I still cry when I hear this song because I only started to like Elvis in 1976 and then he died in 1977 and not long afterwards I found P.J. Proby and his voice for me sounded so good. It was as if Elvis had never gone away and I had a new idol to look up to and cling to. I Love You P.J.
@sherilyn1977 Wonderful song & both Elvis' version & that of P.J. are done with so much emotion.I love both Elvis & P.J. & cannot understand why some Elvis fans are so hostile towards P.J.They are both LEGENDS & like you I believe you can actually appreciate both of them without a problem!
@rontenn You're right on. I firmly believe it's possible to be able to appreciate both these Legends. I certainly love them both and have a real passion for them as individuals and as artistes.
@sherilyn1977 Like you say you can appreciate as many legends as you want. Elvis always said there was room at the top for everyone. Of course on YouTube the name Proby attracts not only his fans but also a few low-life's who have more than a few screws loose. They need serious help with their mental issues! Most P.J. fans cannot be bothered to reply to the rubbish they read from his critics! I don't blame them!
@rontenn So you can't understand why Elvis fans are hostile toward a singer who calls Elvis "ignorant" and a product sold by Parker, and says any country boy who sings country music can sing like him.
In 2003 PJ Proby said that in summer of 1953 Parker let him and Tommy Sands go so he could manage George Jones and Elvis (because he was a little older). Tom Parker never managed George Jones and didn't even meet Elvis until 1955! Just what is it you don't understand?
@CategoryStomper I'll never understand why creeps like you are constantly hostile towards Proby,it's abnormal bahaviour! Proby must have given thousands of interviews official & off the cuff over the years about his Elvis days.If in a few of these conversations he got a year or a name wrong just go with the flow.Nobody,I repeat nobody has a perfect memory.Maybe you are the exception! LOL! You were not there but remember everything! DOH!
@rontenn So now Proby admits he got the date wrong and it didn't happen until 1955? DOH!
What does he say now about calling Elvis "ignorant" and a "product sold by Parker"? Big Elvis fan that you claim to be it's abnormal that you don't find Proby's description of him offensive. Maybe you'd like to start promoting Proby as IGNORANT and a product sold by Jack Good. Why not?
@CategoryStomper Once again you are twisting the facts! It's pathetic really! It's MY opinion that he may have got a name or date wrong now & again. The other things he spoke about I mainly agree with & even if I didn't he wouldn't give a s*** anyway.P.J. is his own man. Elvis was a great singer but he was a product sold by Col.Parker! Off stage like many "greats" E.P. lacked a real special personality.Not his fault.Some stars in fact are down right boring & uninteresting! Proby is so different!
@rontenn I didn't know Elvis off stage and have no idea what you mean by lacking a real special personality. When and where did you spend time with him? Or are you just as fast and loose with facts as Proby is? PJ Proby was a product packaged and sold by Jack Good. He may be his own man now but he's getting nowhere with it. He's conspicuously absent from Lee Memphis King's website. Maybe he should give Jack Good a call and talk about old times.
@CategoryStomper.You don't know much! I've seen enough interviews & private home movie footage to know exactly what sort of "personality" Elvis had. He was O.K. around his "yes" men...they had to kiss his ass or they were out on their ears & penniless.He liked to boss Cilla around. He also had a vile temper.He was always following Parker's orders.He also did not have much of an opinion on anything....always playing safe! L.M.K is a very good Elvis impersonator....no further comment!
@rontenn Proby has promoters like you posting comments such as your last one and you can't understand why Elvis fans are hostile toward him? I guess by bringing up what you call Elvis' vile temper you're suggesting Proby was totally calm and composed when he beat up his own girlfiend. How admirable. He joked about it to an interviewer so that must be what you mean by not playing it safe.
I wouldn't be talking about Proby's cancelled tour dates either if I were you. LOL
@CategoryStomper You & your cronies can say what they like about P.J & be hostile towards him but the boot is suddenly on the other foot when I say something critical about Elvis!? Proby has done some crazy, bad things...so has Elvis or don't you like to hear about the bad side of Elvis? You'll get the facts about the "Elvis" show in September when the tour is over! Just want to say that the theatres WANT him there & P.J. wants to be there! A third party is putting a spanner in the works!
@rontenn Proby's been saying critical things about Elvis for decades so what the hell is your point? He wants to brag about his own bad behavior and you expect the public to smile and say how talented he is. They aren't smiling and they aren't buying. By now somebody on his staff should have caught on but obviously not.
@CategoryStomper Proby has said good & not so good things about Elvis! everyone is entitled to an opinion! Proby's public ARE smiling & they ARE buying! There will always be a few outsiders looking in such as you. I think you are just jealous that Elvis passed away in 1977 & Proby is still with us in 2011!
@rontenn If Proby ever said something good about Elvis he didn't say it loud enough for anybody else to hear. Elvis fans might not be so hostile if he had. Nobody's saying he doesn't have a right to his opinion but most professionals in the music business are smart enough not call Elvis or anybody else "ignorant". Everybody knows how well Proby's CD's sell and how many gigs he's getting too. Who's jealous of a pompous blowhard just because he's still breathing?
@CategoryStomper You only see the side of P.J. that you want to see! I know things that he's done for charity & for old friends that are amazing! Sometimes P.J. wants these things kept quiet & sometimes the press is not interested anyway because they only want to hear the negative reports! I could state a few of the outstanding good things he has done but you would only call me a liar too ! I assure you he does have a heart!
@rontenn I don't know anything about his charity work and neither does anybody else. If he's done any "amazing" charity work word about it would have gotten around. You wouldn't have to tell anybody. What gets around is the stupid and insulting things he says about his "old friends" in interviews. Most of them are dead so he's not helping them any.
@CategoryStomper That's the idea! not to let the word get out. P.J's wishes! If I was him I'd do all I could to let people know he's doing good things but he does not want it that way! The stupid & insulting things that do get out are being advertised by anti P.J. people like you!
@rontenn So how did you find out about all those good things he does since he doesn't tell anyone? Mental telepathy?
Most of the stupid and insulting things being commented on are in Proby's TV or radio interviews. Did somebody force him to say them or did they pay him to say them? Or does he just like looking stupid and insulting in interviews?
@rontenn So you're Proby's true long-time friend? He never mentions you in interviews. In fact, in interviews he doesn't thank or even acknowledge his loyal fans or anybody who's given him help during hard times. He only mentions celebrities he calls his friends or who he says copied him, or people he says take advantage of him. He obviously thinks everybody owes him something and he owes nobody for anything. You're wasting your breath saying he has a heart. His ego precedes him by 20 paces.
@CategoryStomper P.J. has no reason to mention good friends or life long acquaintances in interviews.....the public would not be interested. If any celeb started talking about a best friend or a helpful unknown aunt or uncle etc. in an interview people would start yawning. But if it's about boozing with John Lennon or being a bodyguard for Liberace or running off when Little Richard got "fruity" or having a sis that dated Elvis then that's what show biz interviews are all about !!
@rontenn Other performers find ways to mention briefly how much they appreciate their fans and give credit to their support staff. It's not boring - it ingratiates them with the audience and shows they have a HEART. And if they are still performing they talk about what they are doing NOW.
So Proby can't get an interview unless he tells crude or smutty tales about the REAL celebrities he knew 50 years ago? Then obviously there's little public interest in him or anything he's done since then.
@CategoryStomper Congratulations on having an answer for everything!! Trouble is the answers & comments you make are a load of old rubbish to suit yourself! You should be a politician! Anyone that does anything for P.J. gets a personal thank you & it goes without saying that he's always appreciated his loyal fans! You carry on living in your own little anti P.J. fantasy world, you & your couple of twisted cronies mean nothing to us or P.J.!
@rontenn Oh sure thing. Proby's perceived as an indifferent egotist and you argue that it goes without saying he appreciates his fans. It might as well because he'd rather go blind than show an ounce of humility.
What does go without saying is which singer most people think of when this song is mentioned. It sure isn't PJ Proby.
@CategoryStomper You're right....this is Elvis' song! Just as Somewhere,Maria,Hold me, etc etc. are P.J.'s songs.Elvis did not dare to record them!! Why don't you try showing one gram of humility towards P.J. & his fans? You're just a nasty piece of work!
@rontenn If PJ Proby expects humility from the public he's still the pompous fool he's always been. He hasn't learned a thing about the entertainment business in his 50 years of trying. Some teenyboppers idolize young bad boy performers but they usually outgrow it, especially when the bad boy ages into an overstuffed jerk.
@CategoryStomper Being pompous is your speciality but in your case without reason! You know nothing about the entertainment business! IF P.J. is pompous then that's his right.....he's achieved things in life! You have not!
Look in the mirror if you want to see an overstuffed jerk!
@rontenn You're always talking about Proby's rights. LOL!
The fact is PJ Proby makes his living in the public eye and he's already blown his career away once on booze. He'll never be any younger or prettier or sing any better than he can right now and he sounds bad in the 2011 garden party video.
He's not winning over any new fans with his prima donna attitude and he's losing the old ones by attrition. That's life!
@brown601trail There are so many nasty people around like you but we normal folk just have to put up with them.....that's life in it's true form! They say "life's a bitch!" NOT TRUE!.......life is full of people who do nothing but bitch! So glad I'm not one of them! I waste a lot of my time confronting them,don't know why I bother. Think I'll leave you & your cronies to talk to yourselves! You're all so full of pointless s***! You're always talking about Proby's wrongs. F.O.! LOL!
@rontenn As long as your PJ Proby tells lies about music icons like Elvis and Little Richard he's going to get flack from youtube users. That's real life too so you might as well get used to it.
@rontenn You'll give us the facts about the Elvis show when the tour is over in September? LMK's site shows Proby's tour with the show is already over. No one told you? You must be one of those outsiders looking in.
@rontenn It's been 3 months and you haven't posted any of those "facts" you promised about that Lee King show PJ was dropped from. Must mean you weren't in the loop then and you still aren't.
@CategoryStomper Dropping your "special guest" from a show here & there to save money is the lowest of the low! it's also an insult to people who have purchased tickets to see both artistes!
@rontenn So Lee King dropped Proby to save money. Then Proby wasn't increasing ticket sales enough to cover his fee. Nobody keeps a guest artist who's costing them money. It sounds like Proby didn't read his contract.
@CategoryStomper Lee was "smart" he dropped P.J. from certain shows after using his name to sell tickets.If that's fair & honest to you then you are as big a jerk as L.M.K.
@rontenn If Proby was "smart" he'd have negotiated a contract he liked instead of complaining later about the terms he agreed to. Proby was dropped after the June shows for the remainder of the tour. Obviously King decided it was time to cut his losses. You've implied ticket buyers couldn't get refunds on their advance purchases. That's not true.
@CategoryStomper Whether the fans could get refunds or not does not come into it! They should never have been set-up like that in the first place by Low Memphis King!
@rontenn Dishing the dirt on Lee Memphis King are you? If PJ Proby could draw a crowd LMK would have kept him on. You said LMK dropped him to save money so it's obvious Proby was costing more than he was bringing in. It's simple mathematics. You can twist it every which way you want but it seems PJ Proby expects charity from other artists so his fans can see him when the mood hits. He'll have to get in line.
@brown601trail In your usual way YOU are twisting the facts. King got big audiences booked with the name P.J.Proby. Then when the tickets were sold he removed P.J. from the show. It's simple English...CHEATING! To a person like you it's normal behaviour so that tells us all we need to know about your character! End of conversation!
@rontenn In early summer PJ Proby started advertising an October show with the Frank Johns Band in Liverpool. In the middle of September he replaced the band with another because they couldn't rehearse with him as much as he wanted them to. I guess you think fans of the Frank Johns Band don't count so Proby wasn't cheating.
@brown601trail Ha! ha! lost that battle so you're looking to win another! You'll lose this one too! I know Frank & know exactly what happened! You are greener than the Greenroom!
@rontenn If that wasn't the real story why did his people tell it on the internet? Proby thinks he can play by his own rules and then diss others when they do the same. The music business is like any other business and you don't stay on top spreading nastiness about other performers. Nobody wants him on their tours anymore and he can't land gigs on his own.
@rontenn I don't know who you are talking about but by HIS I mean P.J. Proby, James Smith or whatever alias he's using now. The story was told by HIS manager, agent, representative or whatever they call themselves. It was told on HIS forum, blog, chat room or whatever name they give it. It should be no surprise to anyone since the entire organization is in a constant state of OFFICIAL confusion and disarray.
@brown601trail Confusion & disarray! Bit like your head then!! Frank booked a holiday abroad ages ago.He was due back on the day of the Liverpool concert. The organisors of the show,plus P.J. & Frank himself realised that that this was an impossible situation & meant no rehearsal time so Vanity Fare were used instead. Frank was fine with the whole situation!
@rontenn How Frank feels has no bearing on your argument about setting up fans. Tickets went on sale months before Proby changed bands. If he requires rehearsal before show date he should have nailed it down on the front end. If LMK's a bad guy for changing his show lineup Proby's a bad guy for changing his. You brought up the fan issue not me.
Proby can't read a contract, can't plan details, and then blames somebody else when things go wrong. It's been going on for 50 years.
@brown601trail What a bitter & twisted little man you are!!! Even Frank will not argue that Vanity Fare are the bigger band of the two. If he really wanted to be part of the show Frank could have cut short his holiday but he didn't so he wasn't that bothered was he? A lot less bothered than you are!! LOL! ...NOW GO AWAY!
@rontenn You accused LMK of tricking fans into buying tickets before he dropped Proby. Now with the tables turned you're saying fans of the Frank Johns Band who bought tickets expecting to see them would be just as happy with Vanity Fare.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Tom Jones is a much bigger draw than PJ Proby. If Ricky had substituted Tom for PJ most people would think it was a good deal but would Proby fans be happy?
@brown601trail You just don't get it do you? Frank Johns is just a local Liverpool musician. No-one purchased a ticket to see him & his group that night. They were all there to see the STAR of the evening P.J.Proby! Now stop babbling absolute rubbish! YOU don't know what YOU are talking about.....you prove that time after time!
@rontenn No sir, you're the one who doesn't get it. You come on here talking about how low Lee King is when PJ Proby pulled the same stunt. It doesn't matter how small the Frank Johns Band following is, Proby's following isn't much either if you look at how few gigs he's getting! Proby doesn't have enough fans to increase profits from sales for anybody. If he did he wouldn't have been dropped from the LMK tour.
@brown601trail Completely different situation.Lee dropped P.J. At the Greenroom Frank dropped himself! Is that so hard to understand? I suppose for someone like you with limited intelligence it must be! P.J. back at the Greenroom in March!! Two brand new CD's out!! Things are looking good! In two weeks time he's top of the bill at the 60's Festival in Brean Sands!
@rontenn It's easy to understand that Proby's people change their stories when they realize they bungled it. He's had one gig since June, two more are scheduled between now and next March and you call that good. He's almost as popular as the flu. Ripping and burning old tracks on a CD isn't brand new. Other bootleggers have been doing it forever.
@brown601trail You're not normal that is certain! Who would follow a singer he hates so intensively as you do??? Completely NOT normal. You know more about Proby than many of his fans!! You must be a dual personality guy. You hate him but you love him too!!! A REAL PHYSCO!! I'm not dealing with your nonsense anymore!! Chat to yourself from now on...easy for someone with schizophrenia!
@rontenn It takes no time at all to find out all kinds of stuff about anybody if they're stupid enough to put their every move and conversation on the internet. It gets copied and duplicated too so it's out there for keeps. You bring up a subject and anybody can find what you've already said about it with a few easy searches. Also it doesn't take a psycho to care if an artist is involved in music piracy.
@brown601trail You need urgently a lobotomy operation. Your poor brain is pre-occupied with P.J. 24/24...7/7 !!As for musical piracy you had better be careful what you say. The latest 2 Jett Powers CD's are on The Select Record label & The Brushwood Record label...both legal & legitimate companies! Your mouth is bigger than your brain. Get lobotomised fast!
@rontenn I don't care how legal you say those companies are. Somebody's copied Liberty tracks for the purpose of resale. Proby's the one who should be careful.
PS - Which of those "legitimate" labels is he selling his "Elvis demos" on? Wayne-Weisman/Hill&Range material isn't in the public domain.
I thought PJP was British and in UK, remember reading about him in NME, this is the first time I hear a connection with Elvis .If he's an Elvis...has he ever been to States? If he's an Elvis impersonator maybe all these Elvis covers are his copies and not on demo acetates.,,,,after all every dick & harry got clips on UTube.
PJP is now on tour impersonating Elvis as he has been doing for the last forty years or more. The lies he tells about how E.P. dated his sister and wiped his face on the tablecloth at the home of Jimmy Smith's mother is a crock of crap. You know if anyone had been so close to Elvis as PJP claims he was then there would be at least a few decent photographs, so where are they? How come Red West who was with Elvis all the way from school never ever heard of PJP or Jimmy Smith? It is all damn lies.
@rontenn You post a story on youtube saying jgjman is "supposed" to have smashed a car windscreen belonging to a "nameless" manager of PJ Proby. I bet you've got a million more stories just as good that one.
The guy who runs Wikipedia is not the author of pages put there. Of course you wouldn't know any more about that web site than you know about youtube or libel laws.
@rontenn Most people know a #58 chart position is NOT in the top 50 and the 1996 track you mentioned was a duet with Marc Almond.
PJ Proby's recordings went nowhere chart-wise between 1968 and 1996 and have gone nowhere since then as well. Arrogance isn't a big seller once you hit the skids.
@grizzlygalore. It reached no. 49 !! You've consulted the wrong chart! Duet or not...Proby's name is on the record!! As for arrogance,you have plenty of it but in your case without reason.
@rontenn I don't know what chart you're looking at but both PJ Proby's Wikipedia page and Marc Almond's Wikipedia page show that track at #58. Take it up with Proby and Almond!
What's the NAME of the Proby "manager" you claim accuses jgjman of smashing a car windscreen? Or is this just another one of PJ Proby's ridiculous stories you are spreading on youtube?
@rontenn Oh so those other performers weren't nasty to Proby and his comments about them weren't in retaliation. Now you're saying he said nasty things because he's arrogant? I guess he had to tell the world how great he was because people aren't smart enough to decide for themselves. He hasn't had a hit anywhere since the mid '60s so it's easy to see how effective his arrogance was - and exactly what was a waste of time.
@rontenn You've excused Proby's nastiness as "normal" retaliation so how about spelling out the nasty things Little Richard, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Rock Hudson and Adam Faith (to name only a few) did to him that prompted his disparaging comments about them.
@grizzlygalore It's because he knew he was better than them in looks & voice! In showbiz you have to have a certain arrogance & self belief otherwise you're wasting your time!
@Blaudrap: I recorded PJP in 1990 the album was titled THANKS. You can hear the song I write for him STAGE OF FOOLS its on YouTube. This was the UK. His initial attitude was gratitude and he pleaded for me to help give him a hand out of the pit he fallen into. Amazingly and with some lucky connections I got him singing again, though even that took effort as he became beligerant refused to sing when I had him in the studio cost thousands so he needed my advice. Major Bad Attitude and much more!
@jgjman I have just listened to the stage of fools demo, nice song and proby is in reasonably good voice. I noticed his name in the papers today regarding benefit fraud, don`t know the reasons for it but here is a talented man who through it all away!
@blaudrap: PJP lived in Texas Elvis in Memphis so he did not 'Grow up with Elvis' Jack Good made that story up to promote PJP in 1964. I do know PJP and he is Trouble. Great voice, ability to interpret a song brilliant too, but he has a nasty side that makesit not only difficult to work with but impossible. It is as if he wants to self-destruct and take anyone that helps him down too. As for being owed millions by record companies, his records just did not sell so well is the real truth. Sad eh!
@jgjman I agree PJ Proby has a good voice but cannot understand the need for all the lies. His music is a wee bit before my time but almost everyone I have asked about him said the same thing, good singer major BAD attitude! Did you know him in America or the UK?
Ronten: PJP had a law firm in Blackpool they tried to halt the distribution of the 'Thanks' album. I sent them a copy of the contract PJP had signed and they dropped it. BUT PJP himself 100% refused to promote the album in clear breach of contract. Anyone asks him to sing Stage of Fools he shouts out abusive comments about me. As for the horrible things I wrote about him, the golden showers, snotting in plastic buckets of piss etc. all true and entertaining too I think as PJP likes disgusting.
You Tube is all about the music not nasty feuds between people! This is a beautiful song done wonderfully well by P.J. All the evil "shitheads" that come on here will eventually lead to the downfall of You Tube.As usual a few will f*** it up for the rest of us! THANKS!
You're the only s**thead here. You're obviously incapable of letting youtubers voice their opinions about a PJ Proby video unless they agree with you. So you're hellbent on squelching any dissent by starting a war with a bunch of insults, lectures, and stupid stories.
If youtube expects everybody to agree and praise every video they wouldn't have the Dislike button or allow comments. Get over it.
@grizzlygalore Hit a nerve have I? Intelligent criticism or friendly difference of opinions are fine...in your case & a few others it's pure evil you spout & that's not necessary at all. Now back to the music......
One more silly lecture from the etiquette expert who can't stop calling names or commenting on people's brains. Do you think anybody give a s**t? You should let youtube know that all those videos about dogs, rabbits, sports, politics, comedy and drama, and news events - with millions of views and comments - shouldn't be on the site because they aren't about music. They'll be just as impressed with your opinions as I am.
@grizzlygalore Who cares if you're impressed or not Mr. Nobody? I don't care what clips are on You Tube elsewhere. Only music interests me & pricks like you are spoiling it for many others. Now grizzly go hibernate & I hope you never wake up!...no-one will miss you!
Ronten. PJP caused the project around the 'Thanks' Album to fail, he did this deliberately with malice aforethought. He intended to destroy all the work I had put into creating the first album he had made in over twenty years to get international distribution via BMG in Europe and John Menzies Group in the UK. That took me a great deal of time, money and effort.It got PJP back on TV, into all the record stores etc. in return he set lawyers on me, completely without justificaton.Glad he remembers
@jgjman Sorry that you say the "Thanks" project failed. It may have failed to make you money but in an artistic way it was a success in my eyes. How did P.J. set lawyers on you...he was virtually penniless then & if he did who won the case! He remembers everything, especially all the horrific things you put on the internet that were absolutely disgusting & which were soon removed.I thank you for "Thanks"...but that's all!
ronten: I actually like the voice of PJP and believe me if he had behaved like a reasonable man then my efforts to promote him would have succeeded. What happened was he deliberately set out to halt the distribution of the 'Thanks' cd album even to the point of instructing solicitors, despite being under contract and having been paid. I am not pleased to admit he got a thumping from me as I am a man of peace and poetry BUT he threatened me in my own home. PJP knows he asked for what he received
@jgjman You were a huge fan of P.J. & I & many other fans were very happy with the "Thanks" CD you made.....grateful too. P.J. is a very awkward guy so you knew nothing would be plain sailing. However violence is not the answer to any problem.P.J. has never forgotten it which is why you are not on his Xmas card list!
@rontenn There are videos on youtube showing PJ Proby telling his version of what Elvis was like. They're all PJ's fantasy. Blaudrap can watch them and see how PJ gives Tom Parker credit for the success of a singer PJ says wasn't anything special. You should ask Nik Cohn what PJ said to him about Elvis. BTW the only people PJ has sent to the hospital are women!
@nawlins4evah. Nik Cohn happens to think that P.J. is one of the greatest singers ever!! I am in touch with Nik now & again by the way. P.J. has every right to say what he likes about any singer...just the same as you're on here slandering his name.One law for you & another for P.J.???
@rontenn You brag that PJ would put jgjman in the hospital and then you do an about face and lecture him on nonviolence. You said it - one law for PJ and another for everybody else!
I didn't say you should ask Nik Cohn what he thought about PJ's singing. Can't you read? BTW did PJ's old friend Jackie DeShannon ever answer your inquiry about the identity of Peter James? It's been over a year since you said on youtube you'd contacted her about it.
@nawlins4evah Here we go again....ZZZZZ! If Kenwright tried to manhandle P.J. then he would of course defend himself.He's not a "turn the other cheek" guy! Can't you read the messages properly, jgjman was talking about Kenwright! Had no reply from Jackie so there's nothing I can do about that! Perhaps she can't read either!
@rontenn So Jackie DeShannon won't answer your inquiry. I guess your definition of being in contact with PJ's "old friends" means you drop them a line and hope they bother to read it. Big deal.
@nawlins4evah I know very little about P J Proby but I am finding the banter hilarious. I`ll need to watch some of some of the videos of Proby discussing elvis. To me there is no comparison between the two, one was and is still a megastar, one is not. I would like to know who jgjman is as he seems to know Proby personally?
@nawlins4evah I watched the interview you mentioned and don`t believe a word he said. Do you honestly think Proby is owed millions by his record company? Are you a Proby or a Presley fan and do you mind me asking which country you reside in?
@blaudrap I'm in the US and I don't call myself a fan of any one artist. I like early rock and r&b music and singers who take care of business instead of trashing their competition.
@nawlins4evah I`m in Scotland, and although I am a big Elvis fan I have many other musical interests including johnny cash, merle haggard and the eagles! Why does PJ Proby incite so much hostility on You Tube? I also have never heard of Elvis publicly putting down any other artists?
@blaudrap Author Nik Cohn compared PJ Proby to Muhammad Ali. There are definite similarities in the self-promotion strategies of the two. Although inciting crowds and antagonising peers are common in the fight game they are of little use in the music world. And notably absent from Proby's style is Ali's infectious humour. Proby relies on blatant nastiness instead.
@rontenn Shame to see that PJP is in fact facing very serious benefit fraud charges. I see the case has been adjourned to February for PJP to properly instruct his solicitor. Ron you say in your last post that PJP is nasty back to people that he believes have insulted him etc. Ron, Jim Smith AKA PJP is an aggressive and violent man who threatens and attempts to intimdate people as and when he feels like it he needs no provocation, ask him, he boasts about it..till he gets spanked then he cries.
@jgjman Yes I saw the news reports. I hope all charges are dropped thru' lack of evidence. You remember P.J. from the days when he was boozing & we all know what alcohol does to people. Since 1993 he has not touched a drop so violent & aggressive behavior, if they ever existed, have long gone. You seem like you're the type who looks out for himself,family & friends. So does P.J.!
@rontenn Ron, PJP has, IMHO a brilliant voice and an ability to interpret any song in a unique way, I have worked with him on Stage of Fools he can be amazing. However, he is not just a little tempremental he is, at times, i.e. most of the time, like a man on a mission to self destruct. Booze had a bad effect on him, but he has been sober for years and he still hurls abuse at me on his website and on stage whenever anyone mentions my name and all I did was correct him with an appropriate force.
@jgjman O.J. John.....At 72 he still has not self destructed yet!! New U.K. tour starts in late January. Latest CD released, "60's Gold" sold very well. We all know why he hates to hear your name mentioned....you do too!
By the way you are supposed to have smashed P.J.'s manager's car windscreen at a gig up north a year or two ago.Any comments on that?
@rontenn The very idea that I would be so petty minded to break anyones car window is an insult to my integrity. You know fine well that my published work has outsold anything that PJP has ever created, check me out on Amazon, so why would I stoop to juvenile tricks that could potentially ruin my credibility as a serious author? PJP has destroyed many projects he claims to have wanted to succeed i.e. threatening to blow up the HQ of EMI. How crazy is that? Threatening me was a mistake too.
@jgjman. I'm just stating what P.J.'s manager told me. I'm not saying it's true or not! That's the trouble you see..two sides to every story. P.J. has to put up with this every day,being accused of things he knows nothing about ! It's not nice is it?
@rontenn So PJ Proby's manager witnessed a guy he recognized smashing his windshield but he didn't have the guy arrested? If folks here believe that they'll believe Jimmy Hoffa is alive and well and living in a tent in PJ's backyard. Hey I see you've added you aren't saying the story is true but you're telling it anyway to make some screwed up point about poor PJ being accused of doing stuff he's been telling about himself for decades.
@nawlins4evah I got the story from P.J.'s manager at the time a good few years ago......I'm just passing it on to say all the bad things that happen are not P.J.'s fault! But of course the only tales you lot like is when P.J. is at fault!
@rontenn If you don't see the difference between your repeating slander about jgjman and the public criticizing behavior that PJ himself brags about, you've got more than a few screws loose!
@nawlins4evah The slander is coming from the opposite direction but dickheads like you are only too willing to believe it! The general public are not criticising Proby, just a few unimportant farts like you!! LOL!
Ronten: Believe me I have spanked PJP like a daddy slaps a naughty child because when I was with him that was how he behaved and one simply can not expect to abuse others, as he tried with me, then get away without a smack. Ask him yourself, he can't fight, unless its thumping women. People listen: PJP is a coward, he can sing pretty damn good at times, but that is the full extent of it. As for him being thrown out the stage door, ask Bill Kenwright, he bounced PJP for assaulting the dresser.
@jgjman Actually I know who you are but I guess there are plenty on here who don't!
It is true that you hit P.J. but you did that to a lot of people!! At the time P.J. was pissed so an easy target. Now you're on here boasting about it! Well done!
Proby left the show in the West End because he was kicking up about the stage clothing, the Elvis suit was in need of replacing he said. On stage he deliberately tore the suit and discussed this with the audience, backsatge he blamed this on the lady dresser and when she denied this PJP grabbed hold of her violently. Also backstage that night was the producer of the show Bill Kenwright who grabbed PJP and threw him out the stage door into the street, never to return. And that is how PJP left.
@jgjman What a vivid imagination you have!!! I was in the Elvis dressing room many times with P.J.He did complain about the Elvis costume.....I took the pics he sent to Bill showing how tatty it was. He also complained about the sound & the lighting onstage not being up to standard.What you state is rubbish & untrue....try grabbing P.J.!! You'd wake up in hospital LOL!
Proby could mimic Elvis in the '60s but he's lost it here. This "tribute" show was almost 15 years ago? His singing voice sounds old and out of control and the recitation sounds like a two-bit Elvis impersonator in training. His exaggerated mockery of Elvis' diction would have gotten him booed off the stage in the US.
@brown601trail The producers of the show obviously knew P.J. could deliver the goods otherwise they would not have asked him to play the role! I saw the show many times & out of the 3 different actors playing the 3 different Elvi P.J. was the one who really got super- reaction from the packed theatre.
@rontenn The producers of the show were obviously out to make a buck however they could and I'm sure Proby came dirt cheap at the time. As for packing the theatre, I guess you stood at the entrance and asked people why they came? The web says the show toured until 2000 after a short run in the West End. Did Proby tour with the show for those years or did they replace him?
@brown601trail You have always got some nasty answer for every fact put under your nose! Proby left of his own accord because he felt the 1996 show was inferior to the earlier one in 1977/78 that won numerous awards.....mainly due to P.J.'s performances! Proby by the way does not perform for peanuts!!
@rontenn I guess Proby always had BENEFITS to fall back on whenever he decided he didn't want to WORK in an inferior show that was beneath his dignity. Of course he declared those big bucks he made while he was in that show, correct?
@rontenn There's a youtube video of a televised Proby interview in 1984 where he talks about being on government benefits even back then. Which gutter press do you mean? What respected UK newspaper writes anything about PJ Proby in this day and age? Or is the gutter press all that's over there now? I'm sure the New York Times would have no interest in running a story about him.
@brown601trail Every fan knows there were times when P.J. could not get any work singing that he bravely did other jobs such as in a supermarket,a janitor & on the local farm.Imagine any other pampered singer getting their hands dirty like that? Just shows you the character of the man.
@rontenn Proby was clear in that 1984 interview that the UK was the only country where he could draw those benefits. Benefits like that didn't exist in the US. Who are you calling pampered singers? When an American singer's hits dry up he has to find another line of work. People usually don't admire a guy like PJ Proby who drank up all his income no matter where it came from.
@brown601trail Gt. Britain is full of riff raff immigrants all scrounging from the government. They get everything for free & can't be touched otherwise the Human Rights brigade step in! P.J .earned big money & paid big tax so any benefits he ever had when he hit hard times he was entitled to from the U.K. government. Get your facts right before you start preaching. Every country in Europe has an illegal immigrant problem! America knows how to deal with them! Europe is too soft!
@rontenn Who do you think you're fooling with that big money crap? Proby's the guy who's always whining about never being paid, remember? His finances were always a disaster and he had huge problems with the tax authorities. I don't care what benefits you think he's due. You can't compare his decades of drunken foolishness to other performers who never expected others to pick up their tab. British immigration problems don't interest me.
@tazio2 When and where was it that Elvis "actually admitted that Proby was a better singer with a better range"? What is the source of that revelation? Let me guess - PJ Proby? It's interesting how much disinformation about Elvis can be tracked back to Proby. And it's strange as well how many people believe him when his motives are so obvious.
Contrary to what some Proby fans want to believe nobody in the US including Elvis cared about what kind of range PJ Proby's voice had. He had no recognizable style of his own and didn't appeal to American audiences. Much of what he did was OTT mimicry of other artists and some of it was even their recent hits. Trying to turn the American 60s music scene into a voice contest is a joke.
@brown601trail Elvis had great respect for PJ he told me so himself last hight at the seance.Elvis is still having trouble closing his nappy pin as nobody on "the far side" has the necessary skills to help him
You're partly right. Jim indeed is not remembered by his style signature because he possessed a few too many. He also wasn't a great songwriter (Elvis neither). That's why he never made it really big. Others are: he refused to be moulded into a commercially profitable, mass-appealing concept, and tragically he met the wrong producers too often.
But his versatility and range ARE his style. In that he is the one and only; the King.
Saw the show a good few times & P.J. made chills run up & down the backs of the audience with this haunting song! Elvis himself did this song wonderfully but I actually prefer P.J.'s version.
@blaudrap It may be unbelievable to Presley fans that there is a better singer out there but us Proby fans have known it from day one.Can't see the point in arguing about it as both sets of fans have their unchangeable opinions!
@blaudrap So nice to get a reaction that is well mannered. Some people on here are anti Proby possessed! You are an Elvis fan..fine, most Proby fans love Elvis too.
I know Elvis is The King,there's no argument about that. I just think Proby has had a raw deal over the years & I wish people would just listen to his stuff & give him a chance.Like Elvis he is absolutely unique! I'm a Brummie in Belgium. Cheers, Ron
Proby had 5 UK top 10 hits and one Aussie hit in '64-'66. He charted once in '67 in the U.S. and disappeared from all charts entirely in '68. His drunken and violent escapades on and off stage are well known. He stopped drinking in '92 but as you see from jgjman's comment the violence continued. Rontenn says he loves Elvis but he backs Proby's claims that the king of rock and roll was only an ignorant hick with no more talent than any other singer in the U.S. south at the time.
@grizzlygalore I just knew you would show up! PJ has never said that Elvis was an ignorant hick.What he did say was that lots of singers in the deep south at the time Elvis became famous had an equal amount of the same talent but Elvis was the one that got lucky!. To me that's a fair comment! He also said that the young Elvis did not have good table manners...once again he only said what he knew to be true as he ate quite a few meals with him when El dated his half sister Betty in about 1953/54
@blaudrap P.J. was huge for 3 years in the middle 60's.What's amazing is he's still touring & recording & the quality is still amazing. The anti Proby people flock to knock him & his music on You Tube but as you say there's no need for it. As Elvis himself often said " There's room for everybody!" Take a look later at how many nasty answers this post will attract.....pond life!!
With the demo's and all, I wonder, did Elvis realize that Jim was actually a much better vocalist with a far greater range? In a live duet, Elvis would have sounded meager. Of course they never did one...May that have been the reason why Jim, such an all American boy, moved to England in the early 60s? I mean, was that really his own choice? Presley and the industry around him were mighty powerful in these days.
@dedeurs To stop being flippant or a moment , Elvis actually admitted that Proby was a better singer with a better range. If anyone of you have any technical knowledge of music just watch the limited range of keys that Elvis always sang in
a great impersonator.....listen to his voice in the sixties, so high...nothing like elvis...so its unbelievable how Proby sounds like elvis, not that elvis sounds like proby.....it was proby that had to sound like elvis...great voice...probably better range then elvis....but elvis was elvis and proby was an impersontor...and a good one at that
Can't touch the Elvis original.
Konni1969 2 months ago
I still cry when I hear this song because I only started to like Elvis in 1976 and then he died in 1977 and not long afterwards I found P.J. Proby and his voice for me sounded so good. It was as if Elvis had never gone away and I had a new idol to look up to and cling to. I Love You P.J.
sherilyn1977 8 months ago
@sherilyn1977 Wonderful song & both Elvis' version & that of P.J. are done with so much emotion.I love both Elvis & P.J. & cannot understand why some Elvis fans are so hostile towards P.J.They are both LEGENDS & like you I believe you can actually appreciate both of them without a problem!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn You're right on. I firmly believe it's possible to be able to appreciate both these Legends. I certainly love them both and have a real passion for them as individuals and as artistes.
sherilyn1977 7 months ago
@sherilyn1977 Like you say you can appreciate as many legends as you want. Elvis always said there was room at the top for everyone. Of course on YouTube the name Proby attracts not only his fans but also a few low-life's who have more than a few screws loose. They need serious help with their mental issues! Most P.J. fans cannot be bothered to reply to the rubbish they read from his critics! I don't blame them!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn So you can't understand why Elvis fans are hostile toward a singer who calls Elvis "ignorant" and a product sold by Parker, and says any country boy who sings country music can sing like him.
In 2003 PJ Proby said that in summer of 1953 Parker let him and Tommy Sands go so he could manage George Jones and Elvis (because he was a little older). Tom Parker never managed George Jones and didn't even meet Elvis until 1955! Just what is it you don't understand?
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper I'll never understand why creeps like you are constantly hostile towards Proby,it's abnormal bahaviour! Proby must have given thousands of interviews official & off the cuff over the years about his Elvis days.If in a few of these conversations he got a year or a name wrong just go with the flow.Nobody,I repeat nobody has a perfect memory.Maybe you are the exception! LOL! You were not there but remember everything! DOH!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn So now Proby admits he got the date wrong and it didn't happen until 1955? DOH!
What does he say now about calling Elvis "ignorant" and a "product sold by Parker"? Big Elvis fan that you claim to be it's abnormal that you don't find Proby's description of him offensive. Maybe you'd like to start promoting Proby as IGNORANT and a product sold by Jack Good. Why not?
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper Once again you are twisting the facts! It's pathetic really! It's MY opinion that he may have got a name or date wrong now & again. The other things he spoke about I mainly agree with & even if I didn't he wouldn't give a s*** anyway.P.J. is his own man. Elvis was a great singer but he was a product sold by Col.Parker! Off stage like many "greats" E.P. lacked a real special personality.Not his fault.Some stars in fact are down right boring & uninteresting! Proby is so different!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn I didn't know Elvis off stage and have no idea what you mean by lacking a real special personality. When and where did you spend time with him? Or are you just as fast and loose with facts as Proby is? PJ Proby was a product packaged and sold by Jack Good. He may be his own man now but he's getting nowhere with it. He's conspicuously absent from Lee Memphis King's website. Maybe he should give Jack Good a call and talk about old times.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper.You don't know much! I've seen enough interviews & private home movie footage to know exactly what sort of "personality" Elvis had. He was O.K. around his "yes" men...they had to kiss his ass or they were out on their ears & penniless.He liked to boss Cilla around. He also had a vile temper.He was always following Parker's orders.He also did not have much of an opinion on anything....always playing safe! L.M.K is a very good Elvis impersonator....no further comment!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn Proby has promoters like you posting comments such as your last one and you can't understand why Elvis fans are hostile toward him? I guess by bringing up what you call Elvis' vile temper you're suggesting Proby was totally calm and composed when he beat up his own girlfiend. How admirable. He joked about it to an interviewer so that must be what you mean by not playing it safe.
I wouldn't be talking about Proby's cancelled tour dates either if I were you. LOL
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper You & your cronies can say what they like about P.J & be hostile towards him but the boot is suddenly on the other foot when I say something critical about Elvis!? Proby has done some crazy, bad things...so has Elvis or don't you like to hear about the bad side of Elvis? You'll get the facts about the "Elvis" show in September when the tour is over! Just want to say that the theatres WANT him there & P.J. wants to be there! A third party is putting a spanner in the works!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn Proby's been saying critical things about Elvis for decades so what the hell is your point? He wants to brag about his own bad behavior and you expect the public to smile and say how talented he is. They aren't smiling and they aren't buying. By now somebody on his staff should have caught on but obviously not.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper Proby has said good & not so good things about Elvis! everyone is entitled to an opinion! Proby's public ARE smiling & they ARE buying! There will always be a few outsiders looking in such as you. I think you are just jealous that Elvis passed away in 1977 & Proby is still with us in 2011!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn If Proby ever said something good about Elvis he didn't say it loud enough for anybody else to hear. Elvis fans might not be so hostile if he had. Nobody's saying he doesn't have a right to his opinion but most professionals in the music business are smart enough not call Elvis or anybody else "ignorant". Everybody knows how well Proby's CD's sell and how many gigs he's getting too. Who's jealous of a pompous blowhard just because he's still breathing?
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper You only see the side of P.J. that you want to see! I know things that he's done for charity & for old friends that are amazing! Sometimes P.J. wants these things kept quiet & sometimes the press is not interested anyway because they only want to hear the negative reports! I could state a few of the outstanding good things he has done but you would only call me a liar too ! I assure you he does have a heart!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn I don't know anything about his charity work and neither does anybody else. If he's done any "amazing" charity work word about it would have gotten around. You wouldn't have to tell anybody. What gets around is the stupid and insulting things he says about his "old friends" in interviews. Most of them are dead so he's not helping them any.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper That's the idea! not to let the word get out. P.J's wishes! If I was him I'd do all I could to let people know he's doing good things but he does not want it that way! The stupid & insulting things that do get out are being advertised by anti P.J. people like you!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn So how did you find out about all those good things he does since he doesn't tell anyone? Mental telepathy?
Most of the stupid and insulting things being commented on are in Proby's TV or radio interviews. Did somebody force him to say them or did they pay him to say them? Or does he just like looking stupid and insulting in interviews?
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper I'm a true,good friend of Jim's & have been for a long time!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn So you're Proby's true long-time friend? He never mentions you in interviews. In fact, in interviews he doesn't thank or even acknowledge his loyal fans or anybody who's given him help during hard times. He only mentions celebrities he calls his friends or who he says copied him, or people he says take advantage of him. He obviously thinks everybody owes him something and he owes nobody for anything. You're wasting your breath saying he has a heart. His ego precedes him by 20 paces.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper P.J. has no reason to mention good friends or life long acquaintances in interviews.....the public would not be interested. If any celeb started talking about a best friend or a helpful unknown aunt or uncle etc. in an interview people would start yawning. But if it's about boozing with John Lennon or being a bodyguard for Liberace or running off when Little Richard got "fruity" or having a sis that dated Elvis then that's what show biz interviews are all about !!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn Other performers find ways to mention briefly how much they appreciate their fans and give credit to their support staff. It's not boring - it ingratiates them with the audience and shows they have a HEART. And if they are still performing they talk about what they are doing NOW.
So Proby can't get an interview unless he tells crude or smutty tales about the REAL celebrities he knew 50 years ago? Then obviously there's little public interest in him or anything he's done since then.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper Congratulations on having an answer for everything!! Trouble is the answers & comments you make are a load of old rubbish to suit yourself! You should be a politician! Anyone that does anything for P.J. gets a personal thank you & it goes without saying that he's always appreciated his loyal fans! You carry on living in your own little anti P.J. fantasy world, you & your couple of twisted cronies mean nothing to us or P.J.!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn Oh sure thing. Proby's perceived as an indifferent egotist and you argue that it goes without saying he appreciates his fans. It might as well because he'd rather go blind than show an ounce of humility.
What does go without saying is which singer most people think of when this song is mentioned. It sure isn't PJ Proby.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper You're right....this is Elvis' song! Just as Somewhere,Maria,Hold me, etc etc. are P.J.'s songs.Elvis did not dare to record them!! Why don't you try showing one gram of humility towards P.J. & his fans? You're just a nasty piece of work!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn If PJ Proby expects humility from the public he's still the pompous fool he's always been. He hasn't learned a thing about the entertainment business in his 50 years of trying. Some teenyboppers idolize young bad boy performers but they usually outgrow it, especially when the bad boy ages into an overstuffed jerk.
CategoryStomper 7 months ago
@CategoryStomper Being pompous is your speciality but in your case without reason! You know nothing about the entertainment business! IF P.J. is pompous then that's his right.....he's achieved things in life! You have not!
Look in the mirror if you want to see an overstuffed jerk!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn You're always talking about Proby's rights. LOL!
The fact is PJ Proby makes his living in the public eye and he's already blown his career away once on booze. He'll never be any younger or prettier or sing any better than he can right now and he sounds bad in the 2011 garden party video.
He's not winning over any new fans with his prima donna attitude and he's losing the old ones by attrition. That's life!
brown601trail 7 months ago
@brown601trail There are so many nasty people around like you but we normal folk just have to put up with them.....that's life in it's true form! They say "life's a bitch!" NOT TRUE!.......life is full of people who do nothing but bitch! So glad I'm not one of them! I waste a lot of my time confronting them,don't know why I bother. Think I'll leave you & your cronies to talk to yourselves! You're all so full of pointless s***! You're always talking about Proby's wrongs. F.O.! LOL!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn As long as your PJ Proby tells lies about music icons like Elvis and Little Richard he's going to get flack from youtube users. That's real life too so you might as well get used to it.
brown601trail 7 months ago
@rontenn You'll give us the facts about the Elvis show when the tour is over in September? LMK's site shows Proby's tour with the show is already over. No one told you? You must be one of those outsiders looking in.
brown601trail 7 months ago
@brown601trail I'll give the facts out when the time is right! I know them! This is not the moment!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn It's already old news. Still working on your spin?
brown601trail 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@brown601trail Wrong again! you know nothing!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn It's been 3 months and you haven't posted any of those "facts" you promised about that Lee King show PJ was dropped from. Must mean you weren't in the loop then and you still aren't.
CategoryStomper 3 months ago
@CategoryStomper. Lee is a con man....end of story!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn So two con men in the same show wasn't such a good idea?
CategoryStomper 3 months ago
@CategoryStomper Dropping your "special guest" from a show here & there to save money is the lowest of the low! it's also an insult to people who have purchased tickets to see both artistes!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn So Lee King dropped Proby to save money. Then Proby wasn't increasing ticket sales enough to cover his fee. Nobody keeps a guest artist who's costing them money. It sounds like Proby didn't read his contract.
CategoryStomper 3 months ago
@CategoryStomper Lee was "smart" he dropped P.J. from certain shows after using his name to sell tickets.If that's fair & honest to you then you are as big a jerk as L.M.K.
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn If Proby was "smart" he'd have negotiated a contract he liked instead of complaining later about the terms he agreed to. Proby was dropped after the June shows for the remainder of the tour. Obviously King decided it was time to cut his losses. You've implied ticket buyers couldn't get refunds on their advance purchases. That's not true.
CategoryStomper 3 months ago
@CategoryStomper Whether the fans could get refunds or not does not come into it! They should never have been set-up like that in the first place by Low Memphis King!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn Dishing the dirt on Lee Memphis King are you? If PJ Proby could draw a crowd LMK would have kept him on. You said LMK dropped him to save money so it's obvious Proby was costing more than he was bringing in. It's simple mathematics. You can twist it every which way you want but it seems PJ Proby expects charity from other artists so his fans can see him when the mood hits. He'll have to get in line.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail In your usual way YOU are twisting the facts. King got big audiences booked with the name P.J.Proby. Then when the tickets were sold he removed P.J. from the show. It's simple English...CHEATING! To a person like you it's normal behaviour so that tells us all we need to know about your character! End of conversation!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn In early summer PJ Proby started advertising an October show with the Frank Johns Band in Liverpool. In the middle of September he replaced the band with another because they couldn't rehearse with him as much as he wanted them to. I guess you think fans of the Frank Johns Band don't count so Proby wasn't cheating.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail Ha! ha! lost that battle so you're looking to win another! You'll lose this one too! I know Frank & know exactly what happened! You are greener than the Greenroom!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn If that wasn't the real story why did his people tell it on the internet? Proby thinks he can play by his own rules and then diss others when they do the same. The music business is like any other business and you don't stay on top spreading nastiness about other performers. Nobody wants him on their tours anymore and he can't land gigs on his own.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail Well spreading nastiness is your speciality!!! Secondly you mention HIS people...... you've obviously got the wrong HIS people!! LOL!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn I don't know who you are talking about but by HIS I mean P.J. Proby, James Smith or whatever alias he's using now. The story was told by HIS manager, agent, representative or whatever they call themselves. It was told on HIS forum, blog, chat room or whatever name they give it. It should be no surprise to anyone since the entire organization is in a constant state of OFFICIAL confusion and disarray.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail Confusion & disarray! Bit like your head then!! Frank booked a holiday abroad ages ago.He was due back on the day of the Liverpool concert. The organisors of the show,plus P.J. & Frank himself realised that that this was an impossible situation & meant no rehearsal time so Vanity Fare were used instead. Frank was fine with the whole situation!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn How Frank feels has no bearing on your argument about setting up fans. Tickets went on sale months before Proby changed bands. If he requires rehearsal before show date he should have nailed it down on the front end. If LMK's a bad guy for changing his show lineup Proby's a bad guy for changing his. You brought up the fan issue not me.
Proby can't read a contract, can't plan details, and then blames somebody else when things go wrong. It's been going on for 50 years.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail What a bitter & twisted little man you are!!! Even Frank will not argue that Vanity Fare are the bigger band of the two. If he really wanted to be part of the show Frank could have cut short his holiday but he didn't so he wasn't that bothered was he? A lot less bothered than you are!! LOL! ...NOW GO AWAY!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn You accused LMK of tricking fans into buying tickets before he dropped Proby. Now with the tables turned you're saying fans of the Frank Johns Band who bought tickets expecting to see them would be just as happy with Vanity Fare.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Tom Jones is a much bigger draw than PJ Proby. If Ricky had substituted Tom for PJ most people would think it was a good deal but would Proby fans be happy?
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail You just don't get it do you? Frank Johns is just a local Liverpool musician. No-one purchased a ticket to see him & his group that night. They were all there to see the STAR of the evening P.J.Proby! Now stop babbling absolute rubbish! YOU don't know what YOU are talking about.....you prove that time after time!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn No sir, you're the one who doesn't get it. You come on here talking about how low Lee King is when PJ Proby pulled the same stunt. It doesn't matter how small the Frank Johns Band following is, Proby's following isn't much either if you look at how few gigs he's getting! Proby doesn't have enough fans to increase profits from sales for anybody. If he did he wouldn't have been dropped from the LMK tour.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail Completely different situation.Lee dropped P.J. At the Greenroom Frank dropped himself! Is that so hard to understand? I suppose for someone like you with limited intelligence it must be! P.J. back at the Greenroom in March!! Two brand new CD's out!! Things are looking good! In two weeks time he's top of the bill at the 60's Festival in Brean Sands!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn It's easy to understand that Proby's people change their stories when they realize they bungled it. He's had one gig since June, two more are scheduled between now and next March and you call that good. He's almost as popular as the flu. Ripping and burning old tracks on a CD isn't brand new. Other bootleggers have been doing it forever.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail You're not normal that is certain! Who would follow a singer he hates so intensively as you do??? Completely NOT normal. You know more about Proby than many of his fans!! You must be a dual personality guy. You hate him but you love him too!!! A REAL PHYSCO!! I'm not dealing with your nonsense anymore!! Chat to yourself from now on...easy for someone with schizophrenia!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn It takes no time at all to find out all kinds of stuff about anybody if they're stupid enough to put their every move and conversation on the internet. It gets copied and duplicated too so it's out there for keeps. You bring up a subject and anybody can find what you've already said about it with a few easy searches. Also it doesn't take a psycho to care if an artist is involved in music piracy.
brown601trail 3 months ago
@brown601trail You need urgently a lobotomy operation. Your poor brain is pre-occupied with P.J. 24/24...7/7 !!As for musical piracy you had better be careful what you say. The latest 2 Jett Powers CD's are on The Select Record label & The Brushwood Record label...both legal & legitimate companies! Your mouth is bigger than your brain. Get lobotomised fast!
rontenn 3 months ago
@rontenn I don't care how legal you say those companies are. Somebody's copied Liberty tracks for the purpose of resale. Proby's the one who should be careful.
PS - Which of those "legitimate" labels is he selling his "Elvis demos" on? Wayne-Weisman/Hill&Range material isn't in the public domain.
brown601trail 3 months ago
I thought PJP was British and in UK, remember reading about him in NME, this is the first time I hear a connection with Elvis .If he's an Elvis...has he ever been to States? If he's an Elvis impersonator maybe all these Elvis covers are his copies and not on demo acetates.,,,,after all every dick & harry got clips on UTube.
asoka1941 1 year ago
PJP is now on tour impersonating Elvis as he has been doing for the last forty years or more. The lies he tells about how E.P. dated his sister and wiped his face on the tablecloth at the home of Jimmy Smith's mother is a crock of crap. You know if anyone had been so close to Elvis as PJP claims he was then there would be at least a few decent photographs, so where are they? How come Red West who was with Elvis all the way from school never ever heard of PJP or Jimmy Smith? It is all damn lies.
jgjman 1 year ago
@rontenn You post a story on youtube saying jgjman is "supposed" to have smashed a car windscreen belonging to a "nameless" manager of PJ Proby. I bet you've got a million more stories just as good that one.
The guy who runs Wikipedia is not the author of pages put there. Of course you wouldn't know any more about that web site than you know about youtube or libel laws.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@rontenn Most people know a #58 chart position is NOT in the top 50 and the 1996 track you mentioned was a duet with Marc Almond.
PJ Proby's recordings went nowhere chart-wise between 1968 and 1996 and have gone nowhere since then as well. Arrogance isn't a big seller once you hit the skids.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore. It reached no. 49 !! You've consulted the wrong chart! Duet or not...Proby's name is on the record!! As for arrogance,you have plenty of it but in your case without reason.
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn I don't know what chart you're looking at but both PJ Proby's Wikipedia page and Marc Almond's Wikipedia page show that track at #58. Take it up with Proby and Almond!
What's the NAME of the Proby "manager" you claim accuses jgjman of smashing a car windscreen? Or is this just another one of PJ Proby's ridiculous stories you are spreading on youtube?
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore I look at the OFFICIAL U.K. charts not Wikipedia rubbish. The guy who runs that should be shot!!
My stories are all true & in this instance there is no way I'm giving you a name!!! You should also be shot !!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Oh so those other performers weren't nasty to Proby and his comments about them weren't in retaliation. Now you're saying he said nasty things because he's arrogant? I guess he had to tell the world how great he was because people aren't smart enough to decide for themselves. He hasn't had a hit anywhere since the mid '60s so it's easy to see how effective his arrogance was - and exactly what was a waste of time.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore Depends on what YOU call a hit! A hit in most people's opinion is a top 50 appearance. So 1996 was the last time!!!!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn You've excused Proby's nastiness as "normal" retaliation so how about spelling out the nasty things Little Richard, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Rock Hudson and Adam Faith (to name only a few) did to him that prompted his disparaging comments about them.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore It's because he knew he was better than them in looks & voice! In showbiz you have to have a certain arrogance & self belief otherwise you're wasting your time!
rontenn 1 year ago
@Blaudrap: I recorded PJP in 1990 the album was titled THANKS. You can hear the song I write for him STAGE OF FOOLS its on YouTube. This was the UK. His initial attitude was gratitude and he pleaded for me to help give him a hand out of the pit he fallen into. Amazingly and with some lucky connections I got him singing again, though even that took effort as he became beligerant refused to sing when I had him in the studio cost thousands so he needed my advice. Major Bad Attitude and much more!
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman Are you the John G Sutton who gave Proby a recording contract with J`ACE records in Preston?
blaudrap 1 year ago
@jgjman I have just listened to the stage of fools demo, nice song and proby is in reasonably good voice. I noticed his name in the papers today regarding benefit fraud, don`t know the reasons for it but here is a talented man who through it all away!
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap: PJP lived in Texas Elvis in Memphis so he did not 'Grow up with Elvis' Jack Good made that story up to promote PJP in 1964. I do know PJP and he is Trouble. Great voice, ability to interpret a song brilliant too, but he has a nasty side that makesit not only difficult to work with but impossible. It is as if he wants to self-destruct and take anyone that helps him down too. As for being owed millions by record companies, his records just did not sell so well is the real truth. Sad eh!
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman I agree PJ Proby has a good voice but cannot understand the need for all the lies. His music is a wee bit before my time but almost everyone I have asked about him said the same thing, good singer major BAD attitude! Did you know him in America or the UK?
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap Good singer!, change that to absolutely brilliant!
rontenn 1 year ago
Ronten: PJP had a law firm in Blackpool they tried to halt the distribution of the 'Thanks' album. I sent them a copy of the contract PJP had signed and they dropped it. BUT PJP himself 100% refused to promote the album in clear breach of contract. Anyone asks him to sing Stage of Fools he shouts out abusive comments about me. As for the horrible things I wrote about him, the golden showers, snotting in plastic buckets of piss etc. all true and entertaining too I think as PJP likes disgusting.
jgjman 1 year ago
You Tube is all about the music not nasty feuds between people! This is a beautiful song done wonderfully well by P.J. All the evil "shitheads" that come on here will eventually lead to the downfall of You Tube.As usual a few will f*** it up for the rest of us! THANKS!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn
You're the only s**thead here. You're obviously incapable of letting youtubers voice their opinions about a PJ Proby video unless they agree with you. So you're hellbent on squelching any dissent by starting a war with a bunch of insults, lectures, and stupid stories.
If youtube expects everybody to agree and praise every video they wouldn't have the Dislike button or allow comments. Get over it.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore Hit a nerve have I? Intelligent criticism or friendly difference of opinions are fine...in your case & a few others it's pure evil you spout & that's not necessary at all. Now back to the music......
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn
One more silly lecture from the etiquette expert who can't stop calling names or commenting on people's brains. Do you think anybody give a s**t? You should let youtube know that all those videos about dogs, rabbits, sports, politics, comedy and drama, and news events - with millions of views and comments - shouldn't be on the site because they aren't about music. They'll be just as impressed with your opinions as I am.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore Who cares if you're impressed or not Mr. Nobody? I don't care what clips are on You Tube elsewhere. Only music interests me & pricks like you are spoiling it for many others. Now grizzly go hibernate & I hope you never wake up!...no-one will miss you!
rontenn 1 year ago
Ronten. PJP caused the project around the 'Thanks' Album to fail, he did this deliberately with malice aforethought. He intended to destroy all the work I had put into creating the first album he had made in over twenty years to get international distribution via BMG in Europe and John Menzies Group in the UK. That took me a great deal of time, money and effort.It got PJP back on TV, into all the record stores etc. in return he set lawyers on me, completely without justificaton.Glad he remembers
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman Sorry that you say the "Thanks" project failed. It may have failed to make you money but in an artistic way it was a success in my eyes. How did P.J. set lawyers on you...he was virtually penniless then & if he did who won the case! He remembers everything, especially all the horrific things you put on the internet that were absolutely disgusting & which were soon removed.I thank you for "Thanks"...but that's all!
rontenn 1 year ago
ronten: I actually like the voice of PJP and believe me if he had behaved like a reasonable man then my efforts to promote him would have succeeded. What happened was he deliberately set out to halt the distribution of the 'Thanks' cd album even to the point of instructing solicitors, despite being under contract and having been paid. I am not pleased to admit he got a thumping from me as I am a man of peace and poetry BUT he threatened me in my own home. PJP knows he asked for what he received
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman You were a huge fan of P.J. & I & many other fans were very happy with the "Thanks" CD you made.....grateful too. P.J. is a very awkward guy so you knew nothing would be plain sailing. However violence is not the answer to any problem.P.J. has never forgotten it which is why you are not on his Xmas card list!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn There are videos on youtube showing PJ Proby telling his version of what Elvis was like. They're all PJ's fantasy. Blaudrap can watch them and see how PJ gives Tom Parker credit for the success of a singer PJ says wasn't anything special. You should ask Nik Cohn what PJ said to him about Elvis. BTW the only people PJ has sent to the hospital are women!
nawlins4evah 1 year ago
@nawlins4evah. Nik Cohn happens to think that P.J. is one of the greatest singers ever!! I am in touch with Nik now & again by the way. P.J. has every right to say what he likes about any singer...just the same as you're on here slandering his name.One law for you & another for P.J.???
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn You brag that PJ would put jgjman in the hospital and then you do an about face and lecture him on nonviolence. You said it - one law for PJ and another for everybody else!
I didn't say you should ask Nik Cohn what he thought about PJ's singing. Can't you read? BTW did PJ's old friend Jackie DeShannon ever answer your inquiry about the identity of Peter James? It's been over a year since you said on youtube you'd contacted her about it.
nawlins4evah 1 year ago
@nawlins4evah Here we go again....ZZZZZ! If Kenwright tried to manhandle P.J. then he would of course defend himself.He's not a "turn the other cheek" guy! Can't you read the messages properly, jgjman was talking about Kenwright! Had no reply from Jackie so there's nothing I can do about that! Perhaps she can't read either!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn So Jackie DeShannon won't answer your inquiry. I guess your definition of being in contact with PJ's "old friends" means you drop them a line and hope they bother to read it. Big deal.
nawlins4evah 1 year ago
@nawlins4evah I know very little about P J Proby but I am finding the banter hilarious. I`ll need to watch some of some of the videos of Proby discussing elvis. To me there is no comparison between the two, one was and is still a megastar, one is not. I would like to know who jgjman is as he seems to know Proby personally?
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap You might want to take a look at the Bailey Ritz interview.
nawlins4evah 1 year ago
@nawlins4evah I watched the interview you mentioned and don`t believe a word he said. Do you honestly think Proby is owed millions by his record company? Are you a Proby or a Presley fan and do you mind me asking which country you reside in?
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap I'm in the US and I don't call myself a fan of any one artist. I like early rock and r&b music and singers who take care of business instead of trashing their competition.
nawlins4evah 1 year ago
@nawlins4evah I`m in Scotland, and although I am a big Elvis fan I have many other musical interests including johnny cash, merle haggard and the eagles! Why does PJ Proby incite so much hostility on You Tube? I also have never heard of Elvis publicly putting down any other artists?
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap Author Nik Cohn compared PJ Proby to Muhammad Ali. There are definite similarities in the self-promotion strategies of the two. Although inciting crowds and antagonising peers are common in the fight game they are of little use in the music world. And notably absent from Proby's style is Ali's infectious humour. Proby relies on blatant nastiness instead.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore When people are nasty to him then he's nasty back....that's a normal reaction.Not everybody turns the other cheek.
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Shame to see that PJP is in fact facing very serious benefit fraud charges. I see the case has been adjourned to February for PJP to properly instruct his solicitor. Ron you say in your last post that PJP is nasty back to people that he believes have insulted him etc. Ron, Jim Smith AKA PJP is an aggressive and violent man who threatens and attempts to intimdate people as and when he feels like it he needs no provocation, ask him, he boasts about it..till he gets spanked then he cries.
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman Yes I saw the news reports. I hope all charges are dropped thru' lack of evidence. You remember P.J. from the days when he was boozing & we all know what alcohol does to people. Since 1993 he has not touched a drop so violent & aggressive behavior, if they ever existed, have long gone. You seem like you're the type who looks out for himself,family & friends. So does P.J.!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Ron, PJP has, IMHO a brilliant voice and an ability to interpret any song in a unique way, I have worked with him on Stage of Fools he can be amazing. However, he is not just a little tempremental he is, at times, i.e. most of the time, like a man on a mission to self destruct. Booze had a bad effect on him, but he has been sober for years and he still hurls abuse at me on his website and on stage whenever anyone mentions my name and all I did was correct him with an appropriate force.
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman O.J. John.....At 72 he still has not self destructed yet!! New U.K. tour starts in late January. Latest CD released, "60's Gold" sold very well. We all know why he hates to hear your name mentioned....you do too!
By the way you are supposed to have smashed P.J.'s manager's car windscreen at a gig up north a year or two ago.Any comments on that?
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn The very idea that I would be so petty minded to break anyones car window is an insult to my integrity. You know fine well that my published work has outsold anything that PJP has ever created, check me out on Amazon, so why would I stoop to juvenile tricks that could potentially ruin my credibility as a serious author? PJP has destroyed many projects he claims to have wanted to succeed i.e. threatening to blow up the HQ of EMI. How crazy is that? Threatening me was a mistake too.
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman. I'm just stating what P.J.'s manager told me. I'm not saying it's true or not! That's the trouble you see..two sides to every story. P.J. has to put up with this every day,being accused of things he knows nothing about ! It's not nice is it?
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn So PJ Proby's manager witnessed a guy he recognized smashing his windshield but he didn't have the guy arrested? If folks here believe that they'll believe Jimmy Hoffa is alive and well and living in a tent in PJ's backyard. Hey I see you've added you aren't saying the story is true but you're telling it anyway to make some screwed up point about poor PJ being accused of doing stuff he's been telling about himself for decades.
nawlins4evah 1 year ago
@nawlins4evah I got the story from P.J.'s manager at the time a good few years ago......I'm just passing it on to say all the bad things that happen are not P.J.'s fault! But of course the only tales you lot like is when P.J. is at fault!
rontenn 7 months ago
@rontenn If you don't see the difference between your repeating slander about jgjman and the public criticizing behavior that PJ himself brags about, you've got more than a few screws loose!
nawlins4evah 7 months ago
@nawlins4evah The slander is coming from the opposite direction but dickheads like you are only too willing to believe it! The general public are not criticising Proby, just a few unimportant farts like you!! LOL!
rontenn 7 months ago
Ronten: Believe me I have spanked PJP like a daddy slaps a naughty child because when I was with him that was how he behaved and one simply can not expect to abuse others, as he tried with me, then get away without a smack. Ask him yourself, he can't fight, unless its thumping women. People listen: PJP is a coward, he can sing pretty damn good at times, but that is the full extent of it. As for him being thrown out the stage door, ask Bill Kenwright, he bounced PJP for assaulting the dresser.
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman Well here 's my reply to this: Tell us your real name & I'll ask P.J. about your claims.Incidentally your Kenwright story is pure bull shit!
rontenn 1 year ago
@jgjman Actually I know who you are but I guess there are plenty on here who don't!
It is true that you hit P.J. but you did that to a lot of people!! At the time P.J. was pissed so an easy target. Now you're on here boasting about it! Well done!
rontenn 1 year ago
Proby left the show in the West End because he was kicking up about the stage clothing, the Elvis suit was in need of replacing he said. On stage he deliberately tore the suit and discussed this with the audience, backsatge he blamed this on the lady dresser and when she denied this PJP grabbed hold of her violently. Also backstage that night was the producer of the show Bill Kenwright who grabbed PJP and threw him out the stage door into the street, never to return. And that is how PJP left.
jgjman 1 year ago
@jgjman What a vivid imagination you have!!! I was in the Elvis dressing room many times with P.J.He did complain about the Elvis costume.....I took the pics he sent to Bill showing how tatty it was. He also complained about the sound & the lighting onstage not being up to standard.What you state is rubbish & untrue....try grabbing P.J.!! You'd wake up in hospital LOL!
rontenn 1 year ago
Proby could mimic Elvis in the '60s but he's lost it here. This "tribute" show was almost 15 years ago? His singing voice sounds old and out of control and the recitation sounds like a two-bit Elvis impersonator in training. His exaggerated mockery of Elvis' diction would have gotten him booed off the stage in the US.
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail The producers of the show obviously knew P.J. could deliver the goods otherwise they would not have asked him to play the role! I saw the show many times & out of the 3 different actors playing the 3 different Elvi P.J. was the one who really got super- reaction from the packed theatre.
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn The producers of the show were obviously out to make a buck however they could and I'm sure Proby came dirt cheap at the time. As for packing the theatre, I guess you stood at the entrance and asked people why they came? The web says the show toured until 2000 after a short run in the West End. Did Proby tour with the show for those years or did they replace him?
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail You have always got some nasty answer for every fact put under your nose! Proby left of his own accord because he felt the 1996 show was inferior to the earlier one in 1977/78 that won numerous awards.....mainly due to P.J.'s performances! Proby by the way does not perform for peanuts!!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn I guess Proby always had BENEFITS to fall back on whenever he decided he didn't want to WORK in an inferior show that was beneath his dignity. Of course he declared those big bucks he made while he was in that show, correct?
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail I see you are a big fan of the gutter press....how come I'm not surprised?
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn There's a youtube video of a televised Proby interview in 1984 where he talks about being on government benefits even back then. Which gutter press do you mean? What respected UK newspaper writes anything about PJ Proby in this day and age? Or is the gutter press all that's over there now? I'm sure the New York Times would have no interest in running a story about him.
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail Every fan knows there were times when P.J. could not get any work singing that he bravely did other jobs such as in a supermarket,a janitor & on the local farm.Imagine any other pampered singer getting their hands dirty like that? Just shows you the character of the man.
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Proby was clear in that 1984 interview that the UK was the only country where he could draw those benefits. Benefits like that didn't exist in the US. Who are you calling pampered singers? When an American singer's hits dry up he has to find another line of work. People usually don't admire a guy like PJ Proby who drank up all his income no matter where it came from.
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail Gt. Britain is full of riff raff immigrants all scrounging from the government. They get everything for free & can't be touched otherwise the Human Rights brigade step in! P.J .earned big money & paid big tax so any benefits he ever had when he hit hard times he was entitled to from the U.K. government. Get your facts right before you start preaching. Every country in Europe has an illegal immigrant problem! America knows how to deal with them! Europe is too soft!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Who do you think you're fooling with that big money crap? Proby's the guy who's always whining about never being paid, remember? His finances were always a disaster and he had huge problems with the tax authorities. I don't care what benefits you think he's due. You can't compare his decades of drunken foolishness to other performers who never expected others to pick up their tab. British immigration problems don't interest me.
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail. Frankly your mental problems with the great P.J.Proby don't interest me. ...so hit the brown trail!
rontenn 1 year ago
@tazio2 When and where was it that Elvis "actually admitted that Proby was a better singer with a better range"? What is the source of that revelation? Let me guess - PJ Proby? It's interesting how much disinformation about Elvis can be tracked back to Proby. And it's strange as well how many people believe him when his motives are so obvious.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore I am 47 yrs old and had never heard of P J Proby until I stumbled onto this video! How anyone can compere him to elvis is beyond me?
blaudrap 1 year ago
Contrary to what some Proby fans want to believe nobody in the US including Elvis cared about what kind of range PJ Proby's voice had. He had no recognizable style of his own and didn't appeal to American audiences. Much of what he did was OTT mimicry of other artists and some of it was even their recent hits. Trying to turn the American 60s music scene into a voice contest is a joke.
brown601trail 1 year ago
@brown601trail Elvis had great respect for PJ he told me so himself last hight at the seance.Elvis is still having trouble closing his nappy pin as nobody on "the far side" has the necessary skills to help him
tazio2 1 year ago
@brown601trail
You're partly right. Jim indeed is not remembered by his style signature because he possessed a few too many. He also wasn't a great songwriter (Elvis neither). That's why he never made it really big. Others are: he refused to be moulded into a commercially profitable, mass-appealing concept, and tragically he met the wrong producers too often.
But his versatility and range ARE his style. In that he is the one and only; the King.
dedeurs 1 year ago
Saw the show a good few times & P.J. made chills run up & down the backs of the audience with this haunting song! Elvis himself did this song wonderfully but I actually prefer P.J.'s version.
rontenn 1 year ago
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blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap ALWAYS!!!
rontenn 1 year ago
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blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap It may be unbelievable to Presley fans that there is a better singer out there but us Proby fans have known it from day one.Can't see the point in arguing about it as both sets of fans have their unchangeable opinions!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Fair comment, enjoy your music and have a merry christmas when it comes! Do you mind me asking which country you live in, I`m from Scotland?
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap So nice to get a reaction that is well mannered. Some people on here are anti Proby possessed! You are an Elvis fan..fine, most Proby fans love Elvis too.
I know Elvis is The King,there's no argument about that. I just think Proby has had a raw deal over the years & I wish people would just listen to his stuff & give him a chance.Like Elvis he is absolutely unique! I'm a Brummie in Belgium. Cheers, Ron
rontenn 1 year ago
Comment removed
blaudrap 1 year ago
@blaudrap
Proby had 5 UK top 10 hits and one Aussie hit in '64-'66. He charted once in '67 in the U.S. and disappeared from all charts entirely in '68. His drunken and violent escapades on and off stage are well known. He stopped drinking in '92 but as you see from jgjman's comment the violence continued. Rontenn says he loves Elvis but he backs Proby's claims that the king of rock and roll was only an ignorant hick with no more talent than any other singer in the U.S. south at the time.
grizzlygalore 1 year ago
@grizzlygalore I just knew you would show up! PJ has never said that Elvis was an ignorant hick.What he did say was that lots of singers in the deep south at the time Elvis became famous had an equal amount of the same talent but Elvis was the one that got lucky!. To me that's a fair comment! He also said that the young Elvis did not have good table manners...once again he only said what he knew to be true as he ate quite a few meals with him when El dated his half sister Betty in about 1953/54
rontenn 1 year ago
@blaudrap P.J. was huge for 3 years in the middle 60's.What's amazing is he's still touring & recording & the quality is still amazing. The anti Proby people flock to knock him & his music on You Tube but as you say there's no need for it. As Elvis himself often said " There's room for everybody!" Take a look later at how many nasty answers this post will attract.....pond life!!
rontenn 1 year ago
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blaudrap 1 year ago
With the demo's and all, I wonder, did Elvis realize that Jim was actually a much better vocalist with a far greater range? In a live duet, Elvis would have sounded meager. Of course they never did one...May that have been the reason why Jim, such an all American boy, moved to England in the early 60s? I mean, was that really his own choice? Presley and the industry around him were mighty powerful in these days.
dedeurs 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@dedeurs Are you serious?
blaudrap 1 year ago 2
@dedeurs. I totally agree with your comment. Proby does have a far greater range than Elvis.I love Elvis but P.J. is better!
rontenn 1 year ago
@dedeurs To stop being flippant or a moment , Elvis actually admitted that Proby was a better singer with a better range. If anyone of you have any technical knowledge of music just watch the limited range of keys that Elvis always sang in
tazio2 1 year ago
PJ was always a bit of class and had a better voice than Elvis if the truth were told
tazio2 1 year ago
@tazio2 ha ha ha,more please,pure gold,pissed my pants,pj is a lush,ha ha ha,so funny,nice one,ha ha ha........he sounds pissed,ha ha ha......
ITSTHETRUTHOK 1 year ago
@ITSTHETRUTHOK
SAD SAD INDIVIDUAL ,
theBESTelvis 1 year ago
@ITSTHETRUTHOK You're always pissing your pants!! Go see a doctor!
rontenn 1 year ago
Comment removed
blaudrap 1 year ago
Fantastic and Thanks For Posting !
TCB DANNY
dmljm2 2 years ago
a great impersonator.....listen to his voice in the sixties, so high...nothing like elvis...so its unbelievable how Proby sounds like elvis, not that elvis sounds like proby.....it was proby that had to sound like elvis...great voice...probably better range then elvis....but elvis was elvis and proby was an impersontor...and a good one at that
sempei58 2 years ago
sempei58 P.J. did demos for many singers....Cash,Elvis,Vee etc. He can sing like any singer & talk like any actor.
When he sings as P.J.Proby is when I like him the best but this Elvis performance is very moving. Ron
rontenn 2 years ago
Absolute class.
strawdog1234567 2 years ago
PJ Proby ... always amazing - beyond belief ...
I always thought how much Elvis tried to sing like PJ Proby ...
kykdaar 2 years ago 5
@kykdaar
raychandler123 1 year ago
@kykdaar go and get your ears checked!!!!!
djgaz22 1 year ago