Above is a photograph of Walter Hopps by William Eggleston.
I knew Walter Hopps starting in 1967 when he came to Washington,D.C. to be the director of The Washington Gallery Of Modern Art. That later became The Corcoran Gallery Dupont Center and then shortly thereafter Walter Hopps became director of The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
When my family moved to Mobile,Alabama in 1971 I kept in touch with Walter Hopps. He first learned of William Eggleston around 1971. He was in Memphis visiting Eggleston in 1971 when for some reason late at night when they both had been drinking he wanted Eggleston to talk to me on the phone. So Walter called me in the middle of the night one night. I think it must have been around one o'clock in the morning. Maybe midnight.
The phone rang. I picked up the phone. It was Walter saying "Joe, there is someone here I want you to talk to". I guess Walter figured two Southerners could communicate.
He put William Eggleston on the line. I had never heard of him in 1971. I had no idea who he was. And he didn't know me.
All Eggleston said to me in a shouting voice was "Listen to this MF. Do you know who this is?" He proceeded to play loud music and a female voice began singing "Strange Things Are Happening Every Day". He asked again "MF do you know who that is?" I ventured a guess. Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Or maybe Ruth Brown.
"No, he shouted, it is Etta James MF". All this time he was shouting at me through the phone full volume. He never said anything else. It was a strange phone conversation to say the least.
Later Eggleston became famous. Here is some information about him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Eggleston
I looked on Youtube and I cannot find Etta James doing her version of "Strange Things Happening Every day" which is far different from the version by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Entirely different lyrics.
So here are the lyrics to the Etta James version. Written by Etta James.
Strange Things Happen Lyrics
Oh, I see you out late at night
You don't treat your baby right
There's strange things happenin' everyday
The love that you refuse
Some other man can use
Strange things are happenin' everyday
Everyday, everyday
(Everyday, everyday)
There's strange things happenin' everyday
The love that you refuse
Some other man can use
Strange things are happenin' everyday
The way you never miss the water
Until your well runs dry
Strange things are happenin' everyday
I won't be satisfied
Till I see teardrops in your eyes
Strange things are happenin' everyday
Yes, everyday, everyday
(Everyday, everyday)
There's strange things happenin' everyday
I won't be satisfied
Till I see teardrops in your eyes
Strange things are happenin' everyday
Oh, well you thought I was a fool
But I got blues for you
Strange things are happenin' everyday
I found this someone new
And I'm feelin' through you
Strange things are happenin' everyday
Everyday, everyday
(Everyday, everyday)
There's strange things happenin' everyday
Found this someone new
And I'm feelin' through you
Strange things are happenin' everyday
