First off, I am going to admit that, initially, I wasn't going to do a song for Christmas this year. Sorry to be a Scrooge but it doesn't feel like Christmas to me. I've told multiple people as much. I'm doing presents for my babies, because I love them and they deserve a reprieve from the general dreariness of this year, but everyone else can fuck off. I didn't even do gifts for my team, because half of them can't be in the office anyway (we're still doing partial telework). I haven't decorated - instead of putting up a tree, we piled all the presents on the coffee table - and, while dinner will be a little better than usual, the meal I'm planning isn't necessarily something I wouldn't make on a normal weekday. I'm not sure I even want to drive around and look at Christmas lights, which is one of my favorite things. To top it off, it's been unseasonably warm, even for Central Texas. I haven't lived anywhere that would normally have a "white christmas" since I was about 7-years-old, but even in the Southwest, it would be a little chilly out by now. So, no, it just doesn't feel like Christmas to me. And I'm not going to pretend it does, beyond what I want to do for my family.
And when those blue snowflakes start falling
That's when those blue memories start calling
You'll be doing all right
With your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
I was thinking about this song this week, though. I don't know why. Don't get me wrong - I love Elvis but I'm also in the camp that believes "All I Want For Christmas is You" is the greatest Christmas song ever made (it is - don't argue with me). However, I think I did "All I Want For Christmas is You" in a previous year and I don't like to repeat myself. It's a waste of perfectly good Internet. No, I was thinking about "Blue Christmas" because it was the first song I can remember performing in front of people. Like a lot of people - a whole elementary school cafeteria full of people! I was about 9-years-old and I had to perform it (along with the rest of my fourth grade class) for a holiday pageant. This morning, my mother texted the family group chat, declaring that she "remember[s] when Jessica sang Blue Christmas at her school concert." And it's times like this when I wonder if my thoughts are on broadcast for the whole world to hear.
I still know all the words to "Blue Christmas" and can mimic that classic Elvis twang in my sleep. But, at the heart of it, it's a sad Christmas song. It's about not feeling like it's Christmas at all because you can't be with your loved one(s), and it's a sentiment I think a lot of people understand this year. Those people who are trying to be responsible and maintain social distancing measures, at least. I will be doing the now traditional holiday Zoom call with my family. At this point, we've all become skilled at having fun, together but separately. But for someone who has "touch" as one of their primary love languages, it's a poor substitute. And while I'll probably be rehashing this rant with my therapist next week, all I can do now is accept that I'll have a blue - blue, blue, blue - Christmas. But I hope whoever reads this has/had a lovely, safe holiday. Merry Christmas.
"Elvis Presley" was the inaugural album by - you guessed it - Elvis Presley (affectionately known as the King of Rock and Roll). This album is notable, not only because it is the first album of possibly one of the most prolific musicians in contemporary pop culture, but because it also marked rock & rolls entry into the domination of the airwaves. Elvis' self-titled album spent 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, the first rock & roll album ever to do so. His music would define the genre and he is still well loved by fans (like myself) today.
Let's take a look at what was happening in 1956. At this point, it's no secret that Elvis was heavily influenced by the blues music being created by African-American artists of the time. Not so coincidentally, 1956 also marked a critical year in the Civil Rights Movement. In November 1956, the Supreme Court would rule that the Alabama bus segregation laws were unconstitutional in the landmark Browder v. Gayle case. From the end of 1955 until this ruling, anti-segregationists held the Montgomery bus boycott, the initial act of social protest that would evolve into the Civil Rights Movement. This protest would spark other bus boycotts in the South and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s involvement would elevate him as a leader for social justice. Unfortunately, this would put him in danger and in January of 1956, Dr. King's home was bombed - just one of many attempts that would be made on his life until his assassination in 1968. He was far from the only public figure targeted - Nat Cole was attacked in April while he was performing onstage in Birmingham in a racially charged incident. And the first attempts to integrate public schools are met with venomous opposition throughout the South.
Blue Moon (moon, moon, moon, Blue Moon)
You saw me standing alone (moon, moon, moon, Blue Moon)
Without a dream in my heart (moon, moon, moon, Blue Moon)
Without a love of my own
In other news (and perhaps as a distraction from the events of the day), the first soap opera, "As the World Turns," premiers on network television. Cecil B. DeMille's masterpiece, "The Ten Commandments" is released in the United States. And the Suez Canal crisis leads to war between Israel and Egypt. Other than that, it was a big year in the world of sports and it was an especially big year for Elvis Presley. Throughout 1956, practically every single he released became a hit both domestically and internationally. He was making the rounds on the talk show circuit, to include his famous performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." And he also made his film debut in "Love Me Tender." Nope, not a bad year at all for a 21-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee.
I wanted to take a look at both Elvis' natal chart as well as the chart for the album release. In this day and age, we don't blink twice at a 21-year-old being famous in an instant - between Disney Channel stars and the glut of celebrity children, it's bound to happen. But in 1956, Elvis meteoric rise was almost unheard of. Elvis' birthday is 8 January (he shares this birthday with our last featured artist, David Bowie), which makes him a Capricorn. When his debut album was released, the ascendant and Uranus were directly opposite his Sun, indicating a major shift in how he would perceived. Uranus was also square his natal Uranus - squares are known for being rough, but they can also be a sign that events happen suddenly, without warning. Another interesting thing to note is that when this album was released, the North Node was conjunct his ascendant in Sagittarius, an indication that he was just following his destined path. Speaking of Destiny, his North Node, his Moon, and his Saturn were all in Aquarius. Revolutionizing the music scene wasn't just his Destiny, he may have felt it was his duty as well. Elvis' midheaven is in Virgo, which isn't much of a surprise. A Virgo MC, being ruled by Mercury, usually points to a person who is detail-oriented and highly skilled at self-learning. Elvis didn't have formal musical training, and mostly learned and played music by ear. Ironically, he said music was the only class he ever failed. But he loved music as a child and he'd seek out ways to listen to it, frequenting shows at local blues venues (something good boys didn't do in the segregated South) and spending time at record stores to hear the new releases.
This was a fun album to listen to, mostly because I grew up an Elvis fan. My dad would always remind me that he was in the 10th Mountain Division when he served in the Army, which is one of the units my dad was in when I was a kid. It's not a long album and it doesn't even have most of the hits people can point to as being Elvis. But it was an important album - there isn't a pop or rock musician today that can say they weren't influenced by Elvis. If they say they aren't, they're lying because they probably wouldn't exist without this album. I can't even imagine what music would sound like today if this album was never released. We'd probably be listening to elevator music or untuned violins or something like that. Oh wait....
