From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Oct 31, 2002  6:22 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Shorty Long
 
SHORTY LONG (By Shaun Mather)

Born Emidio Vagnoni, 31 October 1923, Reading, Philadelphia
Died 25 October 1991, Reading, Philadelphia

When I first became aware of Shorty Long through his work with Elvis
Presley, I had no idea of the varied musical life he'd led prior to those
New York sessions with the King. Born Emidio Vagnoni he was bit of a
child prodigy who excelled at classical music and went to the Conservatory
of Rome to study classical violin. Throughout this period though he held an
obsession with country music and left everyone horrified when he exchanged
the violin for a country fiddle. He organised local open-air concerts, called
the
Santa Fe Ranch which attracted big stars like Hawshaw Hawkins and Webb
Pierce, all of them backed by Shorty's band, the Santa Fe Ranchers. They
had a string of singles issued on Jimmy Myers' (Rock Around The Clock)
Cowboy label during the mid-40's and made appearances on the National
Barndance (WLS Chicago) and the Hayloft Hoedown (Philadelphia). By 1951
Long was recording for King and was being managed by music publisher Nat
Tannen. (The great train song, Goodnight Cincinatti Good Morning Tennessee
has just been included on the latest Ace release, Hillbilly Bop 'n' Boogie.) In
1953 he recorded I Got Nine Little Kisses and Vacation Rock for Jack Comer's
Valley Records and he had Cryin' Steel guitar Waltz on Dot.
Tannen got Shorty involved with RCA producer Steve Sholes, enabling him to
serve as a sideman on many RCA releases for Eddy Arnold and the Davis
Sisters among others. It also meant that he was on hand in early 1956 when
Elvis recorded in New York. Long can be heard playing piano on the likes of
One Sided Love Affair, Lawdy Miss Clawdy and Any Way You Want Me. He
spent a couple of years on the Broadway show "The Most Happy Fella" through
'56 to '58, doing daytime session work to keep the landlord happy. A high point
was the great session for Janis Martin that resulted in two rockabilly classics,
My Boy Elvis and Barefoot Baby.
In 1958 he had Redstone John on Harry Cason's K-Son label. According to
Stuart Colman in Now Dig This, his influence on the Philadelphia scene is
remembered and appreciated to this day, which is a fitting tribute.

Further reading: "Call me Shorty" by Stuart Colman, Now Dig This 219 (June
2001), page 6-7.

(P.S. by Dik : This Shorty Long should not be confused with the guy who had
a Top 10 hit in 1968 with "Here Comes The Judge", who died in a drowning
accident in 1969 at the age of 29.)