BIG IN GERMANY Don Presley of Little Rock got quite the surprise last month.
He learned that he and his son, Ryan, were award-winning songwriters. In Germany.
"Real Love," a song co-written by the Presleys and recorded by their friend, German musician Chris Brandon, won both Best Country Song and Best Pop Song on Dec. 14 at the 37th annual German Rock and Pop Awards in Siegen, Germany. Brandon also won for best singer in both categories.
So how did a song written by a couple of Arkies end up winning awards in Germany?
Because of Elvis. Sorta.
Don Presley is a distant relative of Elvis Presley, and is the co-author of The Rhineland to Graceland, the 1999 book that traces the rock 'n' roll pioneer's family roots from Germany in the 1700s to his superstardom in America.
Brandon, a radio show host and enthusiastic fan of early American rock music who has been blind since birth, reached out to Don Presley about having the book translated into German. The two became pals, though they've never actually been in the same room.
"He is fascinated with rock 'n' roll and country music from Memphis and the Midsouth," Presley says.
Their musical partnership began when Ryan Presley wrote lyrics for a song called "The Rhineland to Graceland" that Brandon recorded in 2017.
"Real Love" came about when Brandon contacted them about writing lyrics to a new song. Ryan and Don Presley came up with the words, Brandon put them to music, and now they're award winners.
PICTURE THIS In October, a photo posted on the Facebook page of Zach Meyer showed a young man dressed up like Joe Biden, as if for Halloween; the character was getting a little handsy with a young woman.
The picture seems to be inspired by observations that Biden, the former vice president who is now a Democratic presidential candidate, gets really, really close to some women at public events.
The photo was shared in October by the Being Libertarian Facebook page, where it generated more than 460 comments and was shared more than 4,000 times.
"Wow my post is getting shared like crazy!" Meyer posted on Oct. 31.
It's not certain who is dressed as Biden in the photo. And, after inquiries by curious reporters, the picture is no longer available on Meyer's page, at least not publicly.
We bring this up because Meyer is the son of 16th Judicial Circuit Judge Holly Meyer, who is presiding over the paternity suit against Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son. Judge Meyer was assigned the case after another judge recused Dec. 31.
Both Zach and Judge Meyer had no comment when asked about the picture. Hunter Biden's attorney, Brent Langdon of Texarkana, Texas, also had no comment.
Information for this item was provided by John Lynch and Bill Bowden of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
SundayMonday on 01/19/2020