"Hold it, fellas... That don't move me. Let's get real, real gone for a change."

In "Milk Cow Blues Boogie", Elvis Presley re-enacts the legendary events of a few months earlier during which rock and roll (or at the very least, one of its main sources) was born. Apparently it happened during a break in recording, with Elvis picking up his guitar and starting to "goof around", in his words, and singing a souped-up version of "That's All Right (Mama)". Sam Phillips asked what he was doing, and then famously said, "Just don't lose it." He didn't, and the rest we know.

A few points:

1. Rock and roll is "blues with a country beat", said Carl Perkins. It's still the most succinct and accurate definition. (It's also important to remember that most innovations in anything come from combining elements that already exist. It's one more reason that learning the poetic concept - where something new is seen through something familiar - is so important.)

2. You've got to love "gone" as an adjective, as in "That cat is gone." (Many cool words came from musicians, including the word "cool" itself. More on Lester Young soon.)

3. "Exuberance is beauty." - William Blake

4. "Hearing Elvis was like a jailbreak, and I didn't even know I was in jail." - Bob Dylan