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August 14, 1954 - Goodwyn Institute, Memphis TN

The Goodwyn Institute was a seven-story building that opened in 1907, built with the bequeathed fortune of Memphis cotton merchant William Goodwyn on the corner of Madison Avenue and Third Street. The elusory Hi-Hat Club where Elvis auditioned for Eddie Bond (which you can read about by clicking here) may have been nearby.

The Goodwyn Institute contained an auditorium (shown above) on the second floor where local entertainer Joe Manuel hosted a show called the 'Saturday Night Jamboree' throughout 1953 and 1954. The show was broadcast live over KWEM radio and featured Joe Manuel's band along with whatever guests had been scheduled that week. Eddie Bond, Johnny Burnette, Charlie Feathers, and many other luminaries from the early days of rock and roll, country, and rockabilly played Saturday nights at the Goodwyn. 

Elvis, Scotty, and Bill were invited to play the August 14th Jamboree, slightly less than a month after their first performance at the Bon Air Club. This was likely Elvis' second appearance on KWEM; you can click here to read about his August 1st session. I have not found a description of the show's content or set-list yet, but it's an almost certainty that Elvis, Scotty, and Bill played their two standards - That's All Right and Blue Moon of Kentucky - but I'm not sure what other songs, if any, had been added to repertoire at this point.

Unfortunately, the years were not kind to the Goodwyn, and it was ultimately torn down in 1962 to be replaced by the larger First Tennessee Bank building in 1964, which is now known as First Horizon Bank Tower.

Though the Goodwyn building is long gone, there is a historic marker in front of the First Horizon Tower noting the importance of the site and the lasting impact of the Saturday Night Jamboree.

As luck would have it, the Saturday Night Jamboree wasn't the only exposure Elvis got on August 14; that very same day he found some positive press in Cash Box magazine:

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