17 December: Blue Suede Shoes

On this date in 1955 the song Blue Suede Shoes was written. 10 things you might not know about the song:

1. The song was written by Carl Perkins. He is said to have scribbled it down on a paper bag so he'd not forget it when inspiration hit him at 3am. In this draft version, he misspelled suede as "swade".
2. There are two theories as to what made Carl Perkins write a song about shoes. The first was that Johnny Cash told Perkins about an airman he'd met while serving in the military in Germany during the second world war, who was quite precious about his shoes, insisting that nobody stepped on them. Cash suggested that Perkins write a song about this, to which Perkins allegedly replied, "I don't know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about Shoes?"
3. The other theory is that Perkins was playing a gig and noticed a couple dancing. He overheard the boy scolding the girl for stepping on his "suedes". Perkins was amused that the boy was more concerned about his shoes than he was about the girl and decided to write a song about him.
4. Suede shoes were a luxury item of footwear for going out in the American South at the time, and it is difficult to clean, so the boy and his shoes at the dance is plausible.
5. Two days after scribbling it down on a paper bag, Perkins recorded the song and it was released with a song called Honey Don't on the B side.
6. Despite Perkins missing a scheduled TV appearance because he was hospitalised following a car crash, the song got some radio play and shot to number 2 in the Billboard Top 100 (Elvis was number one with Heartbreak Hotel) and number one on the R & B charts.
7. The song was Perkins's only top 40 hit. After the accident, which had killed his brother, he never really got back into performing, concentrating his energies on song writing instead. He recognised that perhaps Elvis had more star quality than he did. Elvis was a good looking single man while Perkins claimed he "looked like Mr Ed" and had three kids.
8. Within days of the record's release in January 1956, Elvis was in the studio recording a cover version as a tribute which was released the following September with Tutti Fruitti on the B side. The gap between recording and release was because Elvis insisted he didn't want his version to compete with the original in the charts.
9. The song was covered by a host of other artists in the 1950s and 60s, including Delbert Barker and the Gateway All Stars, Thumper Jones, Hank Smith, Buzz Williams, Pee Wee King, Boyd Bennett, Pat Boone, Conway Twitty, The Dave Clark Five, Merle Haggard, Jim Lowe, Lawrence Welk, Sam Taylor, Jerry Mercer and Eddie Cochran.
10. While the beginning of the song was based on a nursery rhyme, the lyrics further in helped convince the older generation that rock and roll was evil. Because the singer would prefer that someone slapped his face, burned his house down, stole his car or drank all his booze rather than step on those shoes.

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

Themes 

Christmas; superheroes; reunions; parties; life choices; shocking surprises; mistaken identity; kidnap and rescue.

Reasons not to read it

• It's a bit short. You could probably read it in one sitting.
• Most of the action takes place at a Christmas party. In a palace.
• It's all about Christmas but there doesn't seem to be a schmaltzy moral message.
• There are a couple of babies and some small children in it - and one nearly gets eaten.
• Santa appears in it, but he isn't really Santa.
• Superheroes. Again.
• Not to mention a whole bunch of super-villains. Again all new ones and not the ones we know from Marvel or DC.

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