Lisa Marie Presley and Elvis: “I Love You Because”

Lisa Marie Presley carried the burdens of being a famous daughter but she also exhibited her own talents as a singer-songwriter.

Many of us may first think of Lisa Marie Presley, who died on January 12, 2023, as a child and the connection we felt to her through her famous father Elvis Presley. Some younger people may first think of her famous marriages to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage. But Lisa Marie Presley was a talented musical artist in her own right, recording several albums as well as some “duets” with her father.

I bought her debut album To Whom It May Concern when it came out in 2003. Presley wrote or cowrote all of the songs on the album, which was a solid debut.  I loved the fist single, “Lights Out,” featured in the video below. The lyrics seem extra powerful now that it has been announced that Lisa Marie Presley is going to be buried at Graceland.

Someone turned the lights out there in Memphis;
Ooh, that’s where my family are buried and gone (gone);
Oh yeah;
Last time I was there I noticed a space left,
Oh, next to them there in Memphis, yeah,
In the damn back lawn.

In 2005, she released her second album, Now What. And her third and final album Storm & Grace was released in 2012.

Through the years, she also released a handful of “duets” that incorporated her vocals with recordings made by Elvis. One of the touching duets she created was on “I Love You Because,” as song written and originally recorded by country music singer-songwriter Leo Payne in 1949.

Elvis recorded “I Love You Because” in July 1954 at Sun Studio, at the same time he was recording “That’s All Right.” The recording occurred before Presley had become a star. Of course you can hear his talent in his vocals, but if you listen closely enough, you may hear a teenager who has no idea of how big of a success he will become.

Lisa Marie Presley recorded her vocals and created a video for “I Love You Because” that was featured in the 35th Anniversary Elvis Concert on August 16, 2012. The video featured never-before-seen family photos, not only of Elvis and his daughter, but also of Lisa Marie and her children: her twin girls Finley and Harper, along with her son Benjamin and daughter Riley (who has since become a talented actress).

As the obituaries about Lisa Marie Presley point out, not only did she and her father die at a relatively young age, but her son Benjamin also died tragically. When we think about these deaths, they of course bring a lot of sadness. And not long before her own death, Lisa Marie wrote a touching and thoughtful essay about grief and about losing her son to suicide.

But also as seen in the video for “I Love You Because,” there was a lot of love in the family. The video is a reminder that although life inevitably brings many tragedies and losses to our lives, there also can be a lot of joy and love at times. The sadness and tragedies may hinder our view of much of life when we look in the rear view mirror. But it also is important to stretch our necks a little to try to see the moments of grace and joy that are there too.

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Beyond the Danceable Hits: Irene Cara’s Moving Song About Isolation and Loneliness, “Out Here On My Own”

While best known for the uplifting title songs from “Fame” and “Flashdance,” Irene Cara created a movng performance of a song about isolation and loneliness with “Out Here On My Own.”

In the early 1980’s, one would have expected Irene Cara, who passed away in November 2022, to go on to have a long and successful music (and acting) career based largely upon recording two of the biggest hits of the early 1980s. Few artists have such big exciting hit title tracks from successful movies so close together. First, starring in the movie Fame (1980), Cara hit it big not only with “Fame,” but an impressive star turn as an actress. Then, three years later, she topped the charts with “Flashdance . . . What a Feeling” from the movie Flashdance (1983). But while I loved those songs, it was a quieter performance from Fame that I always think of first when I hear her name.

In the early 1980s, I had gone off to attend college several hundred miles away from home. Like many others there, I was young and living on my own for the first time, going somewhere where I had no friends or family. Of course, all of us there were extremely fortunate to be where we were, but many of us also were experiencing a new kind of loneliness. As with any recolocation, during those early days we had not yet forged the new bonds and friendships that would eventually come.

It was in those days that the school’s movie theater offered a showing of Fame. And there, in that darkened theater, we found some kinship with the young characters on the screen striving to create something out of their lives, struggling for success while also learning to encounter failure.

In that context, Irene Cara appeared onscreen and performed the song “Out Here On My Own.” Unlike the title track where she and everyone danced, she sold this song by merely singing at a piano. Her moving performance of the opening lyrics made our audience lean into the song. And we were there with her all the way to the final note.

Sometimes I wonder where I’ve been,
Who I am,
Do I fit in.
Make believin’ is hard alone,
Out here on my own.

As I listened, I thought about my own feelings, connecting as we do with much great art to find ourselves. I felt connected to the isolation reflected in the song, thinking it was only me. But then something happened I had not seen before and have not seen since.

I have seen movie audiences clap at the end of a movie.

I have heard movie audiences cheer when the good guy finally defeats the bad guy.

But during Fame, in the middle of the film, I was surprised to hear the college audience applaud and cheer Irene Cara’s performance of this quiet song.

And that is why Cara’s “Out Here On My Own” remains so important for me. At that moment when I was feeling alone and isolated, I realized that others in that same room were feeling the same thing. And Irene Cara brought us together for those few minutes. And it also taught me a lesson that remains to this day, to remember to be kind to others because they are often going through things that you might not suspect or know.

In recent years due to the Covid pandemic, many of us around the world have encountered new layers of loneliness, making “Out Here On My Own” seem especially timely. Reportedly, Irene Cara herself faced her own isolation in these last years leading to her death too, making the song even more poignant.

“Out Here On My Own,” while not as big of a hit as the title track “Fame,” was successful on its own. The song, written by the sister-brother team of Lesley Gore and Michael Gore, not only charted but was nominated for an Academy Award. It lost to the other bigger and happier Irene Cara song from the movie about living forever, “Fame.”

But “Out Here On My Own” remains one of the great movie songs about loneliness. In Billboard, Chuck Taylor wrote about the rerelease of the soundtrack, noting that “Out Here On My Own” “remains as simplistic and memorable a statement of isolation as has ever been written”

For a song about isolation, though, I always remember it as bringing people together.

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    Kasey Chambers Covers Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”

    Kasey Chambers began covering Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” on tour, recently releasing a live single due to demands from fans for the outstanding version of the song.

    When you have a song so identified with one artist as Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,’ it becomes difficult to imagine anyone covering the song. One of the few artists who has the talent to take on such a song and make it her own, though is Australia’s Kasey Chambers. And she does it with a banjo.

    Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” appeared on the soundtrack for his movie 8 Mile in 2002. In the film, the song is part biography of Eminem’s character B-Rabbit and part boast in encountering obstacles.

    Kasey Chambers stays true to the original, starting off quieter and bulding until the full band joins her with drums and a raging electric guitar. Her voice, as always, is capable of being both tender and powerful, as she wrenches the emotion deep in the lyrics.

    Check out Kasey Chambers’s version of “Lose Yourself” below. The performance takes place at the Civic Theater in Newcastle, Australia, the final show of her 2022 her recent Behind The Barricades tour. Due to demand from fans, Chambers released the performance as a single and created the video puthing together video taken by fans at the show.

    Chambers explained how she connects during her performance of the song: ““I had no idea that audiences would respond to it like they have. Something else takes over my body when I play it and I get completely lost in it.” She added, “I can honestly say it’s the most I’ve ever connected to a performance of a cover song in my life.”

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    Did You Know that Mr. Shorofsky from “Fame” Wrote the Music for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”?

    Albert Hague, recognizable for his role in the original “Fame” movie and the 1980s TV series, also wrote the music for the beloved Christmas classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”

    If you were around in the 1980s, you likely remember the movie Fame (1980), which also became a TV series that ran from 1982 until 1987. One of the actors in Fame had earlier found success writing music for a beloved Christmas animated special, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

    Albert Hague as Mr. Shorofsky

    The movie Fame was later remade in 2009, but both the 1980’s version of the movie and of the series featured the character of Benjamin Shorofsky. Mr. Shorofsky was a teacher with more traditional ideas of music who sometimes butted heads with the more “hip” students. The actor who played Mr. Shorofsky, Albert Hague, was also an established musician in his own right. He wrote music for several Broadway musicals, even winning the Best Score Tony Award in 1959 for Bob Fosse’s musical Redhead.  But his music that you most likely recognize is what he wrote for the Christmas 1966 animated special, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

    In this scene from the original movie, Mr. Shorofsky debates about the future of music with Bruno (Lee Curreri), a student at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts.

    Below is a scene from the second season of the Fame TV series. In it, Hague, as Shorosfsky, sings “Did I Ever Really Live?” as the same student, Bruno, again played by Lee Curreri, looks on.

    Hague had earlier written the music for the popular song.

    Music for The Grinch

    As for Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Hague is credited with composing the music for the 1966 special, long before his work on Fame. While songs like “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” feature lyrics by Dr. Seuss, the music comes from Hague. In the special, that song is performed by Thurl Ravenscroft.

    And Hague also wrote the music for the featured song “Welcome Christmas.” The Who’s perform the song in the special.

    Hague was born in Berlin, Germany on October 13, 1920 as part of a Jewish family. As Hitler rose to power, Hague moved to America, earning a music scholarship at the University of Cincinnati. After graduating in 1942, he served in the United States Army’s special service during World War II.

    During his music career Hague often collaborated with his wife, Renee Orin. She passed away in 2000, and Hague followed her on November 12, 2001.

    The next time you enjoy How the Grinch Stole Christmas, say a little thanks to Mr. Shorofsky.

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    10 Thoughts on Bruce Springsteen’s “Only the Strong Survive”

    Here are 10 thoughts about Bruce Springsteen’s “Only the Strong Survive,” an album of covers of classic Soul and R&B songs.

    Springsteen Only the Strong Survive

    Bruce Springsteen released a covers album of classic Soul and R&B songs called Only the Strong Survive (2022). Springsteen has often covered songs live and he has done another album of covers (We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions). Yet, many fans are disappointed that the songwriter is not releasing an album of new material. There are plenty of sources providing in-depth reviews, so instead Chimesfreedom gives you ten quick takes.

    1. Short Overall Review: If you like Springsteen, Only the Strong Survive features the artist singing great songs. So if you get past being disappointed by the lack of new original songs, you should just sit back and enjoy this lovely album.

    2. Do album reviews matter anymore? Most folks pay for a streaming service and can listen to anything they want without commitment. So if you like Springsteen or are curious, you can listen to the album and make up your own mind. I am old school and resisting streaming so I did buy it as I have done for every Springsteen album; and I’m happy I did.

    3. Springsteen’s Voice: As others have noted, Springsteen’s voice has aged like a fine wine, and he is able to pull off these classic songs quite well. For example, on “I Wish It Would Rain,” one of the greatest pop records of all time, nobody can hold a candle to the Temptations’ David Ruffin. Springsteen does not surpass Ruffin or any of the originals, but he does a darn good job.

    4. Well, then why do we need this album if we have the better originals? First, Springsteen has earned the right to do whatever he wants, and great songwriters can do tributes to music they love (as Merle Haggard did with albums honoring Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills). Second, if you are a fan, it is fun to hear him sing these classics. And third, while compilation albums can be good and you could make a playlist of the original versions of these songs, one artist doing a covers album offers a consistency to your listening that jumping between artists does not.

    5. Good Song, Strange Video: Springsteen’s weird hand movements in the video for the Commodores’ “Nightshift” are distracting and may make it one of his worst videos ever. His facial expressions are distracting too.

    6. Sounds Like a Springsteen Classic: By contrast, his recording of and video for “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” sounds like a classic Springsteen song from the first moment when the Boss yells “C’mon.” The video is fantastic and fun too.

    6. The Music: The musicians, including the E Street Horns, and backing singers (Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Curtis King Jr., Dennis Collins, and Fonzi Thornton) on this album are absolutely fantastic.

    7. A Southside Johnny Album? Not surprisingly, Springsteen singing R&B covers at times makes you think you are listening to an album by that other guy from Jersey, Southside Johnny. That is not necessarily a bad thing. At no point is the Southside Johnny connection stronger than on “Don’t Play that Song,” initially made famous by Ben E. King. Springsteen even inserts a reference to the Jersey Shore.

    8. Covering Diana Ross: Maybe my favorite track on the album is the final song, with Springsteen singing “Someday We’ll Be Together,” made famous by Diana Ross & the Supremes. Along with Aretha Franklin’s “Don’t Play That Song” and Jackie Shane’s “Any Other Way,” the Supremes song features one of the selections where he is covering a song made famous by female singers. So Springsteen’s recording does add a twist to hear a male voice sing the lyrics. Or maybe it is that Springsteen finds a special connection to the song, having previously written a song with the nearly identical title, “Someday (We’ll Be Together).” Springsteen wrote that outtake from Darkness on the Edge of Town around 1977, but first released it on The Promise (2010).

    9. Guest Artist: It’s cool that Sam Moore from Sam & Dave sings on two tracks with Springsteen. But why not a Sam & Dave song? Springsteen has indicated there were a lot of tracks recorded that are not on the album, so I wonder if there will be a sequel album.

    10. Repeated Listens: Okay, you could have just read the first point and stopped reading. But the more I listen to the album, the more I get past focusing on differences from the originals and let go and just enjoy the songs. While this album probably won’t be at the top of my list of the greatest Springsteen albums, it will likely be in the running for one of the Springsteen albums I am most likely to play. It will be a great one to play if you have company who may not think they are Springsteen fans.

    What do you think of Only the Strong Survive? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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