ELVIS LIVES

Shown above, the 10/30/54 Memphis Press-Scimitar, and below, the 10/29/54. On October 30th, Elvis was back at the Eagle's nest, playing a second consecutive night with Chuck Reed, but after two successful gigs on the Louisiana Hayride his days at the lowly Eagle's Nest were numbered. Both of these ads also feature the Silver Slipper, where Elvis reputedly played on October 8th, but you can click here to find out why I think that show never happened.  Note: burlesque dancer Sunny Fox surely did not look as terrifying as her photo in person. You can read more about the Eagle's Nest venue by clicking here, and you can see some famous Eagle's Nest photos taken by Elvis' aunt Clettes by clicking here. For information on every Elvis date at the Eagle's Nest thus far, click the dropdown menu on the top right of this page and look in August, September, and October. Sources: Tour Dates - The Elvis years Elvis Presley - Live 1954

Although he had two Louisiana Hayride appearances under his belt, October 29 found Elvis back at his familiar Memphis stomping ground, the Eagle's Nest. The ad shown here is from the 10/29/54 Memphis Commercial Appeal , where Elvis was billed behind Chuck Reed but beginning to distance himself from Tiny Dixon and the Eagle's Nest regulars. I did not find a lot of information about Chuck Reed, but he was apparently a gifted singer who just never hit it big. If you have any Chuck Reed anecdotes or biographical information, please get in touch. You can  read more about the Eagle's Nest venue by clicking here,  and you can  see some famous Eagle's Nest photos taken by Elvis' aunt Clettes by clicking here.  For information on every Elvis date at the Eagle's Nest thus far, click the dropdown menu on the top right of this page and look in August, September, and October. Sources: Elvis Presley In Concert Tour Dates - The Elvis years Elvis Presley - Live 1954 Chuck Reed ...

On October 23rd, Elvis and crew were back in Shreveport for a follow-up performance to their Hayride debut the week prior, which had gone much better than their October 2nd Grand Ole Opry debut. The generic Hayride ad shown here ran in the Shreveport Times and Shreveport Journal during Elvis' early appearances on the Louisiana Hayride, but in just a couple of weeks he would sign a one-year contract with the show and be featured much more prominently. Adjusted for inflation, that 60 cent ticket would be about $7 dollars nowadays. The undated photo above is not from an Elvis show, but definitely captures the vibe of the Hayride in Elvis' day. I chose it because most Elvis photos are closer up of him on stage, but this shot really established the size of the venue and crowd, which were vastly larger than Elvis' Bon Air Club and Eagle's Nest gigs in Memphis. Below, a similar angle of the famous stage as it appears now, nearly identical save for the paint.  Sources: Elvi...

Shown here: Scotty, Elvis, Bill, and Louisiana Hayride host Frank Page in a famous photo by Langston McEachern, 10/16/54. Scotty and Bill are wearing their Starlite Wranglers shirts. Many of us don't get a second chance, or even a first, at living our dream. Even more rarely does that second chance come so quickly on the heels of the first one as Elvis' did. Just two weeks prior, Elvis had gotten the gig of a lifetime for a 19-year-old delivery truck driver when he played the Grand Ole Opry, only to come crashing back to Earth when his take on Blue Moon of Kentucky was ill-received by not only the Opry management but the crowd as well. Despite the setback, Elvis knew he had a good thing going. So did Scotty Moore (his guitarist and manager), Bill Black (the fun-loving bassist), and Sam Phillips of Sun Records, who had swung a Louisiana Hayride appearance for Elvis on October 16th as a follow-up to his Opry debut.  The Hayride wasn't quite the Opry, but it was close, and i...

The October 15th Press-Scimitar ad for yet another Elvis appearance at the Eagle's Nest looks similar to many of the previous dates, and by Scotty Moore's timeline, this would be Elvis, Scotty, and Bill's tenth gig there. Two weeks had passed since their disappointing appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, and I don't know what exactly the setlist was at this Eagle's Nest performance, but I'm guessing at some point in the evening Elvis announced some big news to whoever was listening. As mentioned in this October 14th Memphis Commercial Appeal article, Elvis would be making his debut on the famous Louisiana Hayride that Saturday, the 15th. Despite his recent arrival on the music scene and lackluster Opry reception, the Commercial Appeal accurately predicted that Elvis' "name and fame" would soon be "really booming". You can  read more about the Eagle's Nest venue by clicking here,  and you can  see some famous Eagle's Nest photos t...

On October 13th, Elvis and crew were once again playing the Eagles' nest alongside Sleepy Eyed John, Tiny Dixon, and the regulars. The 10/13/54 Press-Scimitar advertisement for this gig is nearly identical to the prior show on the 9th, except Lamar is spelled Lamor and it was 'Ladies' Nite'. Regular admission was usually $1 or $1.20, so that 50 cent ticket was a good deal for any ladies wanting to check out Memphis' rising star. According to Scotty Moore's timeline, this was Elvis, Scotty, and Bill's ninth time playing the Eagle's Nest.  You can read more about the venue by clicking here, and you can see some famous Eagle's Nest photos taken by Elvis' aunt Clettes by clicking here. For information on every Eagle's Nest date thus far, click the dropdown menu on the top right of this page and look in August, September, and October. Sources: Scotty Moore - The Eagle's Nest Tour Dates - The Elvis years

Big things were coming soon for Elvis, but on October 9th he and the gang were poolside at the Eagle's Nest once again with regulars Sleepy Eyed John and Tiny Dixon's band, who were now being referred to as the Eagles, but not those Eagles of Hotel California fame. In the 10/9/54 Press-Scimitar ad shown here, Elvis is billed ahead of the rest but still in a font size that would suggest local talent, so his Opry debut on October 2nd doesn't seem to have increased his draw very much, but an impending appearance on the Louisiana Hayride would soon spell the end of Elvis' Eagle's Nest days. You can read more on Elvis' previous shows at the Eagles Nest, the venue itself, Sleepy Eyed John, and Tiny Dixon by clicking the dropdown menu in the top right corner of this page. The previous Eagle's Nest posts are in the August, September, and October categories. Sources: Scotty Moore - The Eagle's Nest Tour Dates - The Elvis years

The Silver Slipper, shown here in the 1940s, was a swanky club built in 1929 by Bob Berryman, a Memphis gangster, gambler, and murderer (photo below). Reportedly it cost $100,000 to build, or about $1,850,000 adjusted for inflation, which was truly an outrageous sum at the dawn of the Great Depression. The Silver Slipper's illuminated sign shined on many famous acts over the years including Louis Prima, the Andrews Sisters, burlesque dancer Sunny Fox, and supposedly on the night of October 8th, Elvis Presley. Some compilations of Elvis tour dates cite an October 8th, 1954 show at the Silver Slipper in Atlanta (see below for reference), however, this is likely an historical error.  On modern highways with a modern vehicle, it's a six-hour ride give or take from Memphis to Atlanta. Scotty drove Elvis and Bill to their early gigs in his wife Bobbie's '53 Chevy Bel Air, so I'm guessing the trip would have taken them longer. There's also no known (to me at least) Elv...

Just days after the infamous Grand Ole Opry debut,  Elvis returned to the Eagle's Nest. He was billed ahead of Tiny Dixon in this  Press-Scimitar advertisement, which interestingly enough mentioned that it would be 'Fan Club Nite'. I'm not entirely sure what fans the club was made of. Elvis was only three months into his career, and while he was relatively known around Memphis, he was still a regional talent and the Eagle's Nest wasn't exactly a prestigious venue. Tiny Dixon was a local guitar player and Eagle's Nest regular, but I don't see him as having a fan club. The Eagle's Nest was popular in large part because of the Clearpool swimming pool, but I don't think the venue or the pool would have a fan club either.  Rockabilly dancer and actress Kay Wheeler started the first national Elvis fan club in 1956, long after he'd left the Eagle's Nest behind, so if anyone can shed any light on this fan club, please get in touch. Shown above, ...

Elvis Presley, age 10, is second from the right in this photo from the Lee County Courier , taken at the Tupelo Fairgrounds on October 3, 1945.  Though there are slightly varied accounts, young Elvis' first known public performance outside of singing in church came about when he was encouraged to enter a talent show at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy show by his teacher and neighbor Oleta Grimes, who had heard him sing during the school's morning prayer program.  In the Early Childhood section of the Graceland website, they describe Elvis' Tupelo Fair performance as follows:  "Ten-year-old Elvis stands on a chair at a microphone and sings 'Old Shep' in a youth talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, held in Tupelo. The talent show is broadcast over WELO Radio. Winning fifth prize, Elvis receives $5.00 in fair ride tickets." This version of the story seems to be based on a 1956 interview with Elvis' mother, Gladys, where sh...

After a lackluster reception at the Grand Ole Opry , Elvis and the crew headed down to Ernest Tubb's Record Shop at 417 Broadway for a spot on Tubb's Midnite Jamboree radio show, which aired at midnight after the Opry. Young Elvis was a known fan of Ernest Tubb, whose many contributions to the golden age of country included the first country version of Blue Christmas in 1949 as the B-side to his rendition of White Christmas.  Elvis would famously release his own Blue Christmas in 1957.  After meeting Bill Monroe at the Opry and now Ernest Tubb in the same evening, Elvis was surely feeling a little starstruck. Tubbs recounted their meeting in a later interview as follows: “He said, ‘They tell me if I’m going to make any money, though, I’ve got to sing (this other kind of music). What should I do?’  I said, ‘Elvis, you ever have any money?’  He said, ‘No, sir.’  I said, ‘Well, you just go ahead and do what they tell you to do. Make your money. Then you can do wh...

Roughly three months into his professional career, Elvis landed a gig at the hallowed Ryman Auditorium for a spot on the Grand Ole Opry. The photo shown here is the only one I have found attributed to the show, and it's not the best quality. If anyone has a better version or other photos of the Ryman performance, please get in touch.   This mid-1950s postcard shows the Ryman as it looked when Elvis arrived for what would become one of his more disappointing performances, but also a blessing in disguise. Originally opening in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, the Ryman was built to hold large-scale revivals and has seated anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 people depending on fluctuations in stage size and the addition of the balcony in 1897.  The Ryman quickly became more than a religious venue largely to the booking efforts of Lula Naff, who went from stenographer in 1904 to official manager of the Ryman in 1920 because of her knack for landing major attractions from concerts to...

Shown here, an advertisement from the October 1st, 1954 Memphis Press-Scimitar . This first Friday night in October found Elvis and company back at their faithful haunt, the Eagle's Nest. Elvis, Scotty, and Bill would be playing at no less than the Grand Ole Opry the very next evening, so this was one last chance to run through the set list in preparation for the big show.  For more information on the Eagle's Nest venue,  Elvis' prior performances there,  Sleepy Eyed John, and Tiny Dixon, just click the dropdown menu at the top right corner of this page and you'll find all the previous Eagle's Nest shows and information in the August and September categories.  Sources: Tour Dates - The Elvis years