I was reading a magazine the other day while waiting and saw the Jonas Brothers in it. I sort of giggled and these teen idols that have young teens oohing and ahhing over these young heart throbs. I always thought teen idols we fairly silly and never got into them but enjoyed watching how fans reacted to them, and it got me thinking…

We’ve always had teen idols. Americans have a fascination with everyone else but rarely a fascination with themselves. It is an odd phenomenon but hey its what we do as Americans, become fascinated with someone else. When I say fascinated I mean fascinated. Why girls will scream and cry and faint when they see their favorite idol. We do not have the idols like we did from yester year but let’s take a look at a few of them.

 In the 50’s there was Ricky Nelson. He played himself in the TV show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. At the end of each episode he would sing a song with his band. Perhaps this was the early introduction of music video’s. Needless to say Nelson had a huge following.

 Paul Anka was another teen idol of the late 50’s and early 60’s. He had hits songs like “Diana,” “Lonely Boy,” and “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” Then there was Bobby Rydell who at the age of 17 became a teen Idol with his first hit, “”Kissin’ Time.”

 How could we do idols and not mention Elvis?. Women of all ages adored Elvis. Men liked him so much that they still do Elvis in Vegas with thousands and thousand of Elvis impersonators. Even to this day people cannot get enough Elvis.

 Who could forget all the beach party action and Frankie Avalon? He not only had a huge hit “Venus” but he had a host of beach party movies with his side kick Annette Funicello. I find it difficult to imagine life growing up without “Beach Party,” “Muscle Beach,” and “Beach Blanket Bingo.”  Bobby Darin, Dion, and Bobby Vinton, were all teen idols of the past.

 Of course teen idols were not just limited to singers. The world fell head over heels for James Dean for the brief time he was with us. Tony Curtis, Sal Mineo and Tab Hunter were some of the silver screen idols.

 A teen idol would not be a teen idol without mentioning the Beatles. Girls fainted and screamed. The Beatles were rock and roll music. It took the British invasion to show Americans how music was done. They eventually had to stop performing live because fans were screaming too loud and they could not hear themselves any longer.

Finally I saved my sister’s favorite 60’s idol for last. None other than Davy Jones from the Monkees. My sister had the biggest crush on this boyish Englishman. I recall when I was a youngster  we actually went to see the Monkees at the state fair. I was never a Monkee fan, they were way too pop for me, but I loved watching people go crazy over them. Somewhere I am sure my sister still has a picture of him when she saw him live.

 Yes the world is filled with teen idols but we just don’t go as crazy any longer for these idols. Perhaps we simply grew up a little and there is no need to jump, scream, cry, faint and throw laced panties at our favorite star.  I never really could say anyone was a idol of mine, but if there was an idol in my life, clearly the Beatles would have won hands down.

What teen idol stands out for you?

Someone told me they read the Michael Jackson article and like the level headed person they are, they were able to articulate as the article suggested, what they liked and disliked about MJ. They looked at the comments and said, “how can you do a story on him and not include Elvis why the two of them were like peas in a pod.” Peas in a Pod?!?!?!?! I think not! Still it got me thinking….

 Elvis was the king of rock and roll and MJ was king of pop. There is a huge difference between the two. In my day pop was called bubble gum music. Elvis was not bubble gum music but rather used chord progressions that many rockers would follow.

 Elvis was sexy. Heck I have even heard straight all American guys say, “Elvis is sexy.”  Come on, he was a sexy man. He had a cool hair style that he slicked back and a cocky grin. He defied what people said when it came down to his dancing which is why he was called Elvis the pelvis.

 He did not have to touch himself and go eehhhhhh when he sang and danced. He left that to the imagination of the people he performed for. I could never imagine Elvis touching his parts publicly. He was way too cool to do that. He was actually able to showcase his music ability without that nonsense!

 Elvis had a way of melting women’s young hearts, including my mother who was a real avid Elvis fan. He was born is 1935 and was a simple person. His parents never forced him to do music. He was not abused; he did not have to sleep in a bed with his siblings as he had none. (Yes we all know about the twin) Elvis was just a good old boy who loved one thing, rock and roll. Heck he even served his country. He was an all American sort of guy who liked his mamma.

 I clearly liked the younger Elvis more than Vegas Elvis. I liked the slim trim dare-devil sort of man he was. The larger cape wearing Vegas Elvis was not my favorite at all. I did not care for the songs he sang in Vegas so much nor the stage shows. Elvis should have stayed out of Vegas. Maybe that’s what happened to him, he became a Vegas fatality.

 My favorite thing about Elvis was his fans. I loved to read about his fans. It was almost an obsession with many people. It was crazy to see how people loved and adored him. It is fun to watch men do impersonations of him, and it is still great that so many people think Elvis is still alive; heck I think MJ is alive and just hiding out. Maybe he is with Elvis.

 My favorite Elvis song had to be Jailhouse Rock. I still enjoy playing it. Love me Tender is the greatest shower song, and Hound Dog is just down right fun to sing. I loved nothing more than to sit with my mom and watch Elvis movies. He had like 31 movies under his belt and who could forget Ann Margaret and Elvis together? Come on MJ beat that!

 Elvis’s later life was not so good for him. He had issues with his health, with his addictions, with relationships and financial issues were not kept secret. Sadly, just like MJ, prescription drug abuse took over Elvis.  In the end, Elvis’s doctor killed him with prescriptions drugs like Morphine and Demerol, Codeine, Quaaludes, and Vailum.

 What we are left with is memories of the King of Rock. No other “king” could even come near this king. Many artist such as the Beatles, David Gilmour, Sammy Hagar, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Money, Jimmy Page and Keith Richards have stated Elvis was their influence. So my hat is off to the one and only king, Elvis, and yes folks, Elvis has left the building.

 What did and didn’t you like about Elvis? What songs did you like and dislike, what was your favorite Elvis movie?

Well thank goodness super bowl is over and we can get on with life! I am not a super bowl fan as I have a difficult time watching grown men chasing pig skin down a field and making millions of dollars. However, I am a fan of good commercials and look forward to what people are going to come up with next to sucker us into trying out the latest and greatest whatever. I went online Monday to watch a few of the commercials and it got me thinking….

 Something is missing with these new commercials. Where is the old fashion jingle or at least a good slogan that goes through your head over and over? I mean in the 50’s boys had to use Brylcreem to attract a young woman and they all knew that “just a little dab will do ya.” If greasy hair product wasn’t your thing, maybe hot tasty biscuits got you going. It was easy with such a slogan like “Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven.” If all else failed, you could leave town, perhaps on a trolley because Rice-a-Roni was indeed, “The San Francisco Treat.”

 They just don’t do good slogans anymore. I’m unsure why. Perhaps too many hot shot advertisers with too much money in their pockets and not enough thought in their heads. Maybe they just believe a product will sell itself. Or sadly, maybe they just get people will buy no matter what because after all, that is what we do,

 What I do know is I miss slogans like, Alka Seltzer’s “I cant believe I ate the whole thing” or Frosted flakes “They’re grrreat”. 7 Up was the un-cola and cracker jacks were “Candy-coated popcorn, peanuts and a prize…that’s what you get with…Cracker Jack!”

 There was a certain beauty in some of these slogan such as the Clairol campaign that says “Does she or doesn’t she…only her hairdresser knows for sure.” Then we go to teeth. Indeed everyone wanted to know, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!” And my favorite from Crest toothpaste, “Look, Ma! No cavities!” Of course none of that mattered because Noxema wanted us to…”Take it off… take it all off with Noxema Medicated Shave.”

 Old slogans and jungles wanted us to “Double our pleasure and double our fun, with Doublemint Gum!” Peter Paul Mounds said to us that “Sometimes you feel like a nut sometimes you don’t.” If you didn’t want to be a nut you could be a wiener because most all kids used to sing “I Wish I Were an Oscar Meyer Wiener.” Even if you were a wiener we would ask that you “Please don’t Squeeze the Charmin.”

 I suppose I could go on and on but really what’s the point? We will never have the capacity of creating such awesome jungles and slogans. It is an art from the past that really no one cares about. But clearly, if we have to sit and listen to some of these boring commercials, we might as well make them fun! So what was your favorite old slogans?