Relive the Fabulous Music of the '50s with Eddie Cash
by Maryan Pelland

Where did Elvis get his Blue Suede Shoes? How did Eddie Arnold get yodeling into his rendition of "Make the World Go Away?" Who did Frank Sinatra love more than anyone in the world? Eddie Cash may give you inside answers to these and more intriguing questions at his history of rock and roll review.

If you know Eddie Cash, you have something in common with Elvis Presley, Cybill Shepherd, Eddie Arnold, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis, just a few of the people he grew up with in a four-block neighborhood of Memphis, TN, during the musically fabulous 1950’s. Between 75 and 100 of music’s soon-to-be-legends were playing baseball in those streets, while dreams of showbiz danced in their heads.

Cash was there, and he knew early on that music would be his destiny. He began performing in 1956 with his own band and was soon playing with the original Elvis Presley band, the Conway Twitty band and the Bill Black Combo. As his own show grew in popularity and history recognized his neighborhood friends, Cash saw a unique opportunity.

Audiences perpetually barraged him with questions: What was it like to be part of that era? What’s the truth about Elvis? Are you Johnny Cash’s brother? Eddie Cash says, "I wanted to respond. I didn’t want to seem unconcerned about the audience’s needs. But it wasn’t entertaining to come on stage, have the lights come up, and start fielding questions."

After deep thought, he came up with a series of 15-minute one-act plays that are now the staple of his one-of-a-kind stage show. "What really sets us apart is how we decide which to use in a show. We come out, play a bit of music, give the folks some history and let them decide which of our 53 celebrities they want to know about," Cash explains.

His may be the only show where theatergoers buy a ticket, take a seat and tell the performer what to do. And then get an instant reply to what they want—from a man who was there—and a 47-piece orchestra. "We bring them four and a half decades of music, from the 40’s on," Cash says. "the lives and times of people like Tennessee Ernie whose music changed the world.".....

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