Rock Billie Boogie

Robert Gordon entered New York City's Plaza Sound Studio in April 1977 to record his first album. Four months later, Elvis Presley was found dead in his Memphis mansion, Graceland, at the age of 42. The media was anxious to anoint a successor to the late king of rock and roll, and Gordon-twelve years Presley's junior-was high atop many lists. Gordon's vocal resemblance to Elvis Presley was hard to ignore, although the singer never crossed the line into impersonation. He retained his originality and an attitude honed in New York's vibrant punk scene. In late 1978, Gordon was signed to Presley's longtime home of RCA Records. He inaugurated his label tenure with the early 1979 release of his third and perhaps finest album, 'Rock Billy Boogie'. The power-packed LP would become a cornerstone of the so-called rockabilly revival. Four additional recordings round out this deluxe, expanded edition of 'Rock Billy Boogie': Gordon's 1980 cover of John Beveridge and Peter Oakman's 'A Picture of You', a # 1 U.K. hit for entertainer Joe Brown in 1962; and three tracks looking back to his seminal partnership with Link Wray from the Private Stock years: 'Lonesome Train (On a Lonesome Track)', 'Summertime Blues', and 'Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache'.