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:: Little Rosa ::

:: The Day the Town Cried ::

Cliff Gleaves was a Tennessee DJ with a rockabilly single (“Love is My Business”) under his belt when he met Elvis back in 1957. The two became instant buddies and Cliff was immediately hired on as a full-time friend and Memphis Mafia member. When Elvis was drafted and stationed in Germany, Cliff moved to Germany to be with him. And when Elvis came back to Graceland, Cliff came back and moved in to the estate.

I’ve read a few accounts saying that Cliff was always cracking Elvis up, and that the “Big E” kept him around for his own personal comic relief. So it’s sort of weird that Gleaves, Sage of Comedy, recorded this tear-drenched, sappy single at some point. One side contains his take on Red Sovine and Webb Pierce’s depressing downer “Little Rosa,” concerning a distraught father and his dead little daughter. Flip it over and you get the overly modulated, Gleaves-penned “The Day the Town Cried,” a tragic tale of a heartbroken young man who throws himself into a river and drowns after learning of his lover’s sinful ways. Why, from the sound of things, with this El Hombre of Ha-Ha always around, it’s no wonder Presley was pouring pills down his gullet.


Phil

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