Home Town Fans Go Wild

This is an article that was printed in the New Musical Express in March 1961.

HOME-TOWN FANS GO WILD WHEN ELVIS ROCKS

BRITAIN? COLONEL WILL KNOW says ELVIS

Saturday, February 25 - a big day in the lives of the thousands of pop music fans who live in the Tennessee city of Memphis. More exciting than Election Night, more colourful than Independence Day, and just like Christmas all over again. Why? Mr. Rock ?n? Roll himself was coming to town to take part in Elvis Presley Day!
And what an occasion it turned out to be! Elvis came, saw and conquered all before him. Almost 10,000 people ? teenage fans as well as their parents ? squeezed themselves into the Ellis Auditorium for the singer?s first in-person concerts in four years.
Earlier, at a special luncheon, civic dignitaries jostled to shake his hand; and no less than 50 photographers plus a host of pressmen queued to get a glimpse of him at a press reception!
Presley ? one of the highest paid stars in the world today ? would have grossed a small fortune had his visit to Memphis been an ordinary engagement. Instead, because it was a charity function, he donated his services free ? and to help swell the grand total of $51,612 even further, he even bought a ticket to get into the Auditorium himself!
Immediately prior to the concerts, Elvis (climbing the British charts again with ?Wooden Heart?), vowed that he was nervous and ?fighting butterflies in his stomach.? But his performance at both shows reflected no sign of nerves, and on both occasions, he wowed the wildly enthusiastic audience with some 20 songs packed into each 49-minute set.

Review
Reviewing the afternoon concert in the Memphis Sunday newspaper, ?The Commercial Appeal,? Charles Edmundson wrote: ?Elvis set his audience shrieking, whistling, moaning and swooning with joy. He sang, recited, clowned, gesticulated and swivelled at the microphone while his audience applauded so loudly much of the time as to drown out the music.
?The remarkable performance was blended from various ingredients ? Negro cottonfield harmony, camp meeting fervour, Hollywood showmanship, beatnik nonchalance and some of the manipulation of mass psychology.
?Enthusiasm reached a climax when Elvis relaxed and broke into the cottonfield hoedown of ?You Ain?t Nothin? But A Hound Dog? a number which helped make him famous.
?Applause throughout this song was so strong it dimmed out Elvis? singing and everything else but the electric guitar and bass drum.
?When this number ? the grand finale ? was completed, Elvis came back once to acknowledge the storm of applause, blow his listeners a kiss and then sprint for a side door on Front Street. There, he leapt into an automobile waiting to rescue him from a army of autograph seekers.?

Reception
At the press reception, Elvis was questioned on a wide variety of topics and revealed that he will make 11 films in the next five years. He stressed that he would like to concentrate on movies as much as possible in the future, and added: ?I would like to play dramatic roles, but I am not yet ready for it. I would be foolish to undertake them yet.?
Quizzed about his romantic attachments, 26-year-old Elvis (who was born not so vary far away from Memphis, in the town of Tupelo) replied: ? my love life hasn?t progressed. Nothing really important has happened along that line. I?ll let you know.?
Is marriage out of the question? ?It?s Hard to say,? he told the reporters. ?I am not ready for marriage and until I am? but I can say it would not be out because of my career.?
Elvis faced the pressmen in a neat, dark suit and tie and white shirt, which prompted one reporter to ask: ?Aren?t your clothes a little more conservative these days??
Elvis smiled and replied: ?I really don?t know. I?m getting a little older, but I don?t know much about clothes. Yes, you might say I am a little more conservative.?
Questioned on whether recent hits like ?It?s Now Or Never? and ?Are You Lonesome Tonight? indicated a departure from his rock style, Elvis countered: ?I don?t dislike rock ?n? roll ? I just do what I think I can do best.?
He later went on to say that although his beaty ?Don?t Be Cruel? is his biggest seller of all (it has topped the four million mark), his personal favourite recording is the ballad-type ?It?s Now Or Never.?
Despite his liking for film work, Elvis confessed that personal appearances were still his first love. How about a trip to Europe, including dates in Britain? Elvis was very guarded in his reply. ?Perhaps? eventually, Col. Parker will know when,? he said.
After telling the pressmen of his smoking habit (?I don?t smoke much. Sometimes I smoke a cigar when Col. Parker gives me one ? but that isn?t often?), and confessing that he is superstitious (?about photographers, breaking mirrors and all of that?), Elvis was again quizzed about his love life.
The questioner asked if he was engaged to Anita Woods, of Memphis. ?You go out with a girl? Elvis began, ?and the first thing you know you are engaged. I once read in a Mexican newspaper that I was married!? he smiled.
How about Anita, the questioner persisted. ?Nothing really serious,? Elvis continued.
Before the press conference closed, it was learned that the singer had asked that a portion of the receipts from the Memphis shows should be donated towards the cost of the Elvis Presley Youth Centre, now being built in Tupelo.
Elvis raised $14,000 for the project during a charity performance in Tupelo several years ago.
?I hope to always keep a home in Memphis. I love it, and it?s right near Tupelo where the boys I grew up with are still living.? He said.

Luncheon
Before the Press conference, Elvis was the special guest at a $100-a-plate (?33) luncheon where he was introduced by Mayor Loeb of Memphis.
Officials of RCA Records from New York, plus representatives of the film studios and music publishing companies, were there to pay tribute to Elvis. Only Governor Bulford Ellington, grounded in Nashville because of bad flying weather, failed to arrive but sent a proclamation concerning Elvis Presley Day.
Highspot of the luncheon was the presentation by George R. Marek, vice-president and general manager of RCA Victor Records, of a plaque to commemorate total sale of over 76 million Presley discs!
Two minutes after the announcement (reports correspondent Malcolm Adams) it was revealed that since the plaque was inscribed, Elvis? latest U.S. hit ?Surrender? (based on ?Come Back To Sorrento?) had topped the million mark.
That, in a nutshell, is what happened on Elvis Presley Day in Memphis. It was certainly a great day for Memphians and also for the phenomenal Elvis, who regards it as one of the greatest thrills in his life ? an occasion that he?ll never for forget.

Rita

Thanks so much for posting this article Rita, it's one of the best I've seen.(y)

Diane

Quote - Elvis set his audience shrieking, whistling, moaning and swooning with joy.

Why was that then?..:)

He sang, recited, clowned, gesticulated and swivelled at the microphone - :supriced: wish i could of been there!!(y)

Good Read Rita thanks for posting it for us.
Elaine.

Great article, thanks so much for posting it (y)(y).

I didn't know that Elvis was performing in Memphis in 1961, I thought the concert in 1974 was he's first performance in Memphis. :king:

Thanks again :clap:

Holly :sun::king:

I noticed the remark about a European tour and it says alot.
Elvis confessed that personal appearances were still his first love. How about a trip to Europe, including dates in Britain?
Elvis was very guarded in his reply. ?Perhaps? eventually, Col. Parker will know when,? he said.

Great article, thanks for posting it. Too bad there?s no recordings of those two Memphis gigs in '61.