29th October 1954, Friday

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Graeme
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29th October 1954, Friday

Post by Graeme » Thu Nov 19, 2015 1:17 pm

Day number 7235Site Date Map
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The date partially seen for the Eddy Arnold show is Sunday Oct 31. As this is an up and coming date and the ad for Elvis is "Tonite" I've determined the ad was published on this day, Friday October 29th. It is possible it could be from the following day as Elvis played the Eagles Nest both nights.
The two ads appearing next to one another are a coincidence with the story that goes with them:
'Last Train to Memphis' by Peter Guralnick wrote:That Friday night Bob Neal bought a visitor out to the club. Oscar Davis, known as the Baron of the Box Office, was a flamboyant fifty-year-old veteran of the vaudeville, carnival, and country circuits. With his jaunty boutonniere and elegant cigarette holder, his drawling Boston accent and his habit of fixing his listener in his gaze and focusing all of his considerable charm upon him or her, he could boast truthfully that he had spent more money than many millionaires had ever made, which was one reason that he was perennially broke. A true bon vivant, he lived up to the advertising slogan he used for every show that he promoted: DON'T YOU DARE MISS IT!
Colonel Tom Parker had split from Eddy Arnold.......
'Last Train to Memphis' by Peter Guralnick wrote:Part of terms of his severance with Arnold were that he [Parker] would continue to book Arnold on a regional basis, and to that end he had set up a ten-day tour of the mid South in the fall of 1954. Memphis was the fifth date of that tour.
      In the course of his Memphis travels, Oscar stopped by the WMPS studio to cut some spots for the show that afternoon and,
as was his wont, asked Bob Neal what was going on around town. Neal, who had his finger in a number of pies, gave him a rapid rundown and then happened to mention this young singer, Elvis Presley, with whom he had an upcoming tour. Oscar had heard of Elvis, there was quite a stir about the boy, and he wondered if there might not be a chance to see the kid - maybe he or Tom could do something for him. As a matter of fact, said Neal, the boy happened to be playing out as the Eagle's Nest that night: why didn't they just drive out together and catch the show?
      Elvis, Scotty and Bill were thrilled to meet this larger-than-life character with his stories of the big time, the glamourous world that they could only read about in fan magazines like #country Song roundup and Country & Western Jamboree. Davis cut quite a figure in the rough-and-tumble atmosphere of the club, and when he invited Elvis to stop by the show at Ellis Auditorium on Sunday - he would be back in town by then after travelling to Nashville the next day and advancing the upcoming Monday and Tuesday shows there - Elvis jumped at the chance. Maybe, Mr. Davis suggested, he would even be able to introduce Elvis to Eddy Arnold, who was always interested in new talent.

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