Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio
[episode #1: "Weather" ]
broadcast - May 3, 2006
“We forget how much Elvis wanted to be Dean,” Dylan says as an aside as he introduces Dean Martin's Dixieland version of "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine" on episode one of "Theme Time.”
Actually it's the first time the idea had occurred to me. But as usual with Dylanesque statements, it makes more sense the more you look into it. In "Elvis & Dino" an updated version of an article Chris Spedding wrote for Musician magazine, he writes...... The office manager of Sam Phillips' Sun Records studio in Memphis, Marion Keisker, tells of a not entirely successful first audition Presley had with Phillips. According to Marion, Sam asked Elvis to run through some of his repertoire, which seemed to lean so heavily on Dean Martin stuff, she thought Elvis had decided "...if he was going to sound like anybody, it was going to be Dean Martin."
While Elvis was probably inspired by Martin's version of “I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine," more accurately both Presley and Martin were covering Patti Page's 1950 Top 10 hit.
"I Don't Care..." was written by Mack David (Tin Pan Alley tunesmith and brother of Hal David) originally for the Disney version of Cinderella, believe it or not. The song was dropped from the movie without ever being recorded, as far as I can tell, which seems to have been a smart decision. The mind boggles at Cinderella and Prince Charming singing it...
Theme Time Radio Hour is broadcast on XM Radio every Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, and rebroadcast Fridays at 6 pm, Sundays at 8am, and Mondays at 8pm. You can listen to the show online – as well as XM Radio’s full lineup - at xmradio.com. The cost is $7.99 per month, cheap for Dylan’s show alone.
