Songs By Elvis and Jimi Hendrix Now On The Moon

Above, Jimi Hendrix on September 17, 1970.

A U.S. spacecraft has touched down on the moon for the first time since 1972 when Apollo 17 landed there. The spacecraft was unmanned, but it did contain digitalized recordings of top rock superstars including Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley.

Far Out Magazine reported:

For the first time since 1972, an American spacecraft has touched down on the moon, bringing digitised recordings from some of the greatest musicians ever, including Jimi Hendrix.

The spacecraft, called Odysseus, has tucked tunes into the time capsule resting on the moon’s surface from legendary 20th-century artists including Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, Santana, Chuck Berry, Sly & the Family Stone, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, The Who as well as Hendrix.

To read more, go here. 

Sun Records Selling Elvis Presley's Contract Was A Smart Move

Above, an autographed photo of Elvis Presley at Sun Studio. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Nowadays, $35,000 does not seem like too much money to sell a rising star's record contract to RCA Victor, but that was the amount Sun Records' Sam Phillips sold Elvis Presley's contract for.

In interviews over the years, Sam Phillips said he never regretted selling Presley's contract. 

Far Out Magazine (U.K) has posted an article on how that tidy sum made Phillips a wealthy man. 

It begins with:

John Lennon once said, “Before Elvis there was nothing.” You’d imagine that inventing everything, at least in Lennon’s words, comes with a hefty price tag. Unfortunately, for Sun Records, it’s a story akin to Newell’s Old Boys having to sell Leo Messi to Barcelona: when the big guys come a-knocking, you just have to answer the call and take what you can get. The $35,000 fee might not sound like a lot in retrospect but taking a risk on a fledgling talent changing the world and holding out for more was too perilous. 

We all know what happened to Elvis’ finances at the hands of Colonel Tom Parker, but what of Sun Records’ side of the story once ‘The King’ left the building and signed for RCA? Well, if you adjust the figure for inflation, the deal scored the little Memphis music mogul, Sam Phillips, a tidy $389,000—it might not make you a tycoon, but it could snap you up a fine country home. 

Above, a display at Sun Studio. Sam Phillips is on the right. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

10 Best Road Trips To Take In The USA

Above, approaching an avalanche snowshed on Colorado's
Million Dollar Highway sourh of Ouray. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since the "Great American Road Trip" has regained in popularity (and, in some cases, necessity due to the pandemic) by either car or RV, more articles on road trips have become numerous.

The latest is an article on 10 best road trips to take across the USA by the United Kingdom's Far Out Magazine. I have been on several of the ones listed. 

Before getting into the ten best road trips, they begin with a lengthy introduction.

Here's a snippet:

The idea of the American road trip as an antidote to the alienation of the modern world continued well into the 1940s and ’50s when Jack Kerouac wrote his Beat manifesto, The Road. For Kerouac’s characters, America’s highways symbolise the exhilarating pursuit of escape: escape from the weekday grind, escape from societal norms, and an escape from the persistent reminder that one’s life is but a fleeting moment.

Today, our understanding of the great American Road trip is still imbued with the writings of Hunter S Thompson, the gonzo journalist who, like Kerouac, had an innate affinity for America’s ocean-wide highways and the freedom they represented. In his red convertible, Thompson’s alter-ego Raoul Duke burns a trail across the modern wild west, chasing the last glimmerings of an American dream rapidly sinking below the horizon.

Now, we’re not saying you should arm yourself with your darkest Fear and Loathing memories and hit the open road in a wave of hysteria akin to Hunter S. Thompson’s imagination, but you certainly should try and explore at least one of these top ten selected road trips.

To read more, go here.