Now Those Were The Days

[Brian Quinn]

The following article by Earl MCRae appeared today in the Sun News (Ottawa & Region) entitles 'A Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On'.


Brian


It was 50 years ago this very day that a sleepy no-count town called Ottawa experienced its greatest moment in pop culture history that has never been equalled and won't be -- for He was the one, He was the only, He was the Chosen, He was The King rising, he was Elvis Presley.

Standing under an umbrella by the entrance to the Capitol Hill Hotel and Suites on Albert St., waiting for her brother checking in, is Magda Huot, 54 years old. I introduce myself and ask: "Did you know that 50 years ago this Tuesday the King of Rock 'n' Roll stayed in this place?"

"You mean -- Elvis?" She tilts her head. "Yes, Elvis." She looks at me oddly.

"Oh, c'mon." She raises her eyebrows. "Yes. He did. When it was called the Beacon Arms. Right here is where he stayed."

WHY IN THE WORLD?


Her brother comes over. "Guess what," she tells him. "You're in the hotel where Elvis stayed." Her brother purses his eyebrows: "Why in the world would Elvis Presley come to Ottawa of all places?"

Elvis Presley, in his entire career, performed only three times outside the United States -- all in Canada, all in 1957 -- and it made no sense that a nothingsville back then called Ottawa would be picked, the capital a replacement when Montreal fell through after strong opposition to the "sex-crazed devil incarnate" from church leaders and city councillors.

Presley, 22, was at the zenith of his phenomenal talent and fame that rocked the world when, with his entourage, he arrived at 8 a.m. at Union Station on the overnight train from Toronto where the night before he'd performed at Maple Leaf Gardens. Hundreds of screaming fans greeted him in the station concourse, some throwing him stuffed teddy bears symbolizing his latest mega hit, Teddy Bear.

In a rose-coloured raincoat, Presley waved, smiled, moved swiftly to a car that took him to the Beacon Arms to rest before his sold-out shows at the Auditorium, 4:30 and 8:30. Trainloads of fans on Elvis Specials were arriving from Montreal, Toronto, and along the way.

Each of his shows was only half-an-hour long. His fans didn't care. Nor that they couldn't hear a word Presley was singing, their shrieks non-stop and deafening. When Presley --in his gold lame jacket, black shirt, black slacks, black loafers, trademark sideburns and sultry sneer bucked, snapped, gyrated, shook, pouted, fell to his knees -- weeping and screaming girls rushed the stage despite police heaving them back. It was beyond bedlam.

One berserk fan would years later become mayor of Ottawa, Jackie Holzman; another one, one of the city's top hoteliers, lawyer Brian Karam. "It was insanity," recalls Karam. "The girl who was with me, I had her on my shoulders the whole time so she could see. Her weight nearly killed me."

Eight girls from Notre Dame Convent were suspended for going to see Presley.

Only 37 of the 259 MPs attended the night session in the Commons, the rest had gone to the Presley show.

TEENS ARRESTED

After the last show, several teens were briefly arrested for celebrating Presley in the streets with firecrackers, and tossing them into the lobby of the Chateau Laurier Hotel. Andy Zebchuck, 16, and George Barney, 18, were arrested and released for trying to crash the back door of the Aud to meet Presley. Zebchuck: "Kids were marching along the streets shouting 'Elvis, Elvis, Elvis' -- it was one wild night."

Backstage, Presley signed the arm of Ottawa teenager Patricia Thomas who'd won the privilege of meeting him in a contest by CFRA disc jockey Gord Atkinson -- emcee of the Presley shows -- and, sobbing uncontrollably, she vowed never to wash her arm again.

$3.50 A TICKET

Presley's fans paid $3.50 a ticket. Presley's cut of the gate was $20,000 after Uncle Sam took his slice -- $3,000. The way it was 50 years ago today when Union Station was not the federal government conference centre, the Beacon Arms was not Capital Hill Hotel and Suites, the Auditorium was not the YM-YWCA.

And Ottawa was not what it is, but good enough for the rock 'n' roll boy king of the world, and starting 6 o'clock tonight, at Moe's World Famous Newport Restaurant, you can join the Elvis Sighting Society in celebrating him again.

[Diane]

Thanks for the post Brian, quite interesting. Diane

[KPM]

Amazing $3.50 a ticket! Now a ticket for big names can be way out of reach of average fans, but things were quite a bit cheaper back then and pay was too in 1957:
Car: $2,100
Gasoline: 31 cents/gal
House: $18,000
Bread: 19 cents/loaf
Milk: $1.00/gal
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Stock Market: 436
Average Annual Salary: $5,500
Minimum Wage: $1.00 per hour

[Diane]

Amazing how much more our money was able to stretch in those days compared to the high salaries these days that go nowhere............???? Diane