19th December 1955, Monday

[Graeme]

Day number 7651Site Date Map

Yesterday << 19th December 1955, Monday >> Tomorrow

      

Back

      

[Private Presley]

One night a year, the wrestlers would stage a benefit show, dividing the proceeds between the two newspapers charities - the Memphis Press-Scimitar's Goodfellows, which annually gave out toys and new clothes to the underprivileged children of Memphis; and the Commercial Appeal's Basket Fund, which gave basket of groceries to needy Memphians.

At 8:00 p.m. in Memphis, Elvis Presley made what may have been the most unusual appearance of his career. The show was held at Ellis Auditorium to benefit the Memphis Press-Scimitar's Goodfellows Fund and the Commercial-Appeal's American Legion Basket Fund. Elvis Presley and the Blue Moon Boys, along with Slim Rhodes and his Mountainaires and other musical artists, provided the singing introduction for an "all-star wrestling program". Rhodes opened with a thirty-minute set.

He was followed by the Dixie Dolls, four tap dancers, who preceded 15-year old Jo Haynes, who twirled her baton to a pre-recorded jazz number. The master of ceremonies was Trent Wood of WCMT, a radio station owned by the Commercial-Appeal. The benefit received preevent coverage in both the Commercial-Appeal and the Press Scimitar. It is not clear whether all the music was presented before the first wrestling bout, or whether Rhodes performed first with Dixie Doll and Miss Haynes appearing between the three matches, and the "whole shebang" wrapped up by Elvis Presley's show. The event was promoted by Les Wolfe. Believe it or not, this was the seventh annual occurrence of Wolfe's "Christmas charity wrestling musical show".

When Jo Haynes come on, they had to put some plywood on the canvas mat so she could perform properly. Elvis spotted the youngster backstage, struck up a conversation, then asked her out for a date. She said she would have to get her mother's permission before she could accept.

"I had just done a show with Bill Haley and the Comets", said Haynes. "I had danced to "Rock Around The Clock" and "Shake, Rattle And Roll". I was appearing on the Top Ten Dance Party with Wink Martindale on WHBQ-TV. When it came my time to go into that ring, I danced to "Steam Heat", twirling a baton, and at the end of my dance I set the baton on fire and tossed it into the air, catching it as it came down. That was really something then".

Elvis Presley had asked her to accompany him to Jim's Steak House, or to a movie, after the benefit, but she was cool to the idea, for one "because I was going to a slumber party after the show, the reason he kept his collar turned up was because he had pimples all over his neck. I was sixteen at the time and this was important", said Haynes.

When Elvis Presley came on, Jo Haynes pointed to him in the ring and told her mother this was the boy who had asked her out on a date. "I told her right away she couldn't go", said mama Haynes. "the boy had pimples on his face". As if the pimples weren't bad enough, as Elvis performed, he awkwardly told a couple of off-colour jokes, prompting Mrs. Haynes to tell her daughter, "Don't you listen to that". One who remembers that night well is Benjamin Armour, a retired Air Force sergeant. "I was being transferred from Korea to South Carolina", said Armour. "Stopped off in Memphis en route to Donaldson Air Force Base. My father-in-law was a big wrestling fan and so I went there with him. We sat on the front row of the balcony, sort of leaning over the rail. After all the wrestling was finished, Elvis Presley got in that ring. He had that guitar with the hand-tooled leather 'Elvis' on it".

"Elvis was the best performer that evening. He really had the crowd with him. He banged on that guitar to hard he broke every string on it. Then he laid it down in the ring and kept right on going", said Armour.

[Alan]

From the late, great, Brian Petersen's website...
      

Hill-Billy Star To Be Featured In Charity Show

      

Memphis´ own hill-billy singing star - Elvis Presley - will head-line the variety part of Les Wolfe´s seventh annual Christ-mas charity wrestling - musical show at the Auditorium tonight.              The Memphis boy has become one of the top favorites in the nation in two years. Only a few weeks ago he signed a long-term recording contract with RCA.              Slim Rhodes and his Moun-taineers will open the charity event at 8 p.m. with a 30-min-ute concert, featuring the sing-ing antics of Speck Rhodes.              The Dixie Dolls, four glamor-ous gals with dancing feet, will present a mambo number. They are Peggy Holden, Reesie White, Charlotte Morgan and Dottie Lee.

Sharing the spotlight with the experienced entertainers will be 15-year-old Jo Haynes of White-haven, who will present a mod-ern jazz number and twirl a fire baton.              Trent Wood, staff announcer of WMCT, The Commercial Ap-peal television station, will be master of ceremonies of the va-riety program.              All proceeds from tonight´s show will be divided between The Commercial Appeal-Ameri-can Legion Christmas Basket Fund and the Memphis Press- Scimitar Goodfellows.              Tickets will be on sale at 9 this morning at Florsheim´s, Main and Madison.