ELVIS LIVES

July 31 found Elvis back at the Bon Air Club, just 24 hours after his landmark performance at the Overton Shell . The ad shown here actually slightly predates Elvis' time at the club, as it's from the June 19th issue of the Memphis Commercial Appeal , but I've found so little information about the Bon Air that I posted it here for reference. The July 31st show would be Elvis' last performance at the Bon Air, where he had previously performed on the 17th and 24th during intermissions for bandmates Scotty Moore and Bill Black's other gig, the Starlite Wranglers. You can read more about the July 17th show by clicking here , and the July 24th show by clicking here . By the July 31st show, it was evident that Elvis was not going to be a Starlite Wrangler and it was time to seek greener pastures along with Scotty and Bill. Elvis' previous sets at the Bon Air consisted of That's All Right  and Blue Moon of Kentucky , and he almost certainly played those on the 31st...

Elvis Presley's first professional live show took place at the Overton Park Shell amphitheater in Memphis on July 30, 1954 - a date that just might mark the birth of rock and roll. An ad from the Memphis Press-Scimitar billed one "Ellis Presley" as an opener for yodeling country star Slim Whitman, who was coincidentally managed by Tom Parker. Despite the misspelling, Elvis was already generating local attention a s seen in the July 28, 1954 article below, also from the Press-Scimitar : Adjusted for inflation, the $1 general admission ticket would be about $11.50 nowadays, not a bad price to witness a show that would change the face of music for decades to come. According to the snippet below, also from the July 30, 1954 Press-Scimitar , Elvis' Sun recording debut was already getting attention "all over the record industry".  Contrary to the misspelled name shown in the Slim Whitman advertisement, Elvis was presented more prominently as a "new Memphis ...

Despite what might have been a chilly reception on the 17th , Elvis was back at the Bon Air a week later for his second appearance with Scotty Moore and Bill Black, who were also playing that night in their regular Saturday gig with the Starlite Wranglers. The shirt pictured above was given to Elvis before one of the Bon Air gigs and is evidence that he was originally expected to be a member of the Wranglers, because it was a sort of stage uniform and custom-made for the band. You can see four of the Wranglers wearing the same shirt in this photo: The Starlite Wranglers: from left to right - Bill Black, Tommy Seals, Doug Poindexter, Millard Yow, Clyde Rush, and Scotty Moore. The photo is from Scotty Moore's collection and was published in the book  That's Alright, Elvis  by Scotty Moore and James Dickerson . Elvis only played three shows at the Bon Air Club with the Wranglers, so he was likely given the shirt before the first or possibly second gig. After one of these shows, m...

The Starlite Wranglers: from left to right - Bill Black, Tommy Seals, Doug Poindexter, Millard Yow, Clyde Rush, and Scotty Moore. The photo is from Scotty Moore's collection and was published in the book That's Alright, Elvis by Scotty Moore and James Dickerson . Elvis' first known public performance after he graduated from Humes High School was at a bar called the Bon Air Club, which was located between Summer Avenue and Tutwiler Avenue near Mendenhall Road.  In the aerial view above, I've circled what I believe is the approximate location of the Bon Air Club, though I'm not sure if the exposed foundations are from it or another lost building. Below is a street view from Summer Avenue. At the time, guitarist Scotty Moore was slightly Elvis' senior at the ripe age of 22, but he had far more experience as a musician and was performing with a band called the Starlite Wranglers. Elvis had signed a contract with Sam Phillips and Sun Records on the 12th and then made...