Book Excerpt of the Day

The Girl Can’t Help It (’56), starring one of Marilyn Monroe’s blonde bombshell rivals, Jayne Mansfield, is a giddy rock ‘n’ roll musical satire features a score by Lionel Newman and songs by Bobby Troup, who contributed similarly to Mansfield’s next comedy, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (’57), which is another classic sex comedy of the era. Girl features cameos by early rock ‘n’ roll legends such as Fats Domino, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent; legend has it that Elvis Presley was courted to make an appearance, but he allegedly asked for too much money. The theme song was a smash for Little Richard. Film auteur John Waters later used it on the soundtrack of his notorious trash classic Pink Flamingos (’72).

– from Chapter 3: Sexploitation Serenade of Kristopher Spencer’s Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979

Book Excerpt of the Day

As Elvis devoted the bulk of his creative energy to moviemaking during the ‘60s, the quality of his music suffered. His ‘60s soundtracks are often padded with outtakes from much earlier sessions and rarely feature more than one or two memorable tracks. Having originally made his big splash on the small screen (most famously on The Ed Sullivan Show), it seems apt that after squandering his talent on half-baked theatrical releases the King had to retake his throne with a comeback TV special in 1968.”

– from Chapter 7: Rockin’ Revolution of Kristopher Spencer’s Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979