Share Joe Jackson asks Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, "So guys, is Jailhouse Rock a gay love song?" And they they talk about Elvis and Hound Dog.

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October 16, 2020

Joe Jackson asks Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, "So guys, is Jailhouse Rock a gay love song?" And they they talk about Elvis and Hound Dog.

6 minutes

I was born, at the age of ten, or rather, reborn, the day I discovered rock 'n' roll via an old Elvis single called I Need Your Love Tonight. I died a little when Elvis died in 1977. It fragmented my life in ways, as I say in the intro to this podcast. But it also sent me off on a life-long quest to talk with, among all my hundreds of celebrity interviewees, anyone who knew or worked with Elvis. I also regard Leiber and Stoller as the best songwriters in the early years of rock 'n' roll and beyond. And during a ninety-minute interview, we did in their office in LA in 2005, I finally got to ask them, just for fun, and for the history books, if Jailhouse Rock is a gay love song. We certainly had so much fun that day and there will be more Leiber and Stoller podcasts from me, and a digital magazine based on the interview

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