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http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/61089/
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National Guardsmen ready to board buses to an encampment pose in this 1955 photo by G.D. Fronabarger. A poster promotes the upcoming show featuring Elvis Presley on July 20, 1955 at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau. |
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The Southeast Missourian ran a city brief the next day: BENEFIT--A variety show featuring music, comedy and dancing was presented before approximately 300 persons at the Arena Building Wednesday night under the auspices of the Southeast Missouri chapter of United Cerebral Palsy. Headlining the program was vocalist, Elvis Presley, recording artist, whose program was well received by the audience. John Daume and his Ozark Ridge Runners also made a hit with those attending. |
A Feb. 27, 1999 Southeast Missourian story by Jeffrey Jackson recalls Presley's performance in Cape Girardeau.
Southeast Missourian story by Jeffrey Jackson wrote:Presley's music was described as a combination of "country music with modern-day bop." Among his listed hits were "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Good Rockin' Tonight" and "That's All Right, Mama."
At 20, Presley was just two years out of high school when he performed in Cape Girardeau. The summer before he had recorded a few demo songs for Sam Phillips of the Memphis Recording Service, popularly known as Sun Studio. Though Phillips was impressed enough with Presley's talent to team him up with a few local musicians, none of the songs had the sound that Phillips was looking for.
Then, on July 5, 1954, Presley recorded a sped-up version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's blues song, "That's All Right, Mama." It would become Presley's first hit.
Presley continued to work as a delivery driver for Crown Electric Company in Memphis for several more weeks in 1954, driving a truck during the day and singing in small clubs at night. His one appearance on the Grand Ole Opry later that year was not very successful. One Opry official suggested that Presley go back to driving the truck.
In October, Presley appeared for the first time on "Louisiana Hayride," a Saturday night country music show from Shreveport. In November, Presley signed a one-year contract to appear on the show. During the next year, Presley began touring with other members of "Louisiana Hayride," including country star Hank Snow.
Elvis auditioned for the television show "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" in the spring, but he failed to be accepted. He continued to tour which led him to Cape Girardeau in the summer of that year.
On the day of the performance in Cape Girardeau, the Southeast Missourian referred to Presley as "the fireball from the Louisiana Hayride." The next day the paper said that his performance was "well received by the audience." Nothing else was said of his performance.
Four months later, Presley signed his first contract with RCA Victor Records, the label on which he would record for the rest of his life. Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, negotiated the sale of Presley's Sun contract to RCA for an unprecedented $40,000 with a $5,000 bonus for Presley.
In January 1956, Presley recorded his first single for RCA, "Heartbreak Hotel." By May, the song would be No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
Within a year from the time he appeared in Cape Girardeau, he appeared twice on "The Milton Berle Show" and once on "The Steve Allen Show." By August he appeared for the first time on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and began filming his first movie, "Love Me Tender."
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1460274.html (Thursday, September 11, 2008)
Brian Blackwell Southeast Missourian wrote:Ron Blankenship still remembers his encounter with Elvis Presley during the rock 'n' roll legend's 1955 concert in Cape Girardeau.
Blankenship and his cousin, Glenda, had ventured backstage before the concert when he met Presley. The then-20-year-old singer invited the youngsters for a post-concert visit.
"He took a liking to my cousin," Blankenship said. "Glenda gave Elvis our phone number, and Elvis would call every day for Glenda.
"She eventually grew tired of his calls and requested me to tell him she wasn't there," he said. "He eventually stopped calling."
Blankenship and his cousin were among 300 people who attended the "dance and stage show" at the Arena Building on July 20, 1955. Held almost a year to the day after Presley recorded his first song, the show also featured square and round dancing and other musical acts.
Fifty-three years after the concert, acts who performed with Presley throughout his musical career will pay homage to the deceased rock 'n' roll legend during tonight's SEMO District Fair tribute concert.
The Jordanaires and TCB Band members D.J. Fontana and Glen D. Harden — who knew Presley — are on the schedule. Vocalist Terry Mike Jeffrey will also perform some of Presley's songs. No Presley impersonators will appear during the concert.
Mike Ford, owner of Ford Entertainment that coordinates the show, said tickets for the 75-minute show still are available by calling 334-9250. Tickets purchased in advance include admission to the fair.
Pauline Semancik of Dutchtown plans to attend the concert with her sister, Phyllis, who lives in Tennessee. The two women were in their 20s when they saw Presley perform in Cape Girardeau.
"Elvis was so personable," said Semancik, who owns Presley memorabilia and all his movies and records. "He would just sit back and talk with us backstage.
"He stayed that way as the years passed," she said. "But when he died, it was like losing a member of the family."
Like Semancik, musician Wanda Jackson first developed a friendship with Presley in Cape Girardeau in 1955. They were introduced at the city's KTOC radio station and later appeared together on stage.
As the years passed, their friendship blossomed to the point where Presley gave Jackson his ring. She even devoted a Christmas album to Presley, which included a song about such memories as their concert in Cape Girardeau.
"When I met him, he was a young man hoping to have his dreams fulfilled," said Jackson, who is married to her husband and manager Wendell. "The moment I met him at the radio station I was smitten and very impressed.
"The last time I saw him was in 1964 and when I heard the news on the radio that he had suddenly died 13 years later, I was shocked," she said. "His life was taken too soon."
A Southeast Missourian article printed before the 1955 concert described Presley's music as a combination of "country music with modern-day bop." His hits at the time included "That's All Right, Mama," a song Presley recorded at the Memphis, Tenn.-based Sun Studio on July 5, 1954. It became his first hit and is ranked No. 112 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
When he appeared in Cape Girardeau, Presley was touring with fellow members who appeared on "Louisiana Hayride," a weekly country music radio show based out of Shreveport, La. The Southeast Missourian called Presley "the fireball from the Louisiana Hayride" on the day of his performance. The following day the newspaper said his performance was "well received by the audience."
Four months after performing in Cape Girardeau, Presley signed his first contract with RCA Victor Records, the label on which he recorded for the rest of his life.
Though he died at the age of 42 on Aug. 16, 1977, Presley's influence continues to be felt, Semancik said.
"He's still very much loved by many in the world, including those of us who knew him when he was just starting out," she said. "We can't wait for the tribute concert to return to the location of an event we attended many years ago."