Synchronicity: Singin,’ Swivelin’ And Gyratin’

Synchronicity:

Singin,’ Swivelin’ & Gyratin’

By Leslie Drollinger Stratmoen

Saturday, April 18, 2021

This is so crazy!

These synchronicity moments

come to me in threes.

This time they involved

two legendary entertainers.

Singin’ 

Last night as I was scrolling through YouTube music, something popped up about the entertainer, Tom Jones. 

Tom Jones? Is he still alive? Was my thought.

So, what did I do? Google searched him, of course. And, yes, he’s still around, I discovered. But before learning that, I thought he’d passed on because of the video that popped up. You know the ones: “The life and sad ending of so-and-so.” 

I ended up watching the whole thing. What can I say? It was late at night and by then I was hooked. 

A sad ending? Hardly. I should have known better. Still, it was interesting to watch because some of the biography presented was pretty interesting.

Swivelin’ 

Well anyway, imagine my surprise to open up the Sunday “Parade” magazine tab, as we called them in the news biz, to find a brief about Tom. (We’re on a first-name basis, now.) “Tom Jones Is Still Rockin’!” was the headline. At age 80, it said, he had no intention of slowing down, and in fact, had just released his first studio album in more than five years called, “Surrounded by Time.” 

Now, my meanderings here are not meant to pitch his latest album. So, let me get to the point. The article also included highlights of his life. One of which was when he met Elvis on the Hollywood set of Presley’s movie, “Paradise, Hawaiian Style,” and the two became close friends.

And Gyratin’ 

Ok. That’s where my random connections get kookie, not Kookie as in Kookie Byrnes of “Sunset Strip” fame, but kookie, as in crazy weird.

Crazy weird because I just finished reading a book about Elvis that I’d picked up recently at a local thrift store that gives the inside story on all his movies, including “Paradise, Hawaiian Style.” I purchased the book, “Elvis in Hollywood,” for the pictures, then read it hoping to learn more about the clothing of that era.

I did, especially when it came to swimsuits, well bikinis, really, as what they’d become by that time. As for the movie, it was not one of Elvis’s better films, according to the book’s author Paul Lichter, who even dissed the soundtrack. I have no opinion on the matter, because I don’t remember the movie specifically. I’m sure I saw the film at some point, but, seriously, who cared? Elvis’s fans didn’t. It was Elvis, for Pete’s sake. Elvis, girls in bikinis, singin’ and dancin,’ and having fun on the beach. What’s not to like? I’ll refer to my step-mom Lila on this one. She’s a big Elvis fan.

And That’s a Wrap 

So, there you have it. 

A synchronicity moment, once again. “The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.”  

Only in my brain, I guess.

REFERENCES: Elvis in Hollywood by Paul Lichter (1975), Parade magazine (April 18, 2021)