Well, we lost another from rock n’ roll’s first wave. The great Bobby Charles passed away early today. Offbeat.com posted a good obit, so I’m passing it on below.

http://www.offbeat.com/2010/01/14/bobby-charles-passed-away/

Bobby Charles Passed Away

14 January 2010 — by Alex Rawls

Songwriter Bobby Charles passed away this morning; the cause has yet to be determined. The writer of “Walking to New Orleans” and “See You Later Alligator” had struggled with ill-health for years, including back problems and a bout with cancer that was in remission. Those problems led him to miss a scheduled appearance at the Ponderosa Stomp in 2004 and Jazz Fest in 2007. Evidently he fell recently and was bedridden as a result. It was after that fall that he died.
Charles had completed work on a new album, which is due out next month.
More when we know more.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyJFK5PbZGs]

Elvis vs. Elvis

The Songwriter?

I thought I’d feature Elvis on this, the 75th anniversary of his birth. Now Elvis is known for many things; icon, performer, singer, actor, etc. But he is not known for his songwriting, which is virtually nonexistent. However, Elvis did participate in the true writing of only two songs, “That’s Someone You Never Forget” and “You’ll Be Gone.” His name appeared on a few other songs, which he did not help write in order to insure publishing royalties. But these two songs appear to have been at least co-written by the King himself. Listen to both of them back to back and judge which one you dig the most. In a world where we hear the Elvis hits ad nauseam, this week’s Cat Fight focuses on two of his lesser known songs. There are also a few extra goodies in here for Elvis fans of all walks of life. Long live THE KING!

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