elvis 1957 tour

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  1960

January 4 , Elvis drives to Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis for a pre-induction physical that will determine his draft status. Later in the day Elvis takes a train to New York City for his third Ed Sullivan appearance.

Tv- appearances in 1957.

6 January. New York, NY. TV Broadcast, Ed Sullivan Show

Elvis makes his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town Show . It is for this appearance that Elvis is seen only from the waist up. It's funny that after all of his television appearances the previous year, such censorship comes at this time. It is particularly amusing that this guideline remains in place during Elvis' performance of the gospel standard, Peace in the Valley, one of five songs he performs on this Sullivan appearance.

January 8 , Elvis celebrates his twenty-second birthday at home with his parents.

The Memphis Draft Board announces at a press conference that Elvis Presley will be classified 1A, meaning he will most likely be drafted in the next six to eight months.

While at home Elvis stips by to see Dixie Locke, who has recently married.

January 12 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

I Believe H2WB 0253-09 Tell Me Why H2WB 0254-05 Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do H2WB 0255-09 All Shook Up H2WB 0256-10

January 13 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Mean Woman Blues H2WB 0257-14 Peace In The Valley H2WB 0258-09 I Beg Of You (Alternate Master) H2WB 0259-12 That's When Your Heartaches Begin H2WB 0260-SP Take My Hand Precious Lord H2WB 0261-14

January 15 1957 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, CA

(Let's Have A) Party (Alternate Master - Movie Version) SPA5 2868-07 Lonesome Cowboy H2WB 2194-SP

January 16 1957 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, CA

Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Alternate Master) HRA1 8674-17 Detour (Instrumental) ____-NA Teddy Bear H2WB 2193-13 Peter Cottontail (Instrumental) ____-06

January 17 1957 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, CA

Loving You (Farm Version 1) ____-NA Loving You (End Version) ____-16 Loving You (Main Version 1) ____-03 Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Alternate Intro Version) ____-02 Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Movie Version Composite) ____-SP Dancing On A Dare (Dolores Hart) ____-01 Detour (Dolores Hart) ____-01

January 18 1957 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, CA

One Night Of Sin NPA5 5820-NA Blueberry Hill WPA5 2589-02 Hot Dog H2WB 2196-17 Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Finale) WPA5 2587-13

January 19 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) H2WB 0282-13 Blueberry Hill H2WB 0283-09 Have I Told You Lately That I Love You H2WB 0284-15 Is It So Strange? H2WB 0285-12

January 21 1957 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, California

(Let's Have A) Party H2WB 2195-11 Mean Woman Blues (Alternate Intro Version) SPA5 2870-07 Mean Woman Blues (Movie Version Composite) SPA5 2870-SP Detour (Instrumental - End Version) ____-06

January 22 1957 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, California

Loving You (Farm Version 2) ____-14

February 14 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Loving You (Farm Version 3) WPA5 2538-12 Loving You (Main Version 2) WPA5 2539-21

February 23 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Don't Leave Me Now H2WB 0414-29 I Beg Of You H2WB 0259-34 One Night H2WB 0415-10 True Love H2WB 0416-20 I Need You So H2WB 0417-08

February 24 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Loving You H2WB 0418-04 When It Rains It Really Pours H2WB 0419-08

March is a busy month for Elvis. He finishes the movie ' Loving You '. He decides to buy Graceland after seeing it once. Elvis telegrams June Juanico to meet his train during a brief layover in New Orleans, and it is there that she informs him that she is engaged to be married. In an incident in downtown Memphis, across from the hotel Chisca, Elvis is accused of pulling a gun on Private Hershel Nixon, a nineteen year-old Marine, who claims that Elvis insulted his wife. Elvis sends a rambling six-page telegram of explanation and apology to Private Nixon.

They would have been comfortable there had their son not become the biggest show business sensation in the western world. It soon became apparent that 1034 Audubon Drive failed to provide privacy from an increasing army of fans who even started camping on the home's front lawn. Consequently, Elvis and his parents spent much of early 1957 in Hollywood where Elvis was filming 'Loving You', which featured his parents as extras.

On Saturday, March 17, 1957 , a day after they returned to Memphis, Elvis' mother and father called real estate agent Virginia Grant to see what she had to offer. Grant wasted no time. That day she showed them two properties, leaving Graceland to last. By 6 p.m. she had accepted a $1,000 deposit from the Presleys and drawn up a provisional sales contract detailing the terms of sale, including an asking price of $90,000. At 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 19, 22-year-old Elvis, accompanied by his parents, met Grant at Graceland.

Elvis surveyed the property for a few minutes, then baptized the house by playing some Rock & Roll at a piano. Elvis, Vernon and Gladys Presley signed the sales contract on the spot as purchasers, and a closing date was set for Tuesday, March 26, at 4:30 p.m.

Around this time in March, according to Carl Perkins , Elvis droped by Sun Records as Sam Phillips is playing back Carl's recording of ' That's Right '. Carl says, Elvis danced across the floor to the beat and declared that it would be a hit. 'Man I'd kill for that song', Elvis said.

Sam then boxed the tape and the three of them headed for WHBQ . When the trio walked in to the studio Dewey Phillips broke into the record he was playing and announced: 'Somebody lock the door! Don't let 'em out! Got 'em both down here, burnin' them jukeboxes up with songs like -' and he had 'Hound Dog' cued up and ready to rip. As it played, Sam handed the tape to Dewey and said, 'I think this is one of the best records that will ever come out of Sun'. Dewey got Elvis to the mike to introduce the song , 'Well, ladies and gentlemen, if this ain't gonna be a hit record I'm gonna be fooled. I-I-I-I-it's really got a different beat and all I know is the name of it's 'That's Right' . And Dewey played the song. After the first airplay Dewey interviewed Carl and Elvis on the air, and devoted a good portion of his show to their music, coming back frequently to ask them questions.

When they left the station, Elvis, Carl and Sam found the street mobbed with teenagers who had been listening to Dewey's show. They ran for the car and drove back to Sun, where more cars and teenagers were lined up. 'Boys, I gotta go', Elvis said declining Sam's invitation to come in. Carl and Sam made their way through the crowd as Elvis sped off into the night, a line of hot rods following behind him.

March 25 , Elvis sends a rambling six-page telegram of explanation and apology to Private nixon. (There is a copy of the telegram Elvis wrote to Pfc. Hershel Nixon in the book Elvis Day By Day - Ernst Jorgensen) Elvis meets with Judge Boushe in chambers and the incident is settled without legal action.

Tour. Mar. 28 - Apr. 6

March 28 , Elvis performs for 12.000 people in the International Amphitheater in Chicago. Elvis wears a $2.500 gold-leaf suit that the Colonel has had made up by Nudie Cohen. On Friday March 29, this time at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Elvis once again wears the gold suit, but after tonight will seldom wear the trousers again. He is embarrassed by what he considers the clownishness, not the coolness of the look, and the Colonel has asked him not to drop to his knees anymore, because the gold is flaking off and gold is expensive.

28 March. Chicago, IL. International Amphistheater 29 March. St. Louis MO. Kiel Auditorium 30 March. Fort Wayne, Memorial Coliseum 31 March. Detroit, MI. Olympia Stadium (2 shows) 1 April. Buffalo, NY. Memorial Coliseum 2 April. Toronto, Can. Maple Leaf Gardens (2 shows) 3 April. Ottawa, Can. Auditorium (2 shows) 5,6 April. Philadelphia, PA. Sports Arena (4 shows)

April 30 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Jailhouse Rock H2WB 6779-06 Jailhouse Rock (Pickup to instrumental, chorus and on) ____-02 Jailhouse Rock (Composite Master) ____-SP Jailhouse Rock (Movie Version) H2WB 6780-SP Treat Me Nice (First Movie Version) HRA1 8681-19 Young And Beautiful H2WB 6777-22 Young And Beautiful (Movie End Version) H2WB 6777-SP Young And Beautiful (Solo Version) WPA5 2507-03 Young And Beautiful (Florita Club Version) HRA1 8682-07

May 1 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

I Want To Be Free ____-NA

May 3 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Treat Me Nice (Second Movie Version) H2WB 6778-SP I Want To Be Free (Prison TV Version) WPA5 2508-SP I Want To Be Free ____-11 I Want To Be Free (Pickup First Ending) ____-02 I Want To Be Free (Pickup Second Ending) ____-05 I Want To Be Free (Composite Record Version) H2WB 6781-SP Baby I Don't Care (Rhythm Track) H2WB 6782-16 Baby I Don't Care (First Vocal Overdub) HRA1 8683-01 Don't Leave Me Now (Elvis' Piano Version) WPA5 2600-02 Don't Leave Me Now (Hit Record Version) HRA1 8684-21

May 8 1957 MGM Sound Stage - Hollywood, California

Baby I Don't Care (Second Vocal Overdub) H2WB 6782-06

May 9 1957 MGM Sound Stage - Hollywood, California

Don't Leave Me Now H2WB 6783-12 Don't Leave Me Now ____-02

June 28 , Elvis Presley made an appearance, but did not sing at Russwood Park for a benefit for St. Jude's Hospital. Elvis is flanked by comic Lou Costello and actress Jane Russel l. Others appearing on the program before an estimated crowd of 11,000 were singers Roberta Sherwood, Ferlin Husky and actress Susan Hayward.

July 27 1957 MGM Sound Stage - Hollywood, California

Don't Leave Me Now (Mickey Alba Version) ____-NA

July 30 1957 MGM Sound Stage - Hollywood, California

Treat Me Nice (Guitar Overdub) H2WB 6778

Elvis and three traveling companions left for the Pacific northwest for personal appearance tour.

About 25 young fans were on hand for his unannounced departure at 11 p.m. As the train lurched forward and Elvis waved, three small girls who had pushed to the front of the crowd began crying.

'I'll Just Die!' One squealed: 'three whole weeks – I can't stand it – I'll just die!' (Elvis will be back in three weeks before going to Tupelo, Miss. for a benefit show).

Elvis strode into the station with Anita on one arm. When the waiting fans spotted them, Central Station's marble halls echoed with screams and shrieks.

Elvis wore a light blue sport coat and navy blue slacks. Anita looked chic in a black dress with white lace collar.

Elvis embraced his mother several times and she reminded him to 'Be good, son' as he boarded the train. 'Take care of yourself, boy,' said Mr. Presley. Mrs. Presley said she 'worries about Elvis' when he goes on trips.

Elvis kissed Anita twice for photographers (and about five times for himself) before hopping aboard.

As the train moved away, Anita burst into tears and Mrs. Presley put her arm around her. The Presley's and Anita walked arm in arm out of the station to the Cadillac again, with Uncle Travis, himself moist-eyed, following.

West Coast Tour. Aug. 29 - Sept. 2

September 5 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Treat Me Nice H2PB 5523-15 Blue Christmas H2PB 5525-03

September 6 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

My Wish Came True H2PB 5524-28 White Christmas H2PB 5526-09 Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) H2PB 5527-02 Silent Night H2PB 5528-09 Don't H2PB 5529-07

September 7 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

O Little Town Of Bethlehem H2PB 5530-04 Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) H2PB 5531-09 Santa Claus Is Back In town H2PB 5532-07 I'll Be Home For Christmas H2PB 5533-15 27 September. Tupelo, MISS. Fairground

California tour. Oct. 26 - Oct. 29

The following nights, a far less flamboyant performance passes the scrutiny of the Police, who film the show just to make sure.

November 5 , Elvis sailed for Honolulu Hawaii on the USS Matsonia.

More than 14,000 fans see the following two shows.

Hawaii concerts. Nov. 10 - Nov. 11

10 November. Honolulu, HI. Honolulu Stadium (2 shows) 11 November. Schofield Barracks, HI. Post Bowl

Elvis has just performed his last concert of the 1950s!

December 22 , Elvis is photographed backstage at the Opry, with Ferlin Huskey , Faron Young , Hawkshaw Hawkins and Tom Perryman . (Hawkshaw Hawkins was killed in the plane crash alone with Patsy Cline on March 3, 1963.) Either the date is wrong or this is early am on the 22nd.

Friday December 20 , Elvis received his draft notice. 'It's a duty I've got to fill and I'm going to do it', he said. Initially ordered to report for duty January 20, he received a deferment for the filming of 'King Creole' (at that time titled 'Sing, You, Sinners') which was already in pre-production. The deferment was granted and Elvis was inducted March 24, 1958.

Elvis Presley 1958

January 15-16 1958 , Elvis recorded the soundtrack for his movie ' King Creole '.

February 1 , RCA was desperate to get Elvis into the recording studio before he was inducted so RCA could be assured of a steady stream of new releases available during his two year tour of duty. Elvis recorded 'My Wish Came True' (Remake) 'Doncha' Think It's Time' 'Your Cheatin' Heart' and 'Wear My Ring Around Your Neck' - 'Your Cheatin' Heart' was not released until 1964. Full details below.

January 15 1958 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Turtles, Berries & Gumbo ____-NA Hard Headed Woman J2PB 3603-10 Trouble J2PB 3604-05 New Orleans J2PB 3605-05 King Creole (Alternate Master) J2PB 3606-18 Crawfish J2PB 3607-07

January 16 1958 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Dixieland Rock J2PB 3608-14 Lover Doll J2PB 3609-07 Don't Ask Me Why J2PB 3610-12 As Long As I Have You J2PB 3611-10 Muskrat Ramble (Instrumental) SPA3 6770-01 Steadfast Loyal & True (Movie Version) WPA5 2586-06 As Long As I Have You (Short Movie Version) ____-04 As Long As I Have You (Long Movie Version) WPA5 2509-08 Banana (?) ____-NA Bourbon Street (?) ____-NA

January 23 1958 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

King Creole (Revised) J2PB 3612-13 Young Dreams J2PB 3613-08 King Creole (Main Title - Instrumental) ____-08 My Wish Came True J2PB 0178-NA Doncha' Think It's Time J2PB 0179-NA

February 1 1958 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

My Wish Came True (Remake) J2WB 0178-NM Doncha' Think It's Time J2WB 0179-SP Your Cheatin' Heart J2WB 0180-10 Wear My Ring Around Your Neck J2WB 0181-22

February 11 1958 Paramount Sound Stage - Hollywood, CA

Danny WPKM 8123-10 Steadfast Loyal & True (Solo) J2PB 4226-NA

February 26 1958 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California

Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (Overdub) J2WB 0181

After being processed and sworn in, Elvis said his good-byes and Private Presley was bused with the others from Memphis to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas for further processing.

Below, Elvis' Army Swearing In - Directed by Mayor Elbert Turner - Draft Board Memphis Tennessee March 24, 1958.

June 1 , on furlough, after his basic training, Elvis came home to Memphis and enjoyed some time with family and friends. RCA had continued to push for more sessions before Elvis shipped out to Germany in September, and the Colonel reluctantly agreed to both a recording session and a photo session during this two week furlough.

June 10, 1958 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee

I Need Your Love Tonight J2WB 3253-18 A Big Hunk O' Love J2WB 3254-SP Ain't That Loving You Baby J2WB 3255-04 Ain't That Loving You Baby (Fast Version) PPA5 2672-SP (Now And Then There's A) Fool Such As I J2WB 3256-09

June 11, 1958 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee

I Got Stung J2WB 3257-24

June 14 , Elvis returns to Fort Hood. On June 16, Elvis begins ten weeks of advanced Tank Training.

- References

Elvis Albums 1957-1958 (Now on CD)

- Flashback (To The '50s)

News | March 28, 1957: First Elvis Presley concert in…

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Breaking News

News | bring chicago home referendum voted down, ap says, news | march 28, 1957: first elvis presley concert in chicago.

Chicago Tribune

Teenagers scream at Elvis Presley's March 1957 Chicago performance.

Elvis Presley, clad in a gold-leaf suit, performs at Chicago's International Amphitheater on March 28, 1957.

This story was originally published in the Chicago Tribune on  March 29, 1957 :

Elvis Presley put on his golden slippers last night, cuddled his guitar, gyrated, and turned the International Amphitheater into a shrieking mass of 12,000 teen age fans.

He moaned into the microphone, vibrated in his $2,500 gold leaf suit, and firemen carried out 13 prostrate girls, wailing, “We Want Elvis!” The program went an hour and 45 minutes before the side-burned Lothario of the rock ‘n’ roll set reached the stage.

When he did, fans stormed the stage. A girl swung her purse at a policeman, missed him, and clouted an usher, Tony Varvatta, 18, of 2720 Shields Av. He was taken to Evangelical hospital with a possible fractured skull.

Like a Tribal Rite

Glittering in gold, Elvis stated to sing “Heartbreak Hotel” and roars of sound shook the Amphitheater for 10 minutes. It was like a tribal rite, and Presley was the high chieftain.

“I drove 70 miles to see him — and I’m going to get a piece of his clothing before I leave,” wept one girl after she was revived at the first aid station.

“I paid $13 for this dress to wear tonight,” said a 15 year old girl. It was low-cut, fur trimmed, and clinging. “I hoped that maybe I could meet him — but I didn’t.”

Stand on Chairs

The fans stood on chairs, in the aisles, they wailed, and Elvis swayed and strummed. They paid from $2 to $3.50 a seat, and they did not care if they yelled so loud they couldn’t hear him. Wearing their “I Love Elvis” buttons they began chanting “We Want Elvis” at 7:45 p.m.

There were sideburned followers of Presley in the crowd, some too young to grow sideburns. But they leaped and yelled. There were blue jeans and slinky cocktail dresses. Mostly, tho, there was pandemonium.

At one point a teen-age girl clung to the stage with both hands and shrieked. It took two policemen to pull her away. A mother, seated with her three children, reached out and touched Presley. Tears of joy rolled down her face.

Before it was over, the former Memphis truck driver had sung 16 songs. It took 47 minutes. Then he fled, not like a “hound dog” but like a jackrabbit.

Makes a Million This Year

Earlier, in a press conference in the staid Saddle and Sirloin club of the Stockyards Inn, Presley wowed the press with a different tune.

How much did he make last year? “O, I’ve made over a million already,” he announced.

Last night’s bedlam was worth $10,000 to him, Presley said, and his current 10 day tour will bring in $120,000.

Does the banshee cry of his teen-age fans bother him? “I love ’em,” grinned Presley. “Without them, I’d be lost.”

One parent, unimpressed with the performance, noted that he would love to be Presley’s first sergeant for two weeks. Presley is due to go in the army soon, but he doesn’t know just when.

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A five-show sweep of the Pacific Northwest over Labor Day weekend. The tour begins August 30 in Spokane, and includes stops in Vancouver, Tacoma, Seattle, and Portland.

August 27, 1957. Memphis train station leaving for Pacific tour.

Memorial Stadium, Spokane, Washington. August 30, 1957.

Memories of Elvis Presley’s 1957 concert.

Vicky Anderson was 10 when she attended the Elvis concert at what is now called Joe Albi Stadium in August of 1957. Among other things, she remembers her mother and aunt fighting over the binoculars.

Connie Horton, Bob Hoagland, Jack Summers, Bob Dronenberg and others recall teenage girls scooping up handfuls of dirt from the track that the entertainer had walked on or ridden over in the convertible that transported him. "It was something to behold," said Dronenberg, who was about to go into the Army.

Because her father was involved in facilities management, Terry (Winton) Omans got to be in the small brick building adjacent to the stadium where Elvis and others were holed up before the show. "I was a freckled, awkward little 10-year-old girl lost in all the commotion, trying to stutter out a request for an autograph before I died of fright. Elvis Presley, who was limbering up, waiting to perform on a plywood stage in the middle of a football field, bleachers full of screaming girls, stopped and actually asked my name." And he signed a photo of himself, which Omans still has.

"I was 13 years old in 1957 and dying to go see Elvis," wrote Caroline Brady Baker . "None of my girlfriends were able to go so my mother, who was 58 years old, went with me. When the limousine drove Elvis up to the platform in the middle of the stadium, he jumped out and ran up the few steps to the stage. Being slightly out of breath, all he could say as he grabbed the microphone was 'ahhh.' Well, that was all it took to turn that whole stadium of teenagers (and at least one mother) into a screaming frenzy."

"As a matter of fact, I did see Elvis, but not performing at the stadium," wrote Farol Stroyan . (Yes, Farol with an F.) "I worked at St. Luke's Hospital on Summit Boulevard after school from 4:30 to 9 p.m. I was 17 years old. All the nurses were so excited because Elvis was coming to the hospital to see a young boy who had had his legs cut off in a farming accident." That unfortunate lad was on her ward.

"The nurses were spreading rose petals on the floor and I told them that was stupid. So I went on a break. The elevator was so slow, I decided to take the stairs to the cafeteria in the basement. I was running down the stairs, turned a corner and bumped right into Elvis. Boy, was I surprised, and so was he. I just kept going, so it was a very quick encounter. He was only about five years older than I was."

In the summer of 1957, Gail Peterson Miller was working as a messenger for a downtown Spokane bank. She and a co-worker named Sally decided they had to have the visiting singer's autograph.

"We gathered up some official looking documents, put on our 'Messenger' badges and marched over to the Ridpath Hotel where he was staying. "We walked up to the front desk and announced that we had some documents to deliver to Elvis Presley, Security being what it was back then, the clerk on duty gave us the room number. As I recall it was on the 11th or 12th floor, and up we went. "We knocked on the door and a big burly fellow answered the door. We giggled and said we wanted to meet Elvis and get his autograph. Much to our surprise, Elvis came to the door and not only did he give us his autograph, he kissed us both on the cheek."

Dorothy Germain shared the following.

"I saw Elvis in 1957 at Memorial Stadium along with my fellow 13-year-old friends Lynn, Marlys, Joanne and Georgia. Our transportation was provided by a very nice 16-year-old young man named Bobby.

"After the concert, we begged Bobby to take us to the Great Northern train depot at midnight, hoping to see Elvis again. We got lucky and spotted him ready to board the train, where each of us got his autograph. (He said "Thank you, hon.") "I am certain that we have all saved that autograph. Maybe, we will discuss that at our 1962 Rogers High School class reunion next year!"

Kay Krom remembers the occasion this way.

"We had been married almost a year and had just finished harvest. Time to celebrate! We went to Spokane, stayed overnight in a funny little motel on East Sprague, went to Nat Park, had our picture taken in one of those photo booths, and had tickets to see Elvis.

"It wasn't fancy. Just a big box of a stage with lots of wired microphones and drums in the middle of the field. Some kind of vehicle drove up and he popped out. He was really cute. The girls started screaming and they never stopped. We 'think' he was good, although we never really heard him sing."

At the concert, Doug Richardson was actually more impressed with Presley's backup singers than with the star. He laughs about that now.

But Susan Slagle McConnell Walker , who was 11 and had come down to Spokane with a contingent from Republic, confirmed that all the screaming made it difficult to appreciate the music. "I never understood why these girls didn't want to hear him sing." (Years later, she saw him perform at the Coliseum and "Got my fix").

"Yes, I was there," wrote Phyllis Odell . "I was 20 and he was KING. I remember when the lights went out and shortly the announcer said 'Elvis has left the stadium' and it was over."

But clearly the memories endure.  

Spokane Memorial Stadium. Friday, August 30, 1957 at 8:00 pm. Tickets were $1.50, $2.50 and $3.50.     

Memorial Stadium Washington on August 30, 1957. Disc Jockeys from KNEW DJs Bob Hough, Bob Salter, Bob Adkins and Bob Fleming.

Elvis with fan Gaylene Moos-Pope. Spokane Washington on August 30, 1957.

Elvis Show Blasted

by B.C. Newspaper

─ VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLOMBIA ─ 

Elvis Presley: Empire Stadium at the PNE  Pacific National Exhibition on August 31.

Vancouver, B.C. (AP) ─ The Province, in three articles spread across two inside pages, bitterly criticized Monday the concert by Elvis Presley here Saturday night.

Feature writer Ben Metcalfe said: "A gang moved into OUR town to exploit 22.000 pre-conditioned adolescents, hired OUR policemen to stop anybody who wanted to get too close, then left with the loot and let the police and the kids fight it out for what was left ─ nothing."

Dr. Ida Halpern, music critic, said the performance "had not even the quality of a true obscenity; merely an artificial and unhealthy exploitation of the enthusiasm of youth's body and mind. 'One could call it subsidized sex."

Wrote entertainment editor Ies Wedman: “It was disgraceful, the whole mess. "lt was planned artificially at its best and the gullible and truly worshipful Elvis Presley fans bit."

Policemen, ushers at Empire Stadium and air cadets failed to hold the first mob which rushed the stage.

"The kids moved back," Metcalfe wrote." A girl, her dress torn, was carried screaming in very real hysteria off the field. Presley came forward, winking gleefully at his cronies, and started it again.

"This time the kids met the full force of the law and the ushers while Presley urged them on from the stage. "Girls were punched, lifted bodlily back into the heaving mass. Their escorts, teen-agers like themselves, threatened the police and cadets. One bulky youth, his nose spurting blood, was hurt till he screamed.

"On stage, Presley winked again for his cronies to move into another wiggling song. It was obvious that he was enjoying himself."

Wedman estimated the night's take as between $30.000 and $40.000 and said Presley, who appeared for an hour, took close to $20.000 out of Canada.

Elvis in Concert: Pacific Northwest ─ . . .

Elvis Presley thrills a crowd of about 6,000 at Tacoma's Lincoln Bowl on September 1, 1957.

By Kim Davenport

On September 1, 1957, Elvis Presley performs a matinee concert at Tacoma's Lincoln Bowl as part of a five-show sweep of the Pacific Northwest over Labor Day weekend. The tour begins August 30 in Spokane, and includes stops in Vancouver, Tacoma, Seattle, and Portland.

Touring Behind 'Jailhouse Rock'

A crowd of about 6,000 people enjoyed a fairly intimate performance, with seating on the floor of the Bowl, as well as in the stands facing the impromptu stage. Judging by photographs from the concert, the vast majority of those in attendance were teen girls. Some young men, including Kent Morrill of The Fabulous Wailers fame, refused to buy tickets, jealous of Elvis' popularity among the girls, but later admitted watching the concert through binoculars from the trees in neighboring Lincoln Park.

His Pacific Northwest tour came just before the October 1957 release of his film Jailhouse Rock, and his songs for the film's soundtrack made up much of his performance set for the Lincoln Bowl matinee.

'He Strutted Like a Duck'

Tacoma News Tribune reporter Dan Duncan attended the concert, and wrote a review that was published in the following day's paper. The article mentions the dozen-or-so songs Elvis performed from the stage at Lincoln Bowl ─ including 1956-1957 hits such as "Hound Dog," "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear," and "Jailhouse Rock" ─ but devotes more column inches to Presley's behavior and performance style. Some excerpts:

"Often the great roar of the crowd snuffed out the words. But no stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Elvis at the mike. He sang at least a dozen songs, this creator of mass hysteria, this modern-day answer to Austin, Vallee and Sinatra. But where they depended almost exclusively on voice, his was a combination of earthly body movements and a rhythm that smacks of the revival tent. It was burlesque with a twist as if Gypsy Rose Lee had donned men's clothing."

"Each squirm was carefully calculated as a Shakespeare soliloquy to heighten the dramatic effect."

"He strutted like a duck, his hands dangling loosely in front of him. He went to his knees in an attitude of prayer, taking the slender microphone with him. And he finished with a burst of shimmying that left him limp, his thick black hair hanging over his eyes and perspiration pouring down his pancake makeup."

"The idol of America's teenagers, a 6-foot, 1-inch, 180-pounder, lowered his lashes over deep blue eyes and said, no sir, I certainly don't mean to be vulgar when I wiggle my hips during a song. It's just my way of expressing my inner emotions" ("Presley Rocks n' Rolls ...").

When the music came to an end and the musicians made a quick exit from Lincoln Bowl on their way to an evening show at Sicks' Stadium in Seattle, screaming girls chased after them.

From the News Tribune report: "Girls, dragging unwilling boys by the hand, rushed to the spot where Elvis vaulted into the car. They scooped up dirt, kissed it, and poured it into pockets and purses" ("Presley Rocks n' Rolls ...")

Elvis Reaches Out

But the story doesn't end there. The next day, before catching the train to Portland, Elvis spent some time in his Seattle hotel room reading reviews of his Tacoma and Seattle performances. The performer took the time to make a personal phone call to Don Duncan, telling him that his review was "the best article ever written about me."

Perhaps inspired by this personal call, Duncan wrote a column about his encounter with the iconic performer, which appeared in The Tacoma News Tribune the following weekend, at the bottom of page B-5. Ducan's article used only lower-case letters, an homage to the autograph he received from Elvis, which read "thanks, Elvis presley." The article appeared under the headline "Elvis nice to press, dazzler with girls." Duncan writes:

"Since a lot of folks have sidled up to me in the past few days and asked for the plain, unvarnished truth about old sideburns hisself, I figured I'd let you in on all the secrets I learned, first off, this Elvis has all his own hair and don't let anybody tell you it's a wig or those sideburns are painted on, and when those locks fell down on his forehead and he had to peek through them like Veronica Lake did before she went out of style, that was the real Elvis.

"Elvis is real nice and easy with the press and a real dazzler with the young girls who managed to get into his dressing room on the strength of being fan club officers or something like that.

"Well, the music was really the thing out there at Lincoln Bowl, and make no mistake about it this boy Elvis could have taught Dr. Goebbels a thing or two about mass psychology. This rock 'n' roll business has a real slugging beat that twists your insides all around and sets up some sort of chemical action that comes out in foot-tapping and screams. Since I am too old to be screaming at 22-year-old singers, especially when they aren't girls, I just fixed a silly grin on my face and it served the purpose.

"The next day after my story was in the paper I got a long distance telephone call and the operator said hold on a minute, Mr. Presley is calling you. I figured he was mad or something and I looked for a place to hide, but there wasn't anything to do but stand there and take it like a man.

"He came on the line, Elvis did, and instead of tearing me apart he said nice things about the story and how it was the best ever written on him and how he wanted to be sure and see me the next time he's in town. This should boost my stock considerably with some of my teenage nieces and nephews who are inclined to look upon old uncle don as a real square" ("Elvis Nice . . .").

The Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon. Tuesday, 03 September, 1957.

Sicks Stadium, September 1, 1957.

By Cassandra Tate 

Elvis and Me

On September 1, 1957, at Sicks' Seattle Stadium, my friend Frances Bragg introduced me to Elvis Presley and changed my life forever.

I was 12, claiming to be 13, and of course my world was already changing, with or without Elvis.

It was on Labor Day weekend, the actual if not the official end of summer, when Frances spotted the advertisement that promised "TOMORROW Will Be Seattle's Most Exciting Day!" Elvis Presley "and his all-star stage show" would be appearing Sunday, the next day, "IN PERSON," at Sicks' baseball stadium, tickets $1.50, $2.50, and $3.50. We had been planning to go to a movie, and were looking at the newspaper to see what was playing at the Columbia Theater. Elvis won out over a double feature ─ Jimmy Stewart and Sheila Bond in Spirit of St. Louis and Bruce Bennett and Lon Chaney in Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer, admission 25 cents for kids 12 and under.

Elvis Presley was a certified teen idol by 1957. He had recorded half a dozen hit singles, starred in three movies, and stunned parents everywhere with his pelvic performances. Frances knew all the words to all his songs. She was a year older than me and more socially advanced. She was sneaking her mother's cigarettes and browsing through the cosmetic counters at the Five and Dime while I was still building forts in the woods. I was eager to prove that I could be as much a teenager as she was.

I dressed carefully for my meeting with Elvis: gray felt circle skirt with a pink poodle appliqued on one side; enough crinoline petticoats to make the skirt stand out almost perpendicular to the ground; pink sweater, enhanced with the strategic use of tissue paper; new loafers with shiny pennies in the flaps; my hair in a ponytail. It pleased me to think that I looked like any other teenage girl, walking down the street on her way to someplace interesting.

About 15,000 of us waited for Elvis at Sicks' Stadium that night. Frances and I sat in the top row of the bleachers ─ the best seats we could get for $1.50 on the day of the show. We couldn't see much of the stage, which had been set up on second base, but we had a good view of the crowd. I had never seen so many people in my life. The promoters said later it was the biggest crowd ever for a single artist in Seattle up to that point; of the 16,200 people who went through the gate, 90 percent of them were teenage girls.

Elvis had performed in Vancouver, British Columbia, and in Spokane the day before; and his Seattle appearance was preceded by one the same day in Tacoma. The show was supposed to begin at 8:30 p.m. but it was well past 10 p.m. when he finally took the stage. We entertained ourselves meanwhile with walking up and down the aisles, going back and forth to the restrooms, and looking over the things we could have bought if we had any money: Elvis Presley hats, Elvis Presley buttons, Elvis Presley souvenir books, Elvis Presley photographs, and Elvis Presley ice cream bars, among other things.

There were other acts ─  the All-Star Stage Show included singers, dancers, comedians, jugglers, and marimba players ─ but we didn't pay much attention to them. For one thing, the stage was so far from our seats that it was hard to see or hear anything. Besides, every once in a while someone would shout "There he is!!!" and we'd all scream, jump up, search the baseball field for evidence of Elvis, then settle back down until the next flurry of excitement and distraction.

Finally, a cordon of policemen appeared around the stage, the crowd began to scream in earnest, and Elvis walked out from the dugout.

A girl sitting next to me fainted.

He wore a dark shirt and slacks and a gold lame jacket that shimmered in the lights. When he leaned toward the microphone, the tsunami of noise from the audience reached a shrieking crescendo. Frances clutched me and screamed. I watched the ambulance crew strap the girl who had fainted to a stretcher and carry her down the stairs and out of the stadium. She hadn't been able to hear even one song.

The adult critics didn't much like the show. Seattle Times writer Marjorie Jones went into alliterative overdrive in her report on the "writhing, wiggling-sexy, side-burned, sullen-eyed Southerner" and his "shrieking, screaming mass of tingling teen-age worshippers." She added that "Vulgar is the kindest way to describe Presley's pulsating gyrations." John Voorhees, in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, concluded that "Elvis' movements seemed to delight the onlookers much more than the singing -- which could mean burlesque is on the way back." My mother, who didn't see the show but read about it in the newspapers, thought that people who went to concerts and then screamed so much they couldn't hear the music were beyond foolish.

Toward the end, Elvis stood quietly before the microphone and announced that the next number would be the National Anthem. He burst into "Hound Dog" instead. Voorhees said the scream from the audience sounded like "12,000 girls all having their heads shaved at once." I was one of them by that point, having become a full-fledged acolyte in the Church of Elvis. He sang two choruses and then he was gone, without even a wave or a bow, vanishing through a gate in the right field fence. A few girls slipped down to the stage and scooped up dirt from around second base before the police shooed them away.

Frances and I walked back to Columbia City along Rainier Avenue, a good half-hour walk from the stadium at Rainier and McClellan Street. We sat on the curb in front of Tradewell for a while, not saying much of anything. The evening had been an untrammelled success.

We had seen a rock and roll star, and a car full of boys had honked at us as we walked home. We took it as a sign of validation. We had crossed over a bridge, and left our childhoods behind.

It hardly mattered that I wouldn't be able to get into the local movie house for only a quarter for much longer.

On September 2, 1957, Elvis, Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana performed one show at Multnomah Civic Stadium

as the last stop on a whirlwind five city, four day tour of the Pacific Northwest that included Spokane, Vancouver, Tacoma, and Seattle. It was only the second tour that year and was promoted by Lee Gordon, who had promoted the earlier tour in the Spring of Canada and the Midwest.

According to Peter Guralnick, he had also been trying unsuccessfully to get the Colonel to agree to a tour of Australia. Gordon, originally from Detroit, had been promoting big names acts in Australia since 1953.

Reports by writers Don Horine and Dorothy Lois Smith in the Portland Journal the day following the show described the event as follows:

A gold suit, an oft-plucked guitar and a sideburned bundle of the most enchanting, gyrating and just plain droolin' rock 'n' roll charmer ever to hit this world plopped right into the laps Monday of thousands of hysterical Portland teenagers. How they loved it!

They jammed the Union station, the Multnomah hotel, the Multnomah stadium gateways.

Four sisters, Marcella Christoff, left to right Dorothy Pittman, Elvis, Donna Lowe and Patty Marx met The King himself, Elvis Presley in Portland in 1957. Drew Vattiat - The Oregon.

They thrilled to every word, every breath of the famed entertainer. Here was heaven, a haven in otherwise conservative life of studies, dishes and mowing the lawn.

Here was a miracle wrapped handsomely in a single package ─ a miracle wearing the exciting name of Elvis Presley. There were many who at the end of the day were slightly frustrated, in some cases even disillusioned. Some of these were among the 500 first jubilant and later disappointed Presley fans who crowded Union station at 4:30 p.m. Monday for a glimpse-oh, please, just a glimpse ─ of the man.

Others were included in the hundreds who blocked the front entrance of the Multnomah hotel where the man of the hour was to while away several of his Portland hours only to later discover that clever agents had smuggled him through the side door, unobserved by teenage eyes.

At the station he escaped the crowd by edging quickly from the last car on the train to a waiting convertible. Scarcely more than 15 fans not among the official party were able to reach the scene before the auto made its fast exit. Meanwhile, those 500 Presleyites at the station slowly grew aware of the disappearing act.

In the eighth-floor governor’s suite at the hotel he stayed with 12 troupe headliners, eating and making merry over the sounds of Presley records. No unauthorized persons were allowed near the floor, and the few diehards who did slip by advance guards were halted and quickly ushered from the area by an efficient squad of policemen, Presley’s three security officers and cleaning women. Then, at 8 p.m., on to the stadium, where again he bypassed scores of you-know-who expecting their idol to travel down the ramp into the stadium.

Instead, he jumped from a cab at the head of the Multnomah Athletic club, adjacent to the stadium, where he met with newsmen and photographers in a half-hour press conference. Numerous winners of local disc jockey shows posed with him following the conference. Everywhere, photographers’ shutters clicked.

I [Dorothy Smith] was completely shook up Monday night. Who wouldn’t be after exposure to two Elvis Presleys, in one evening? There’s definitely the on-stage Elvis and the off-stage Elvis.

And there was an equally shakeable Elvis in his dressing room for the mass press radio and TV interview before he donned the gold jacket to enter the stadium. This Elvis was impeccably clad in black slacks and shoes, white shirt with handsome black and silver tie and stickpin, and a suave, light blue dinner jacket.

The off-stage Presley answered the countless questions fired at him during the interview ─ a few of them sharply barbed-with poise and good humor. Concerning Anita Wood, the glamor-girl whose name is romantically linked with his. 'There’s nothin' serious. We’re more than friends, but nothin' serious.'

When asked about the many rumors of marriage, he explained. 'Often when I'm supposed to be marrying one girl a certain night, I'm out with another girl on a date. This is confusing to me, and I may be surprised and wake up and hear I'm married sometime,' he laughed.

The idol is equally candid about his voice and the misconception, that he 'discovered' rock 'n' roll.

When asked if he had to get in a special mood before making his recordings, he said: 'I don't have the best voice in the world, so I must feel it. When you're singing ballads, I guess you do always think of some girl.'

'Rock 'n' roll,' he added, 'was around a long time before me ─  it was really rhythm in blues. I just got on the bandwagon with it. Then, I lived in a country where there were all-day singings, and sang religious songs when I was real young in church. They were the rockin' type of music-spirituals.

One disc jockey asked pointedly if Elvis had any other recording favorites 'other than yourself.'

To this, Presley answered good-naturedly that he had many, including the Four Aces, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Pat Boone.

When asked what he thinks of Little Richard, he laughingly conceded: 'I'll say there's no one in the world as long-winded as he.' Elvis said he has taken his physical for entering the service and is 'waiting for them to let me know.' 'I just take every day as it comes and don't look into the future', he said.

But by now the stadium show was in progress, mellowing an estimated 14,000 persons. Band instrumentals, tap-dancing, comedy routines, vocals and numbers by the four Jordanaires all brought polite applause from a crowd still thirsting for Mr. Elvis. And he didn't disappoint. Not this time. It was l0 p.m. on the nose.

The second act started with a rambunctious vibraphone player setting the pace. It was zero hour.

Presley did not appear in the stadium until the second half of his big show. By that time the more than 14,000 fans were stamping and chanting: 'We want Elvis! We want Elvis!'

Down from the stadium ramp roared the convertible, carrying in it Mayor Terry D. Schrunk, Ken Moore, Presley's chief security officer, and the gilt-crested Elvis Presley. The roar was deafening. Voices pitched high above a normal screech echoed from one stadium wall to the next. He was here.

However, the mass eruption from the stands of beserk teen-agers, such as greeted Elvis in Chicago and recently in Vancouver, B.C., did not materialize. Instead, the woozy fans, many of them members of two Presley fan clubs here, were content to stay at their seats, to shake and wiggle hands, hips and feet, and to convince the singer that Portland, like all other U.S. cities, is 'real gone.'

From the time his convertible swept along the track and the gold sleeve waved to the top row of the stadium, his fans became one vocal acclaim of ear-splitting tumult. It was sometimes almost impossible to know which of his rock 'n' roll hits he was singing, burping and wiggling for his fans. The blare of the music whistled through the right ear and the screaming of the audience pierced the left ear conking out my equilibrium. But my eyesight was perfect, and there's no doubt that it's the bumps and grinds, the wiggles and the sinuous writings that the fans love most. Each wiggle brought forth another in the succession of ecstatic screams.

There was the dazzling, writhing, rock 'n' roll Elvis in his gold jacket with rhinestone lapels, sorcering his madly screaming fans at Multnomah stadium into one frenzy of ear-splitting ecstasy after another, mounting in intensity to a bomb-burst of emotion with his concluding 'Hound Dawg' number.

It seemed as if the shrill adulation couldn't be more intense than during the 'I Got a Woman' number, when the rock 'n' roll idol grabbed his guitar and did his rhythmic contortions back of it-sort of like doing a cheek-to-cheek dance with it instead of playing it. But it was the 'Hound Dawg' number ─ the last on the list of hits that created pandemonium. If the audience was going to swarm out onto the field, completely out of control, it would have swarmed during that number.

Presley sat on the edge of the stage, swinging his long legs. Then he wiggled to the turf and writhed in a half-crawling position during much of the song. With the last moan of agony, he appeared completely exhausted, and dragged himself back of the stage.

Following a 40-minute performance, Presley issued a hurried goodbye and sped in the convertible from the tumultuous cheers, an enthusiastic but very much exhausted young man.

In a flash he was into the convertible, and the 14,000 were still wildly screaming and stamping when the loud speaker blared: 'Ladies and gentlemen. Elvis Presley has left the stadium!'

The silence was as deafening as the performance.

The sudden departure of Elvis left many of the fans in a frenzied, stifled condition. The announcement from the stage that Elvis had gone and the show was concluded was certainly not news. They had lost him, the lead actor in so many teenage dreams, and he was not to return. But for seven hours, give or take a few precious minutes, he belonged to Portland. The Oregonian reported that even the dirt Elvis Presley kneeled on was a souvenir for about 50 teenagers who swooped down out of the grandstand for a handful after Presley left the stadium. The crowd was extremely noisy but well-behaved.

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• September 27, 1957 Setlist

Elvis Presley Setlist at Tupelo Fairgrounds, Tupelo, MS, USA

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• Heartbreak Hotel Play Video
• I've Got a Woman ( Ray Charles  cover) Play Video
• When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again ( Wiley Walker & Gene Sullivan  cover) Play Video
• Mean Woman Blues Play Video
• Shake, Rattle and Roll ( Big Joe Turner & His Blues Kings  cover) Play Video
• Hound Dog ( Big Mama Thornton  cover) Play Video

Edits and Comments

3 activities (last edit by shivermetimbers , 1 Jul 2015, 21:22 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton
• I've Got a Woman by Ray Charles
• Shake, Rattle and Roll by Big Joe Turner & His Blues Kings
• When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again by Wiley Walker & Gene Sullivan
• Mean Woman Blues
• Heartbreak Hotel

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Elvis presley gig timeline.

• Sep 01 1957 Sicks Stadium Seattle, WA, USA Add time Add time
• Sep 02 1957 Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR, USA Add time Add time
• Sep 27 1957 Tupelo Fairgrounds This Setlist Tupelo, MS, USA Add time Add time
• Oct 26 1957 San Francisco Civic Auditorium San Francisco, CA, USA Add time Add time

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Book captures the only time Elvis performed in Vancouver back in 1957

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Elvis Presley performed outside the United States three times, once in Toronto, once in Ottawa, and once in Vancouver 64 years ago.

The King of Rock's Canadian tour stops took place on two days in April 1957 and August 31 the same year and is extensively documented in the recently published book Elvis Presley: ‘All Shook Up’ in Canada. Written by New Westminster-born Brandon Yip, the story offers a fresh interpretation of Elvis’ tour and its culmination at Vancouver’s Empire Stadium.

Befriending through fandom

Yip has been writing about pop culture figures since 2001, having been fascinated by pop culture figures like James Dean and Elvis Presley since high school. Yip describes this fascination as something that resonates with the psyche.

“We don't personally know these ‘pop culture figures,’ but in a way, because we love them so much--they become almost like a friend to us,” Yip said in a recent Q&A with Vancouver Is Awesome. “This goes back to the celebrity worship that we have seen since the deaths of film stars Rudolph Valentino and James Dean--where there was a massive outpouring of grief.”

Yip added the stars are kept alive by fans buying and treasuring any souvenirs as well as the internet preserving their music or movies.

My book about @ElvisPresley and his 1957 Canadian tour is available at #HagerBooks . https://t.co/5nBtVSHr5a #hagerbooks #Kerrisdale #Vancouver #NewBook #Amazon #Elvis #ElvisPresley #theking pic.twitter.com/zbY85DFAe9 — Brandon Yip (@BrandonYip16) July 15, 2021

Preserving the memories

When writing his book, Yip spoke to the late Vancouver impresario Hugh Pickett and Canadian music manager Bruce Allen. Yip also interviewed legendary Vancouver DJ Red Robinson , who emceed the King's 1957 Vancouver concert.

“They were all kind and generous with their time,” Yip said. “Red Robinson was so generous and kind to me. He gave me coffee; and during a pause, after he answered one of my questions, he said to me, ‘You're not drinking your coffee. Is it that bad?’”

Yip added that both Pickett and Allen were gracious with their stories of spending time with the King.

“What I found after interviewing all three men about their interactions with Elvis was that he was a nice, polite young man. He seemed like a regular guy,” Yip said.

Rock 'n' roll's biggest star

After over sixty years, new fans just "Can’t Help Falling In Love" with Presley, a fact Yip credits older generations with as well as, again, the internet.

“He didn't invent rock and roll. But he was rock and roll's biggest star. Elvis also tested the boundaries of how an entertainer should behave on stage,” Yip said. “Elvis had the whole package: the looks, voice, charisma--he had it all. I see so many videos on YouTube showing younger Elvis fans reacting to Elvis' music in a positive way. So, it shows you that Elvis' legacy and appeal continue to endure.”

Elvis Presley: ‘All Shook Up’ in Canada is available for purchase on Amazon , Massy Books , Hager Books and Indigo on Robson Street . 

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1957 .... Elvis Presley's Two Concerts At Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, Were Among Only Five He Ever Performed Outside Of The U.S.A. .... Elvis Poses With 'Miss Toronto 1956' / Judy Welch

.... elvis presley performed in only one other country besides the united states, and that one country is canada. elvis’ appearance in toronto was credited, to the efforts of carol vanderleck, who mailed off a petition with 2,443 signatures asking him to perform in toronto. responsibility rested with another fan, shirley harris, who with the aid of a local radio show collected 2,000 signatures of her own. and it was widely reported in the canadian press that, on a percentage basis, elvis received more fan mail from canada than from anywhere else. but it was vanderleck who colonel tom parker, elvis’s manager, called personally to announce an upcoming concert at maple leaf gardens. with one hit song after another through 1956, elvis skyrocketed in popularity and parker was loathe to continue to give his star property away for free on television. so parker organized a money-making tour in the spring of 1957, starting in chicago and including stops in fort wayne, st. louis, philadelphia, and buffalo. his appearances in toronto and ottawa on this tour — and a subsequent engagement in vancouver, british columbia later that summer—would be elvis’ only live performances outside of the united states in his career. 23,000 attended elvis’s toronto concerts, when the house lights dimmed and a local disc jockey announced elvis’s imminent arrival on-stage, the crowd shrieked at top volume for 30 seconds straight. from floor level to the highest tier, it became a din of shrieks, whistles, feet-stomping and handclapping, lit by the chain lightning of amateur photographers’ flash bulbs. elvis performed most of his hits, all except “blue suede shoes.” he treated the audience to “heartbreak hotel,” “don’t be cruel,” “love me,” “too much,” “that’s when your heartaches begin,” and “all shook up” in between performances elvis rested backstage, lying down in his dressing room for a period and meeting some lucky fans, including vanderleck and harris, whose petitions had led to the concerts in the first place. the second show went much the same as the first, with 15,000 fans now jammed into maple leaf gardens (the largest audience to that point in elvis’ career) the crowd’s hollering once again drowned out the singer and his musicians. he closed the show with “hound dog” and then, an instant after the last notes were played, he was gone. for his own safety, elvis never did encores or lingered at the venue. before the audience could react—still hopeful there’d be a curtain call—he bolted off-stage and into a waiting car. by the time they all realized he wasn’t coming back, he was on a train to ottawa, where he played another doubleheader the next day before returning to the united states .....

Elvis History Blog

Elvis presley in canada rock 'n' roll north of the border.

It’s common knowledge that Canada was the only country outside the United States in which Elvis Presley performed on stage. Citizens of a few other countries were fortunate enough to at least see Elvis. He spent 16 months in Germany on army duty in 1958-60. During that deployment, some French citizens (mostly chorus girls) were able to see him during two trips to Paris. And when his plane stopped briefly to refuel on his way back to the States on March 2, 1960, a fortunate few Scotland residents caught a glimpse of Elvis. 

Only to Canada, though, did Presley take his stage show. For the record, in 1957 Elvis performed two shows at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on April 2, two shows at the Auditorium in Ottawa on April 3, and one show at Empire Stadium in Vancouver on August 31. Although he often expressed a desire to tour in Europe and Australia, he never again performed outside the U.S.

Much has been written elsewhere about the 1957 Canadian shows (including in my own book,  Elvis ’57: The Final Fifties Tours ), so the   focus will be on a few other Presley connections with Canada. First of all, entertainment press reports in 1956 revealed that when Presley exploded on the scene that year, Canada’s youth embraced him with fervor equal to that of American teenagers.

A short article in  Variety  on July 18, 1956, reported that Elvis was being blamed for bad teenage behavior north of the border: “The latest incident was a court appearance of five teenagers held after police raided a beer party where the president of the Ottawa Elvis Presley Fan Club pleaded guilty to participating. When police walked in, Presley pictures were on the walls, Presley disks were on the record players, ‘I Love Elvis’ badges were on blouses and skirts. ‘It’s a pain in the neck,’ said a policeman.”  Variety  further reported that Honorious Belesque, the 18-year-old mayor-elect of Aylmer, Quebec’s “Teen Town” had urged a ban on Presley’s teenage followers. “Belesque favored a more ‘liberal’ trend in music, but said that Presley’s songs are suggestive.” Local jukebox operators, however, were not about to remove the popular Presley records from their machines.

• Elvis records sold at record pace in Canada

The bad press didn’t discourage Canadians from buying Presley’s records, as  Billboard  reported in its December 8, 1956, issue:

“Sales of the Elvis Presley records continue to soar and to set new sales marks. In a country, where the top record usually may hit the 100,000 mark, two of Presley’s biscuits have shot over that mark, with ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ coupling racking up a total exceeding 225,000 in 14 weeks, while Presley’s ‘Love Me Tender’ has spilled out 135,000 in six weeks. Victor says that ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ is probably the biggest single in the history of the company in Canada. Advance orders for the new Presley album, ‘Elvis,’ are pushing around the 30,000 mark, which is considered excellent against the 150,000 total for the whole of the U.S.A.

“Presley is a strange phenomenon for this country. Not only have his record sales broken all previous marks, but dealers credit the interest created by his sales for a boom year for the record industry. For instance, sales of guitars in the Toronto and Montreal areas have boomed, with some dealers reporting that orders are behind as much as six weeks. Fred Roden, operator of the country and western music store in Toronto, said that his guitar sales have been ‘terrific—all due to Presley’ … Presley appeals to the [Canadian] French population as well as the English.”  (Below: Elvis in Ottawa, April 3, 1957)

Elvis’ popularity in Canada resulted in Colonel Parker booking stops in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal on Presley’s spring tour in 1957. When the  Toronto Telegram  learned of his upcoming April 2 appearance in the city, a reporter called Elvis in Memphis to ask him about coming to Canada. The paper reported that Elvis decided to play Toronto after receiving 40,000 Christmas cards from the Toronto area in 1956. “I’ve got a tremendous following up there,” Presley told the reporter. “One girl alone collected 2,000 signatures for me to appear in Toronto.”

After the Toronto shows on April 2, Presley moved on to Ottawa, where he gave a pre-show interview to local DJ Gord Atkinson. Asked his impressions of Canada, Elvis responded, “I was in Toronto last night, and I was very much surprised by how wonderful the people are. How friendly, you know, in this part of the country. I have been wanting to come up here. In fact, when I started looking at the tour, I said, ‘By all means. I want to go to Canada.’ About a year ago, I tried to get them to book a tour up here but I wasn’t well enough known.”

• Church objections caused cancellation of Montreal show

The next day, April 4, Elvis had been scheduled to appear at the arena in Verdun, a suburb of Montreal. However, before the tour had even begun, that show had been cancelled due to various civic concerns. About 500 Montreal teenagers, however, were able to see Elvis’ evening show in Ottawa on April 3, when a special train carried them there and home again that day.

Presley’s controversial show in Vancouver, B.C., on Labor Day weekend in 1957 resulted in a strong backlash from city officials. The crowd in Empire Stadium on August 31 was the second largest crowd Elvis had faced to that point. When thousands spilled out on the field and advanced toward the stage, overwhelming the police officers trying to hold them back, Colonel Parker decided to end the concert early.  Vancouver Province  columnist Hugh Watson reported Elvis’ response to the Vancouver crowd: “Without doubt this was the worst audience I ever played to. Only my first time in Chicago would compare with it. I’d heard that Canadians were a little more rational. Still, they seemed to like it.” (Below: Elvis crowd in Vancouver, B.C., August 31, 1957)

City officials were not as understanding. Several days later,  Vancouver Sun  columnist Jack Wasserman reported, “As far as Pacific National officials are concerned he can’t come back into Empire Stadium. Nor can any other so-called entertainer who appeals to the same type of thing. While officials felt that Elvis was a fine boy and his manager, Col. Tom Parker, was ‘most co-operative,’ they surveyed the scene of the carnage and decreed ‘Never again.’”

In the long run, though, Presley’s influence with young people in Vancouver won out. The size of the crowd that turned out for Elvis helped establish the city as a major destination for most top rock ’n’ roll acts, including The Beatles. “Vancouver was the first city in Canada to launch the brand new music form,” DJ Red Robinson noted. “Vancouver is Canada’s pioneer rock ’n’ roll city and proud of it.”

• Canada radio stations banned Elvis’ Christmas music

It would take awhile, however, for many of Canada’s radio stations to accept Elvis. Within a week of his 1957 appearance in Vancouver, he was in Los Angeles recording his first holiday album. When it was released in December, many American critics were repulsed by Presley’s treatment of some traditional Christmas songs and hymns. It was from radio stations north of the border, however, that “Elvis’ Christmas Album” received the most criticism and banishment from the airwaves. In Vancouver, all six of the town’s radio stations agreed to a proposed ban on Elvis’s holiday recordings.

Radio station CKXL in Calgary also banned Elvis’ album. “Presley’s latest release has, we feel, no place on our station,” said a CKXL spokesman. “We have the album for audition—it speaks for itself. Presley sings the Christmas songs exactly as we expected he would. It is one of the most degrading things we have heard in some time.” He described Presley as “panting” through the hymns “Silent Night” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Another Calgary station, CFCN, denied an official ban, but stated Elvis’ album “would not be played because it happens to be in lousy taste.”

In Toronto, station CFRB banned the album, declaring, “there are better interpretations of Xmas hymns.” Gordon Sinclair, columnist for the  Toronto Star,  condemned Presley’s rock ’n’ roll treatment of Christmas carols. “Only Mahalia Jackson could jazz the hymns,” he said, adding that he disliked censorship, but found Elvis’ treatment of Christmas songs to be “wildly inappropriate.”

The  Canadian Press,  a news gathering organization, surveyed disc jockeys across Canada and found, while many refused to spin any cut on Elvis’ album, other stations planned to play the non-religious songs, like “Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me,” while shying away from the Christmas standards like “Silent Night.” Other stations stated they were waiting for their listeners' views before making a decision on whether or not to play the album.

The nationwide Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, however, took a progressive stand on “Elvis’ Christmas Album.” A spokesman stated, “We have no objection if listeners want to hear the Presley album and CBC disk jockeys want to play the numbers.”

• Elvis never returned to Canada

As the Christmas season of 1957 faded away, so did the Canadian controversy over Elvis’ Christmas album. All the fears of Canada’s elders that Presley would continue to contaminate the country’s youth disappeared in March 1958 when Elvis was drafted into the U.S. army.

When Elvis emerged from the military in 1960, he merged with mainstream pop music and was no longer seen as a threat to the morals of young people in the U.S. and Canada. For a decade, he abandoned stage shows for a Hollywood career. Fans in both countries could only see him perform on the screens of their local theaters.

When he returned to touring again in 1970, many Canadians hoped he would return to play their cities as he had in 1957. He never did. Still, Canadian fans who lived close to the U.S. border had occasional opportunities to see him perform if they were willing to travel south when his show came to northern tier American cities, such as Seattle, Spokane, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Augusta, Niagara Falls, and Duluth. —  Alan Hanson  | © December 2014

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“Without doubt this was the worst audience I ever played to. Only my first time in Chicago would compare with it. I’d heard that Canadians were a little more rational.”   — Elvis Presley after his 1957 show in Vancouver, B.C.