16th October 1954, Saturday

[Graeme]

Day number 7222Site Date Map

Yesterday << 16th October 1954, Saturday >> Tomorrow

      

Back

      

Elvis, Scotty and Bill debut on the Louisianna Hayride.

Frank Page on the right

© Shreveport Times

Elvis performs, That's All Right and Blue Moon Of Kentucky, then repeats both for an encore.

[Private Presley]

Less Cropped

[Private Presley]

October 16, 1954

Shreveport, Louisiana is located strategically at crossroads of Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. In the 1950s, it had a vibrant music scene, much like Memphis. A spirit of racial tolerance prevailed alongside Jim Crowe laws segregating the races. Shreveport was a relatively open city allowing a crossover of black and white music. This atmosphere spawned the Louisiana Hayride, a radio and later television country music show broadcasted from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American country and western music.

On the morning of October 16, 1954, the posse of Elvis, Scotty Moore and Bill Black arrived at Shreveport for their first engagement at the Louisiana Hayride. They had performed at the Eagle’s Nest in Memphis the night before and drove all night to get to Shreveport in what proved to be quite an eventful trip from beginning to end They missed the turnoff in Greenville, Mississippi, because of Bill Black's clowning; later, Scotty Moore almost ran over a team of mules.

Arriving in Shreveport the next morning, they checked into the Captain Shreve Hotel downtown. And with barely enough rest, started the next morning making the rounds of visit that is protocol for all new musicians to the Hayride scene. They had to pay homage to the local ‘influencers’ including T. Tommie Cutrer, a local DJ, who played Elvis' music on his radio show and regaled the boys with stories and promised to get out the word on their concert that evening. Their next stop was to Pappy Covington, the Hayride's grand-fatherly booking agent, who made the boys feel like up-and-coming stars. And, finally, they visited Stan Lewis, owner of Stan Reocrds - the major independent record distributor in the area. They were there to make sure that there was a bin for Elvis Presley.

Elvis was to have two performances that evening. Elvis was in a pink jacket with black shirt and colorful tie, white pants, and two-tone shoes. Scotty Moore and Bill Black were in western shirts. Frank Page, the emcee made the announcement: “Just a few weeks ago a young man from Memphis, Tennessee, recorded a song on the Sun label and, in just a matter of weeks, that record has sky-rocketed right up the charts. It's really doing well all over the country. He is only nineteen years old. He has a new, distinctive style. Elvis Presley.”

While his performance during the first show fell a little flat, maybe due to nerves, stage fright or just because the audience did not know how to react to his very different style. During intermission, Sam Phillips exhorted Elvis to be himself and to loosen up. The second show was different. It was a young crowd hungry for excitement. A huge cheer went up from the first bars of That's Alright Mama. It wasn't country music, it was rock n' roll and the audience loved it. On their feet, clapping and dancing, the crowd rode the thunderous beat. They didn't want Elvis to stop. And in response to the energy emanating from the audience, Elvis gyrated like a dervish, and burned That's Alright Mama and Blue Moon of Kentucky. The Hayride had birthed its greatest star and The Louisiana Hayride became the foundation of Elvis' early rise to stardom.

[Alan]

From the late great Brian Petersens website:-
      

		Memphis Press Scimitar October 20, 1954
Memphis Press Scimitar October 20, 1954