Jan. 3 has been declared – by who we don’t know – Women Rock! Day, because on that day in 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – nice, I guess, but hardly a highlight of her career. We’d suggest changing the date to June 3, the day in 1967 that Franklin’s “Respect” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s singles chart. But that’s just us.
Also, Jan. 3 is less than a week from Jan. 8, Elvis Presley’s birthday, which is a rock ‘n’ roll holy day. (It’s also a good day to fry peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches and listen to David Bowie, with whom Elvis shares a birthday.)
Presley, though, might not have become a legend without the contributions of these women who rocked:
Mae Boren Axton: Axton was a high school teacher and also a promotor with plenty of contacts, including Bob Neal, Presley’s first manager. She helped convince RCA to sign Presley in 1955. She also wrote his first hit for the label.
With Tommy Durden, Axton wrote “Heartbreak Hotel,” which Elvis loved and RCA hated. When RCA finally agreed to release the song, it became Elvis’ first No. 1 single. Axton continued penning hits for Faron Young and Ernest Tubb, among others. Her son, Hoyt Axton, wrote hits for Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf, Ringo Starr and others. His “Never Been to Spain” was covered by many artists, including an earth-shaking performance by Elvis himself.
Big Mama Thornton: Willie Mae Thornton was 6 feet tall, weighed 350 pounds and did not have time for your mess. Fortunately, she had time for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote her signature song, “Hound Dog.” The lyrics chastise a cheating lover and Thornton growls them so menacingly that her exes probably left town just to be safe.
Elvis Presley loved the song but knew better than to go toe-to-toe with Big Mama’s version. Presley replaces Thornton’s malice with reckless abandon. The two versions barely sound related, much less like the same song. Thornton reportedly made only $100 from “Hound Dog” despite her version being a sizable R&B chart hit. When Elvis died, a reporter asked Thornton how she felt about the financial discrepancy. She replied, “I’m still here to spend my hundred bucks.”
Marion Keisker: Marion Keisker was a Memphis radio personality who was a close-second in command to Sam Phillips of Sun Records and Studios. Keisker was instrumental in finding a location for the studio, originally called Memphis Recording Service. She handled the business and finances. She booked musicians for recording sessions. She built the studio’s connections with radio, distributors and the press.
When Phillips said he wanted a white singer with a “black feel,” Keisker suggested Presley, who she met when he recorded a pair at of songs at Memphis Recording Service as a gift for his Mama. Keisker told Phillips to pair Elvis with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black and the trio came up with wild remakes of blues (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right”) and bluegrass songs (Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky”), causing the earth to shift. Keisker handled press for Elvis until he signed with RCA. She later served in the U.S. Air Force before forming the Memphis chapter of the National Organization for Women and becoming a prominent activist and advocate for women’s rights.
Most versions of the Elvis story call her the receptionist who happened to mention Presley to Phillips, if she’s mentioned at all. Which is why we might need more than one day to remember women who rock!