Perhaps best known as the leader of the Purple Gang, a group from Detroit, the Purple Gang itself was notorious as a mob of bootleggers, so many of them imprisoned that when Elvis went to prison he found that the whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang.
Jimi Hendrix, Seattle-born guitarist, was much taken with Hayes, going so far as to write the song that has immortalized them both: "Purple Hayes," the lyrics of which include this famous line of comradely love: "Excuse me while I kiss this guy."
Hayes is reported to have turned purple at the mention of it, hence the nick-name.
So long, Purple, we miss you.
6 comments:
Elvis went to prison?
What kind of neo-nazi historical revisionist are you?
Oh no, I'm on Warman's hit-lit now, top ten, and rising!
I knew I shoudn'a done it, but I wrote that he ain't nothin but a hound dog. Oh, man, am I in the glue.
I am a walking and talking hate crime. Will no one save me from my own evil selfness? I mean, aside from Warman.
Apologies, guys --
But the lyrics aren't "Excuse me, while I kiss this guy," but "Excuse me, while I KISS THE SKY"
http://tinyurl.com/mx3pf
Easy enough mistake, I know, but important, semantically.
Dag said: "Oh no, I'm on Warman's hit-lit now, top ten, and rising!"
*grinning*
What've you done NOW, dag?
My account of Purple Hayes isn't totally accurate? I'm flummoxed to a whiter shade of pale. Good grief, next thing I know people will say I'm not really Mister Big Science. But. But I did read an Isaac Asimov novel once. And Novum Organum a lot of times.
As far a Warman, well, he's a story that will have to wait for my creative capacities to rise to the boiling point again. Maybe I'll do it in terza rima. Oh, something fancy anyway.
Jeez, dag, I thought your reminiscence was bang on. I was all nostalgic myself over Johnny Cash's old song "The Legend of Isaac Hayes".
It makes life worth the livin'.
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