On September 9, 1956 Elvis Presley made his national television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show before a record 72 million people. Here is the Man and the real story. While estate restrictions prohibit playing the Ed Sullivan appearance, here is live footage from his return to Tupelo after the Sullivan national broadcast made Elvs a star. Double click video for full screen.
The Real Story - Elvis on Ed Sullivan Show September 9, 1956
by Christine Gibson, former editor at American Heritage magazine.
Given that many fans think Elvis is still alive despite his death certificate, highly publicized funeral, and gravestone, it’s no surprise that misunderstandings abound about his career. Among those events surrounded by fallacies—perhaps because it strongly affected popular culture as well as Elvis’s work—is his legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, 49 years ago today, on September 9, 1956.
Books and periodicals mentioning the show, which broke ratings records for the young medium and was one of the first to bring rock ’n’ roll to a mass audience, have erroneously reported that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, a triumph of censorship and evidence of the continued prudery of the 1950s. Others, aware of the hoopla surrounding the program, remember it as Elvis’s first performance on TV. The truth, as usual, is a little more complicated—and more interesting.
Presley, who had released his first three number-one hits by the time of the show, was already a TV veteran. He had appeared six times on the Dorsey brothers’ Stage Show between January and March 1956 and then on The Milton Berle Show on April 3, to increasing, if not yet fevered, press attention. But after his second Berle show, on June 5, members of the press expressed sudden revulsion at what the New York Journal-American called his “primitive physical movement difficult to describe in terms suitable to a family newspaper.” The New York Daily News reported that Elvis “gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos,” while the San Francisco Chronicle deemed it “in appalling taste.”
The reaction was enough to make Steve Allen, who had booked Elvis for his show before the backlash, briefly consider reneging, but in the end, Elvis did appear on his show on July 1, although in strangely tame form. Allen, going comically overboard to avoid scandal, dressed him in top hat, tails, and white gloves. Elvis soldiered on gamely, singing “Hound Dog” to a top-hatand bow-tie-clad basset hound.
Sullivan, never a fan of controversy, had already refused an offer to hire Elvis for $5,000. The famously prickly host had been burned before by rock ’n’ roll stars: He vowed to drum Bo Diddley out of television after his 1955 act on the show, when he sang his own hit “Bo Diddley” instead of Sullivan’s request, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” But Elvis’s ratings—his stint on the Allen show had trounced Sullivan—changed his mind. Even as he professed to the press that Elvis was “not my cup of tea,” Ed Sullivan had already begun negotiations with Elvis’s agent, Colonel Tom Parker. His hesitation cost him heavily, however. He would end up agreeing to shell out $50,000 for three appearances, an unprecedented sum.
Elvis made his Sullivan debut on the show’s season premiere, but on the big night neither Sullivan nor Elvis was in the New York studio. Elvis was in Hollywood, filming his first movie, and he sang from the CBS studio there. Sullivan was recovering from an August head-on car collision, and Charles Laughton, the star of Mutiny on the Bounty, filled in for the host, hailing his guest by saying, “Away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley.”
Elvis, wearing a loud plaid jacket, greeted the audience from a set decorated with stylized guitar shapes. He announced that the show was “probably the greatest honor I have ever had in my life,” and then launched into “Don’t Be Cruel.” The camera stayed above his waist for now, sometimes closing in on his face, sometimes turning to show his backup singers, but something Elvis was doing out of lens range was causing unexplained screams from the audience. After the number was over, he acknowledged the vocal segment of the crowd, saying, “Thank you, ladies.” To finish the first segment, he played the title song to his new movie, “Love Me Tender,” introducing it as ”completely different from anything we’ve ever done.” Nationwide, disk jockeys taped the performance and played the song, which had yet to be released, on their radio shows, increasing pre-release orders to almost a million and pushing forward the single’s release date.
Viewers got to see the full Elvis—legs, hips, and all—during the second segment, when he performed the up-tempo Little Richard song “Ready Teddy” and two verses of “Hound Dog.” Young rock fans today would doubtless have a hard time understanding what all the scandal was about, as his frenetic swivels and shuffles look chaste compared to the gyrations common on MTV. But Elvis on that night (and his rock star peers in general around the same time) arguably set in motion a trend that continues today.
The press was quick to note that the cameras switched to close-up shots whenever he started dancing, in effect censoring him, but the TV audience got to see plenty, and besides, the girls screamed when he grunted, moved his tongue, crossed his eyes, or even stood perfectly still. With Elvis, censorship began to seem irrelevant. As Laughton noted at the end of the hour, ”Well, what did someone say? Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast?”
The viewing audience certainly wasn’t so offended that it changed the channel. The September 9 Sullivan show reached 82.6 percent of the TV audience, and Steve Allen hadn’t even seen fit to offer an alternative; NBC had showed a movie instead. Censorship did enjoy one last gasp during Elvis’s third appearance, on January 6, 1957, when Sullivan—or, as some historians believe, a publicity-hungry Parker—did indeed instruct the camera operator to show him only from the waist up, even when he sang the gospel tune “Peace in the Valley.” It was the last song he would ever perform on the show. Parker was now demanding $300,000 for future TV engagements, stipulating that a network must also commit to two guest spots and an hour-long special.
Even as he priced his client out of its range, Parker credited the program with the success of “Love Me Tender” and earning Elvis the esteem of American adults for the first time. Historians assert that Elvis’s three nights on the Sullivan show helped bridge the gap between the first rock ’n’ roll generation and their parents. Whether at the same time his behavior on those shows ultimately caused today’s generation gap—that is, whether MTV’s rump-shakers should look to Elvis as their earliest role model and parents can blame him for Britney Spears—is still up for debate. .
August 16 is the 39th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, husband of Priscilla Presley, father of Lisa Marie Presley and one time father-in-law to Michael Jackson. As I have written before, nearly four decades after his death Elvis continues to make far more money than he ever did during his 42 years of life, topping $55 million in 2015.
In his early years the only way we could hear Elvis records in the Bible belt was when friends in the military were stationed in the south and would bring back Elvis recordings. Over time I got to see him twice in concert including during his last tour in 1977. It was June 19 in Omaha, Nebraska and RCA was recording the concert for a new Elvis project. One week later, June 26, he performed his last concert in Indianapolis and died three weeks later.
This much I can tell you. His voice was as powerful as ever that June in 1977 though he appeared to be physically exhausted. There was a certain melancholy in his voice as if he wanted one last time to give his fans what they expected. When he performed his ballets and gospel songs like My Way and The Impossible Dream there was not a dry eye in the auditorium.
Presley almost single-handedly created the genre of rockabilly and rock and roll and he was the first white person to merge the Black blues and gospel with country rock. In 1973 Elvis performed the first global concert via satellite and 1.5 billion people tuned in making it the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in history, including to this day.
Jailhouse Rock
Double click for full screen
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The dance sequence from his movie Jailhouse Rock has been considered one of the best motion picture dance sequences ever recorded which he choreographed himself and I hope you will take a look at the number on the YouTube video I added. This is the Elvis we will always remember, the shy kid from Tupelo, Mississippi who grew up to become King of the world.
Here are some other facts about the King of Rock and Roll.
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. He married Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967 after a long courtship. Lisa Marie is their only child, and she was born in 1968. Elvis and Priscilla divorced in 1973 and he never married again. Presley died on August 16, 1977 in Memphis, Tennessee at Graceland. He was 42-years-old at the time of his death.
The total net worth of the Elvis Presley estate is reported to be approximately $300 million. The singer rose to fame in 1954 after signing a deal with Sun Records. The recording company sold Elvis’ contract to RCA in 1955, and he began recording for them in 1956. RCA paid $5.4 million for the contract and Elvis and the Colonel split the money. His most popular recordings include Jailhouse Rock, Heartbreak Hotel and Don’t be Cruel. Estimates for his record sales are over the one billion mark.
Thousands of people still visit the home every year to see where the “King” lived. Special celebrations help draw even larger crowds, such as the 60 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll celebration that is being held at Graceland. It is only appropriate considering Elvis is credited with starting the rock and roll era.
Random Facts:
So you thought you knew everything about “The King” huh? Here’s 11 random facts that will challenge that theory!
1. Elvis’ hair wasn’t even naturally black! He started dying it in high school. His natural hair color was actually a dirty blonde!
2. His breakout hit, Heartbreak Hotel, was inspired by a local suicide in 1956.
3. Elvis’ Mom bought him his first guitar at age 12 for his birthday. Elvis tried to convince his Mom to get him a rifle, but that wasn’t happening. She insisted a guitar would be a better option.
4. Elvis recorded over 600 songs! BUT, he didn’t write any of them!
5. When Elvis and Priscilla met, he was 24 and she was 14…. kind of creepy!
6. In Florida, Elvis was called a “Savage” and forbidden from shaking his body… So he waggled his finger in rebellion instead. Elvis you savage!
7. It took him 31 consecutive takes to record “Hound Dog.”
8. Elvis’ entourage was called the “Memphis Mafia” and were known for wearing gold and diamond rings with the letters “TCB” on them, which stands for “Taking Care of Businesses.”
9. He made 31 movies in his lifetime!
10. Elvis would let groups of “good looking girls” who waited at the gates of Graceland in to party late at night. The biggest group was said to be 152 women in one night!
11. Oddly enough, Elvis was related to Presidents Abraham Lincoln AND Jimmy Carter!
Do you know more facts about Elvis? Comment below!
How much is Elvis Presley’s Net Worth? $300 Million!
Pay attention presidential candidates, - here is an alternative to the fence in Mexico!
Why not relocate US Troops to new US Bases along the Mexican border? We could help stop the senseless killing, 160,000 Mexican citizens since Obama took office, caught in the middle of a drug war. At the same time, a series of a dozen or more bases stretched out along the border would move thousands of trained military into the vicinity of the human trafficking of illegal immigrants along with the drug dealers. Right now the US pays the highest costs possible to foreign governments to post our troops overseas for the purpose of defending their foreign lands.
If we had a series of military bases along the border, we would reduce foreign costs for defense, provide thousands of trained soldiers to help with immigration and drug trafficking, and be able to use the bases to monitor high-tech electronic monitoring of the border rather than build a giant wall. It would also help stimulate the local economies where the bases would be built and soldiers and families housed.
Redeployment of overseas forces
Here is what I wrote in an article June 3, 2010:
We have over 2.5 million defense soldiers and civilian employees but only 1.1 million are in the USA. Since a few thousand remain in both Iraq and Afghanistan that leaves 1.2 million DOD employees all over the rest of the world. There are over 735 American military bases outside the USA including 38 large and medium size facilities.
At the height of the British Empire in 1898 they had 36 bases spread out around the world and at the height of the Roman Empire in 117 AD they had 37 major bases. Of course they were both trying to conquer the world. We aren't supposed to be conquering the world so get rid of the excess bases.
Maybe the president should stop playing world policeman and close the majority of the overseas bases, leaving only those absolutely needed for national security, and set up a network of domestic bases along the border with Mexico. We already have the troops and are paying to keep them outside the country. Why not set up border bases in Arizona, New Mexico, a couple in Texas and maybe one more in Southern California?
Perhaps the presence of thousands of American troops might help stop the flow of illegal drugs and the human trafficking of illegal immigrants? It might even help Mexico reduce the massive death rate from the drug war along the border that has cost nearly 200,000 Mexican lives, men, women, and children, since 2007.
This is one of the darkest elements of the border traffic and is a plague to Arizona and the other states. Here is a solution that saves money and lives while reducing costly foreign expenditures that can no longer be justified. .
