Elvis Presley | Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota | May 13, 1956
On May 13, 1956, Elvis Presley arrived in the Twin Cities to play two concerts: a matinee at the St. Paul Auditorium and an evening gig at the Minneapolis Auditorium. The Tribune dispatched Will Jones to St. Paul for the early show. His 'After Last Night' column appeared the next morning in the Monday paper. It's an engaging series of observations about the future King of Rock 'n' Roll -- then just 21 years old -- and his young fans.
Elvis Presley, exhausted after a matinee performance given at the Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Elvis went on to give an evening performance in Minneapolis.
Squeals Drown Presley's Songs
By Will Jones, 1956
Elvis Presley, young bump-and-grind artist, turned a rainy Sunday afternoon into an orgy of squealing in St. Paul auditorium. He vibrated his hips so much, and the 3,000 customers squealed so insistently at the vibrations, it was impossible to hear him sing. None of the smitten seemed to care.
The crowd was much smaller than expected. Presley faced a sea of empty seats. When the noise started, however, even the empty seats seemed to be screaming. Presley wore a Kelly green jacket, tight blue trousers, and, disappointingly, black leather shoes. He only sang 'Blue Suede Shoes'. (I couldn't actually hear him sing it, because of the squeals. A girl in tight pink slacks assured me that's what it was.)
Uniform for the Day: Pink Slacks
Tight pink slacks were almost a uniform among the fans. Tight white slacks and tight black slacks were popular.
Presley was wearing tight black jeans and a black silk shirt when he arrived at the auditorium. A dozen policemen marched him into his dressing room. Then he stood around with his hands in his jeans posing for pictures and talking with reporters. He smiled a faint, half-sneering kind of smile at times. He didn't look nearly so tortured or pouty as he does in most published photographs.
His brown hair doesn't appear so dark, either. He has pimples all over the back of his neck, a few on his chin, and a number of nervous facial mannerisms. The most intriguing is the repeated rapid puffing of a single cheek. His long eyelashes have a Valentino-like mascaraed look.
'Any advice for all your girl friends?' asked a TV reporter.
'Well, that's a pretty stiff question', said Presley. 'I have one word for 'em - 'Hi'.
People kept handing him pictures and slips of paper to autograph.
St. Paul, Minnesota Auditorium (3:00pm)
Elvis Presley signed autographs for four remarkably composed fans at the St. Paul, Minnesota Auditorium.
His Record Firm Is 'the Biggest'
A radio interviewer asked him about his record successes.
'I switched to Victor because that's the biggest company there is', drawled Presley.
'You 19 or 21?' asked another. 'I've heard both'.
'Twenty-one', answered Presley. 'Wish ah was 19'.
Presley came here from Memphis, Tenn., his home. He's been so busy he hasn't had a chance to get home for awhile. He got a few free days by surprise after he flopped at a Las Vegas night club. They replaced him with a girl singer. The older customers in Las Vegas just didn't dig him.
I asked Presley about his movie plans. He's been signed for one picture a year for seven years by producer Hal Wallis. 'I was asked to do one of the leading parts in 'The Rainmaker' with Burt Lancaster', he said. 'A young kid, lovesick, real shy. I mean, he wasn't real shy. Real jolly. Real happy, real jolly, real lovesick. It wasn't like me. 'I took this screen test where I came in and was real happy and jolly and I didn't like it. I did this other one where I was mad at this girl, and I liked that better -- it was me'.
He's Against Any 'Excess Actin'
As he talked, he gently stroked the hand of a pretty girl who was standing beside him waiting for an autograph. 'Mr. Wallis asked me what kind of a part I'd like, and I told him one more like myself, so I wouldn't have to do any excess actin'. So he's havin' somebody write one for me like that.'
I asked him who was to play the girl in 'The Rainmaker'.
'Katharine Hepburn', he said, 'if you wanna call her a girl'.
Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota (8:30pm)
A spotlight captured Elvis on stage at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
The policemen let a few lucky girls at a time into the dressing room for autographs. One who came in had a haircut just like Presley's. Another one brought him a flattened greasy popcorn box to sign.
He had a way of whipping up the crowd at the start of a song by playing a few introductory notes, stepping to the microphone, and then singing nothing.
Squeals! Another pause, another false start, more squeals, and then finally the song.
The Mob Screams, Closes In
When he wanted silence to announce a number he held up a hand in the traditional platform gesture -- but a double-jointed thumb twitched as he held the hand aloft. In moments of public passion, he clutched the microphone to his forehead. He ended up limp and sweating and loped off the stage half-staggering.
About 3,000 fans showed up for the Minneapolis concert.
Those look like police -- actual police, not security guards -- making sure fans didn't get too close to the stage.
The mob screamed and ran for him. The police marched him to a waiting car. A young, beautiful, well-dressed, highly-made-up blonde tried to get in the car with him. The police barred her.
'I'm a member of his company!' she cried. 'I belong with him! Stupid police!' Presley got away. The blonde walked around in the rain complaining while the rain made a soggy mess of her hair.
© From The Star Tribune by Ben Welter 2011.
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January 1956
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February
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Elvis Presley The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show | February 18, 1956
March
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April
Elvis Presley The Milton Berle Show | April 3, 1956
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Elvis Presley Fair Park Coliseum, Lubbock, TX | April 10, 1956
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Elvis Presley Oklahoma City | April 19, 1956
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May
Review | Elvis Presley at The New Frontier | Las Vegas SUN | May 1, 1956
Letter to the editor | Las Vegas SUN | May 12, 1956
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Elvis greeting fans at Los Angeles Airport, 1956
June
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Elvis Presley In Concert | Oakland California | June 3, 1956
The Milton Berle Show Los Angeles | June 5, 1956
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Vernon, Gladys and Elvis Presley sing at the piano | 1034 Audubon Drive House | June 17, 1956
Elvis Presley and Barbara Hearn | June 19, 1956 | Fairgrounds Amusement Park, Memphis
Elvis Presley and Barbara Hearn at Elvis' 1034 Audubon Drive House | June 19, 1956
Elvis Presley with Susan Hayward | June 28, 1956
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July
Elvis Presley 1956 | March | June | July
Elvis Presley Hudson Theater | New York City | Steve Allen Show | July 1, 1956
Elvis Presley RCA Studio One, Memphis, Tennessee | July 2, 1956
Elvis Presley On The Train to, Memphis, Tennessee | July 3, 1956
Elvis Presley Russwood Park, Memphis, Tennessee | July 4, 1956
Elvis Presley St. Joseph's Hospital Memphis Tennessee | July 5, 1956
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Elvis performs with The Statesman Quartet at Ellis Auditorium | July 27, 1956
Elvis Presley Water Skiing | Biloxi July 31, 1956
August
Who The Hell Is Elvis Presley? By Leonard Bennett Cabaret, August 1956
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Elvis Presley Olympia Theater, Miami, Florida | August 3, 1956
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Elvis Presley August 31, 1956 | On the set of Love Me Tender
September
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October
Elvis Presley October 5, 1956
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Elvis Presley October 18, 1956
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Elvis Presley The Ed Sullivan Show Rehearsals | October 26-28, 1956
Elvis Presley The Ed Sullivan Show | Dress Rehearsals | October 28, 1956
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Natalie Wood and Elvis Presley outside the Hotel Chisca | October 31, 1956
November
Elvis | Toledo | November 22, 1956
Elvis Presley Cleveland Arena, Ohio | November 23, 1956
Elvis Presley E.H. Crump Memorial Football Game | November 30, 1956
December
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The Million Dollar Quartet (December 4, 1956)
Elvis Presley December 11, 1956 | Mobbed by fans in Memphis after running out of gas
Elvis Presley's Last Louisiana Hayride Performance | December 15, 1956
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1957
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The Movies Of 1956
1956, Love Me Tender, Twentieth Century Fox
The Movies In Photos
CDs | DVDs | Books
Buy Elvis Presley CD, DVDs and Books at ...
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.
