When I was a kid, I loved Elvis Presley’s music. We had a nearby radio station in Delano, CA that every week day would play 15 minutes of uninterrupted Elvis Presley and I used to get off the school bus and run the 1/4 mile to home so I could listen to it. Of course, as I grew older Elvis and I drifted apart but I always had a soft spot in my heart for some of his classic songs.

A few weeks ago I was traveling to Leavenworth, WA and had a CD in the player with oldies on it and when # 4 popped up it was “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”. It brought back a memory of when my ex-wife and I decided to make a trip to California and about three hours into it the news of Elvis’ death came across. This was back in the days when there weren’t that many radio stations blasting across Eastern Washington and I can almost tell you exactly where we were when I heard the news. We had planned to drive straight through to home, which in those days was about a 24 hour trip.

We were coming down into the valley from Redding and I had a radio station from San Francisco on and the DJ said something about here’s how a lot of us are feeling tonight-it was about 5 am, I was driving and my ex was in the back asleep. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” came on and I started crying because that’s exactly how I felt that night. So, I didn’t cry on the trip to Leavenworth but I played that song a few more times and thought about that day in August, 1977.

Here’s a song from the upcoming CD-Longing in My Heart

There’s a longing in my heart
For the way things used to be
I remember at the start
When you said that you loved me
I thought that you and I would be forever
But then he came along
I guess I lost my part
There’s a longing, a longing in my heart
There’s a longing, a longing in my heart

There’s an aching in my soul
For the way you used to feel
There’s a dark and empty hole
For the love I thought was real
I thought that you and I would stay together
But then he came along
I guess I lost my role
There’s an aching, an aching in my soul
There’s an aching, an aching in my soul

There’s a longing in my heart
For the way things used to be
I remember at the start
When you said those things to me
You promised me those boots of Spanish leather
But when I pulled them on
They just fell all apart
There’s a longing, a longing in my heart
There’s a longing, a longing in my heart

Just for today, I’m dedicating it to Elvis.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
Jim