Elvis History E-Zine #5 — August 2008
It's Time for the August Issue
of Elvis History E-Zine
by Alan Hanson
This is the fifth issue of Elvis History E-Zine. If this is the first issue you've received, welcome and thanks for subscribing. If you missed them, you can easily read the first four Elvis History E-Zine issues by clicking on the back issues link below.
I’m very excited about going to Memphis for Elvis Week this year. I’ll be signing and selling copies of my book at the Elvis Expo trade show on Wednesday and Thursday, August 13 and 14. If you’re going to be in Memphis then, please drop by and say hello. I’ll be in booth #44.
Contents of Elvis History E-Zine #5
• August Anniversaries … A list of important events that occurred in August during the life and career of Elvis Presley.
• The “Scoop” About Elvis in Hawaii in 1957 … The Honolulu Star-Bulletin gathered an interesting list of facts about Elvis during his first trip to the islands.
• “Mother Laughs Off Stabbing After Elvis Show” … This short 1957 article will have you shaking your head.
• August Birthdays … A list of people in Elvis’s world who were born during the month of August.
• Quotation of the Month … Read what Elvis said back in 1957 when asked about his physical gyrations on stage.
• What’s new and what’s coming … on Elvis-History-Blog.com.
August Anniversaries in Elvis’s Life and Career
August 1 — 53rd anniversary of Elvis’s appearance at the Tupelo Fairgrounds in 1955. It was his first professional show in his hometown.
August 7 — 43rd anniversary of the start of principal photography for Paradise, Hawaiian Style in 1965.
August 14 — 50th anniversary of the death of Elvis’s mother, Gladys, in 1958.
August 15 — 53rd anniversary of the first contract between Elvis and Colonel Parker, signed in 1955.
August 16 — 48th anniversary of the start of principal photography on Flaming Star at the Conejo Movie Ranch in Thousand Oaks, CA, in 1960.
August 16 — 31st anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley in Memphis in 1977.
August 22 — 52nd anniversary of the start of principal photography for Love Me Tender on the lot of 20th Century Fox in Hollywood in 1956.
August 24 — 52nd anniversary of Elvis recording the song “Love Me Tender” in Hollywood in 1956.
August 27 — 43rd anniversary of the meeting between Elvis and the Beatles at Elvis’s Perugia Way home in California in 1965.
August 29th — 46th anniversary of the nationwide opening of Kid Galahad in 1962.
August 31st — 51st anniversary of Elvis’s controversial concert at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, B.C., in 1957. It was Elvis’s last concert outside of the U.S.
The Scoop About Elvis in Hawaii in 1957
On November 11, 1957, the day after Elvis performed two shows at Honolulu Stadium, reporter Walt Christie listed a series of facts about Elvis in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. His main source of information was Presley’s press conference the day before. Here’s what Christie revealed about the 22-year-old Elvis.
• Physical stats: 6 feet even in his bare feet, about 185 pounds
• Favorite Foods: hamburgers, brown gravy, apple pie
• Favorite kind of restaurant: quiet coffee shops
• Dislikes: formal parties, getting dressed up, crowded places
• Favorite colors: black and pink
• His nickname: “Chief” (“That’s what his musicians call him.”) • Favorite singers: Frank Sinatra and Hank Snow
• Favorite activity: dating girls
• Why he grew sideburns: couldn’t grow a moustache, so he settled on sideburns
“Mother Laughs Off Stabbing After Elvis Show”
There have been lots of stories printed about couples arguing over Elvis back in the 1950s. This next one, printed in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on November 11, 1957, has got to be one of the most bizarre.
“A 40-year-old Kaneohe mother of two is in Queen’s Hospital today after her husband stabbed her Saturday night when she kidded him about going to Honolulu to welcome singer Elvis Presley. Asked if she wanted to press charges against her 50-year-old husband, the woman laughed and said, ’It was just a family argument,’ police said.”
August Birthdays in Elvis’s World
August 3 — Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires was born in 1924.
August 7 — Marlyn Mason, Elvis’s co-star in The Trouble With Girls, was born in 1940.
August 8 — Larry Geller, Elvis’s friend and spiritual adviser, was born in 1940.
August 10 — Kathy Westmoreland, background singer for Elvis during the concert years of the 1970s, was born in 1945.
August 11 — Laurel Goodwin, Elvis’s co-star in Girls! Girls! Girls!, was born in 1942.
August 12 — Roy Bennett, co-writer of 43 Elvis tunes, including “G.I. Blues” and “Puppet on a String,” was born in 1918.
August 12 — Deborah Walley, Elvis’s co-star in Spinout, was born in 1943. She died in 2001.
August 19 — Debra Paget, Elvis’s co-star in Love Me Tender, was born in 1933.
August 21 — James Burton, Elvis’s guitar player, was born in 1939.
August 23 — Barbara Eden, Elvis’s co-star in Flaming Star, was born in 1934.
August 24 — Arthur (“Big Boy”) Crudup, writer of Elvis’s first recording, “That’s All Right, Mama,” was born in 1905. He died in 1974.
This Month’s Quotation
Elvis in 1957, when asked about criticism of his physical gyrations on stage: “If I were doing any kind of a dirty show, my mother wouldn’t allow it for long. Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, some people just sway back and forth. I just sort of do ’em all together. Singing rhythm and blues just really knocks it out.”
What’s New and What’s Coming on Elvis-History-Blog.com
During July I posted my reviews of three Elvis movies on the site. They are Frankie and Johnny, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, and Spinout. Check them out. The movie reviews are the most read pages on the site, and the most commented on.
Within a day or two a new set of Elvis photos will be posted in the photo gallery section of Elvis-History-Blog.com. They are shots of Elvis in the little town of Kalama, Washington, on September 4, 1962.
Don't forget to check out all the images posted in the Elvis Photos section. Galleries #1-5 contain photos taken of Elvis in 1957. Galleries #6-8 contain 6 photos each that I took during Elvis's 1976 appearance in Spokane. One viewer called the photos "awesome." You can purchase 8 X 10 enlargements of the photos for $6 each.
My next weekly blog entry will be posted on Thursday, August 7. Also, during August, I'll continue my weekly reviews of Elvis's movies. Next in line are Easy Come, Easy Go, Double Trouble, and Clambake.
Like this E-Zine and Elvis-History-Blog.com? Pass it on!Tell your Elvis fan friends, the members of your Elvis fan club, and everybody else you know to go to elvis-history-blog.com and sign-up for this E-Zine. Consider purchasing a copy of Elvis’57: The Final Fifties Tours for yourself or as a gift for a friend. I’ll be back in your mailbox a month from now with the September issue of Elvis-History E-Zine. Until then, I'll see you in my weekly blogs on Thursdays, and I look forward to getting your feedback.— Alan Hanson
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