24th February 1955, Thursday

[Graeme]

Day number 7353Site Date Map

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Elvis Presley, the Duke of Paducah, Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters, Charley Stewart, and Jack Hammons; and the extra special Jimmie Rodgers Snow, made a pair of appearances in Bastrop, Louisiana. Shows at the South Side Elementary School's multipurpose room were at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. The event was sponsored by KTRY radio. Admission sales at Bastrop.

Bastrop, Louisiana, was a small town with country audience. Younger and more energetic, this time the crowd demanded "That's All Right". The Bastrop audience responded so strongly that it was obvious that they had listened to the "Louisiana Hayride" broadcast, where Elvis Presley had been the most applauded act. After the Bastrop show, Elvis Presley received a phone call from Horace Logan informing him that his next appearance on the "Louisiana Hayride" would be televised. Elvis Presley had the luxury of a few days off between the Bastrop appearance and the televised "Hayride" show, so he worked on his stage mannerisms and consulted extensively with Sam Phillips about the type of songs to perform on live TV.

As Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D.J. Fontana drove to Shreveport, they were excited about appearing before a television audience. There is no doubt that TV was a major factor in success in the music world. There would be television scouts from the major networks shows watching Elvis Presley.

Roxie Thrash a 1955 Bastrop High School graduate said, ''I did not have the money to get in, however, I never missed a beat. There was an open window where I watched the entire show. I remember what a thrill it was. The place was packed. I remember, I ran around to the back when the show was over and peeped around to see Elvis and his band putting their equipment in their cars. Such a thrill.

Bobby and Barbara Priest said, ''We went to the show at the Southside Elementary cafeteria. Southside had no auditorium, but there was a small stage set up in the cafeteria. After the shows, Elvis took our cousin, Sue Holly, to the local skating ring'', and Jim Nichols said, ''I remember that the posters hung on telephone poles, had the Duke of Paducah listed as the headliner, then the Carter Family, and Elvis in small letters''.

According to country singer Jack Hammons, ''I overheard the Duke of Paducah say, 'Elvis, don't go out there and sing those gospel songs, people know you are not sincere'. It was visible how that comment hurt Elvis. The crowd in Bastrop was not so large. Sometime that night Elvis asked me, 'Do you want to be on the Hayride''?, and when I said yes, Elvis said he would talk to Horage Logan about it. I think I was with Elvis at the Hayride a few weeks later, he had now gotten the pink Cadillac''.

Mrs. Canfield said, ''My grandmother held her hands over my eyes and said, 'Don't you look at that', while still looking herself and tapping her foot. People were screaming so loud, and it just got louder the longer he sang. The next day, I overheard my grandmother on the party-line (a phone shared with another customer), laughing and telling about that singer''.

[Graeme]

      

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[ColinB]

Photos now posted under 6th February 1955

[Private Presley]

TRR, where did you get the date?

[ColinB]

TRR, where did you get the date?

One of the photos was tagged with it.

It also states that it's from the South Side Elementary School, Bastrop, Louisiana.

As he did perform there on that date, I assumed the text was accurate.

Unless you know different...

[Private Presley]

I was just about to post on Feb. 6, 1955 when I found out Graeme had posted there already.

A Boy From Tupelo listed them as Feb 6, 1955.

[ColinB]

OK - Looks like my pics were wrongly dated.

Not sure what to do now !

Doesn't look like I can delete my post...

[Alan]

Editted original post

[ColinB]

Thanks, Alan !