Happy Birthday, Elvis!
The King
Elvis would have been 74 years old today – think he would still be rockin’ Vegas? Probably. To celebrate Elvis’ birthday we present to you an old newspaper story originally printed by the Port Arthur News on Elvis’ birthday in 1985. It pretty much says everything there is to say about … The King.
The Night Elvis Became King
Elvis Presley played in the Woodrow Wilson Junior High School auditorium on Nov. 25, 1955. It was a Friday night.
Come Monday, popular music would never again be the same.
Just a few days before the Louisiana Hayride show blew into Port Arthur (Texas), extended negotiations for the 21-year-old singer’s contract concluded. Paperwork began that would sign Elvis Presley to RCA Records, giving the company control of Presley’s entire catalog on Sun Records as well as the right to produce new records.
And when the Louisiana Hayride trundled into Port Arthur, Col. Tom Parker was elated that his “boy” was finally going to be signed to a big record label.
Surfin' Elvis
Appearing on the bill with Elvis were his backing musicians, Scotty and Bill (Scotty Moore and Bill Black); the singing Chelette Sisters (all from Port Arthur); and Link Davis, a Cajun musician who made his home in Port Arthur.
Gordon Baxter, who worked for radio station KOLE at the time, asked the Hillbilly Cat how he wanted to be introduced. “Singers like to be introduced in different ways. But when I asked him, Elvis didn’t say a thing, like he didn’t hear me,” Baxter said. “He just ignored me. When I asked him again, he turned around real slow, curled up his fat lip, and said, ‘Who needs you?’ “
So the curtain rose slowly, without comment, on Scotty and Bill. ”They came on cold,” recalled Baxter. “The band picked up this heavy beat, and Elvis came slouching out, dragging his guitar. He looked mean and insolent.
“And of course, the sellout crowd went absolutely, totally wild.”
Baxter knew from that moment on, from watching it happen, that something epic was happening to country music, popular music, all music. He knew it was never going to be the same.
Also, that was the last time Baxter would play an Elvis Presley record for a while. “I wouldn’t play his music on the radio because he was rude and insolent, he was everything a young man wouldn’t want to be,” Baxter said.
Baxter softened his stance a few years later, when Presley entered the Army in 1959. “After he began his military service, I went ahead and started playing his records again,” Baxter said.
Comebackin' Elvis
“After the show, there was a riot backstage. People were going crazy all over the place,” he said.
“Elvis stood on a chair, held up his arms like God, and of course everybody was immediately silenced. He said, ‘You all go home now, because we got more women in the motel than we know what to do with.’ “
After that night, Elvis Presley was owned by RCA Records. His first recording session for RCA was in January 1956. “Heartbreak Hotel” was released that summer, and civilization surrendered.
So today, in honor of Elvis’ birthday, we present to you some early takes of Elvis classics, some live stuff and a great rare bonus at the end. Happy Elvis’ Birthday!
MP3: “That’s All Right” (Take 1)
MP3: “Jailhouse Rock” (Take 6 stereo master)
Sweatin' Elvis
MP3: “Treat Me Nice” (Take 13, movie version)
MP3: “Mystery Train/Tiger Man” (live, 1969)
MP3: “Yesterday/Hey Jude” (live, 1969)
MP3: “All Shook Up” (live, 1969)
MP3: “Suspicious Minds” (live, 1969)
MP3: “Steamroller Blues” (live, 1973)
MP3: “A Little Less Conversation” (JXL Remix)
