music I listen to. We all even tie the memories of certain music to certain events in our lives.

I moved to Memphis, Tennessee on August 16, 1977 to attend graduate school. That date may be familiar to you. Some friends of mine helped me move in that day. We got everything moved in pretty quickly and visited Graceland. My recollection is, at that time, you couldn't tour. You just hung out at the gate and peered in. So, we hung out at the gate for a minute and peered in. After, we walked across the street to a Danver's restaurant, a regional chain which I'm surprised to learn still exists. I recall it had a salad bar and, believe it or not, it was the first one I'd ever seen. That's either because it was 35 years ago, or because I grew up in Arkansas. Not sure.

During lunch, an ambulance pulled out of the front gate of Graceland. Later that day we learned that the ambulance contained the body of Elvis Presley. Within a few days, I began the study of clinical psychology there in Memphis and this involved spending some time at the charity hospital in downtown Memphis. All that year, we saw Elvis-related psychotic illnesses. An 80-year-old woman came in suffering from the delusion that she was carrying the baby of Elvis Presley. And, of course, all kinds of Elvis-is-Alive theorists, many of whom were actively communicating with Elvis through some kind of alternate frequencies.

Also, that year, I recall sitting around at a party with some fellow grad students, trying to wrap our heads around the idea that rock musicians would not always be young. Some of you know what I mean. My friend John Fanning pointed out that Bill Wyman had just turned 41. This was unthinkable to us. A rock musician older than 40. 

Bill Wyman is now 75 years old and touring Europe. Leonard Cohen is 77, touring, and just released a wonderful album of new material. Mick Jagger, 69. Ringo Starr, 72. Eric Clapton, 67. Brian Wilson, 70. And so on.* 

This didn't turn out the way we thought it would and I'm glad. 

Here's our little music-themed issue.  Thanks to all contributors, all who submitted, our panel of readers, and my co-editors F. John Sharp and F. J. Bergmann.  You know, the "F" Troop.

Enjoy!

Dale

*Update:  Bob Dylan's new album, "Tempest," got a 5-star review in Rolling Stone.  He's 71.