{"id":2111,"date":"2017-08-24T15:50:01","date_gmt":"2017-08-24T15:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2017-08-25T18:08:21","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T18:08:21","slug":"girls-mobbed-elvis-from-missouri-to-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/?p=2111","title":{"rendered":"1956: Girls Mob Elvis from Missouri to New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eighth in A Series<\/em><\/p>\n

By Matt Chaney, for ChaneysBlog.com<\/p>\n

Posted Thursday, August 24, 2017<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a92017 for historical arrangement by Matthew L. Chaney<\/p>\n

Screaming girls confronted Elvis Presley in the South by early 1955, signaling his popularity. In southwest Texas his name wasn\u2019t yet electric, \u201cbut his star was already destined to rise heavenward,\u201d reporter Sam Kindrick later recalled. \u201cHe had that indefinable charisma which turns female innards to mush, female knees to rubber, and sends them into a hysterical state of screeching woozels. When he finished his performance in the Alpine High School auditorium, girls were hoisting their dresses so that Presley could autograph their petticoats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cfirst Presley riot\u201d concluded a show in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 13. \u00a0Elvis kidded about meeting every girl backstage so a mob chased him there, scaring his mother in the audience. That summer females tore away his shirts, including at the B&B Club in Bootheel Missouri. Soon Presley signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and sold a million copies of his Heartbreak Hotel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Elvis starred on national television, easily passed a Hollywood screen test, and fan madness escalated. \u201cWherever he appears, screaming crowds of teen-age girls make his entrances and exits a test of strength\u2026,\u201d The United Press reported from New York City in spring 1956, \u201cand the young rock-n-roll hillbilly, or \u2018rockabilly,\u2019 invariably ends up minus a jacket, shirt and tie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Presley said, \u201cIt\u2019s all happening so fast that some nights I just can\u2019t fall asleep. It scares me, you know. It just scares me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weeks later, he showed up shirtless for a press conference in Kansas City, Mo. \u201cElvis wore a thin sport jacket, gray with black flecks in it,\u201d reported The Kansas City Star Times<\/em>, \u201cand otherwise was entirely buff bare above the waist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabid fans necessitated the style, claimed Presley. \u201cThese people, teenagers mostly, kept tearing my shirt off\u2014just had to quit wearing \u2019em,\u201d said the 21-year-old heartthrob. \u201cNever wear a necktie, of course. It can be dangerous\u2014some girl grabbing at my neck could choke me. Never wear a belt. Seems like that\u2019s what they go for next to neckties.\u201d Presley said fans removed watches and rings from him. \u201cThey strip anything off me if they get a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The paper described Presley as \u201crather handsome. He has big, solemn eyes [of] gray-green, long brown hair cut ducktail and long sideburns.\u201d Presley declined to smile for a photographer, \u201cbrooding\u201d instead for the shot.<\/p>\n

A newsman posed:\u00a0\u201cNow you\u2019re in the big time and in the big money. How does it feel to be mobbed by teen-agers everywhere you go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, I wouldn\u2019t say I get mobbed,\u201d Presley continued at the airport presser. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call a bunch of teenagers a mob. I\u2019d just say they get very excited. They\u2019re excitable\u2026 like down in Tulsa a few weeks ago they threw rocks to break out the windows so they could get at me. But when they get inside they only want to shake hands with me, get an autograph or maybe tear off some of my clothes for souvenirs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, about being in the big time. It\u2019s really great but I\u2019m more nervous than I used to be… After a show I go up the alley to my hotel and in through a back door\u2026 so people can\u2019t contact me. I got to get a little rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reporter noted that girls chased Presley far more than pop icons Frank Sinatra and Johnny Ray, previously.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t just know how big they went for Sinatra or Johnny Ray,” Elvis responded. “I hate to say how big they go for me. It would sound like bragging. I guess it\u2019s because I sing rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, and rock \u2019n\u2019 roll is so hot right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shrieking females\u00a0greeted Elvis at Kansas City Municipal Auditorium on May 24, 1956, when he took the stage with guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist Bill Black and drummer D.J. Fontana. The music started and Presley went into action. \u201cBetween gyrations, Elvis jigs across the stage dragging the microphone after him and leaning at almost horizontal angles,\u201d Bill Moore reported for The Star Times<\/em>. \u201cHe whangs the daylights out of a guitar. He shouts and moans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The few policemen on hand sensed a bad situation. \u201cPolice gathered on the stage,\u201d Moore recounted. \u201cOthers strode at a sort of a dog trot around the sides, attempting to herd the girls back\u2014gently but just sort of firmly\u2026 Elvis got through four or five songs before the roof finally fell in. A girl got past the police, bounced up on the stage, and hugged and kissed her panting [idol]. A policeman got her off again, but the signal for the avalanche was on\u2026 [kids] poured over the front and over the sides of the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United Press reported: \u201cRock and roll singer Elvis Presley and his band just gave up and quit in the middle of their show\u2026 hundreds of teenagers rushed up onto the stage, threw his drummer into the orchestra pit, tore a bright red coat off Presley, and damaged band equipment. Lights were quickly turned out and Presley and his crew escaped further danger from the crowd of mostly girls who reduced [Black\u2019s] upper clothing to a collar of shred-like tassels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore watched Presley flee, with or without his side men. \u201cElvis fought his way clear of the hysterical swarm of teen-age girls that broke through the police lines, then he jumped into a motor car parked in the corridor backstage, and was off like a frightened gazelle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elvis escapade, only the latest to make headlines, amused entertainment columnist Dorothy Kilgallen in New York. \u201cElvis Presley\u2019s brain trust is having a harder time keeping his name out of the papers than getting it in these days\u2014the crown prince of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll leads such a colorful life and has such impetuous admirers,” Kilgallen declared.<\/p>\n

Presley had rare places to hide by Thanksgiving 1956. Not even in delta southeast Missouri, around relatives, could the pop superstar enjoy privacy. Holiday dinner for the Presley family was foiled, at least for Elvis to attend. Relatives were notified he couldn\u2019t leave Memphis for the get-together at Sikeston, where the negative development dampened \u201cconsiderable excitement,\u201d according to a local newspaper.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, girls, maybe another time,\u201d the reporter cracked.<\/p>\n

Not likely. Now Presley starred in movies, banking his first million dollars. People pursued him everywhere, media and all sorts, including sanctimonious preachers who condemned rock music. Fan mail brought 10,000 letters a week. Girls at Springfield, Mo., were irate to learn Presley had stopped\u00a0in town on\u00a0a train without public notice; a reporter who’d kept the secret in exchange for an interview received 300 nasty letters.<\/p>\n

Elvis stalkers reached family members, who learned silence regarding the reclusive celebrity. Personal information about Elvis, like his coming and going, was becoming family confidential from Mississippi to Missouri.<\/p>\n

If the public Elvis were gone along Highway 61, his effect carried on in southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas. Presley\u2019s former local presence and his exploding publicity\u2014national spotlight, global fame in ’56\u2014left lasting impact in the upper delta. More young males passed over activities like ball sports to concentrate on music.<\/p>\n

A New York marketer joked he might\u00a0move to Memphis and “open a used guitar lot.”<\/p>\n

Series continues soon at ChaneysBlog.com<\/em><\/p>\n

Select References<\/strong><\/p>\n

706 Union Avenue Sessions. (Accessed 2017, Aug. 24). www.706UnionAvenue.com.<\/p>\n

Bass, M.R. (1956, Sept. 18). The Lively Arts. Berkshire Eagle<\/em> MA, p. 16.<\/p>\n

Belser, E. (1956, March 30). Elvis Presley and His Guitar Locate Success. Corsicana Daily Sun<\/em> TX, p. 3.<\/p>\n

Eisenberg, D.D. (1974, July 4). Elvis Presley: Star and Country Boy Still. Burlington Daily Times-News<\/em> NC, p. 41.<\/p>\n

Elvis Will Not Be Here. (1956, Nov. 21). Sikeston Daily Standard<\/em> MO, p. 4.<\/p>\n

Fans Mourn Elvis. (1977, Aug. 17). Sikeston Daily Standard<\/em> MO, pp. 1, 16.<\/p>\n

Gardner, H. (1956, Nov. 6). Coast To Coast. New York Herald Tribune<\/em>, p. 13.<\/p>\n

Jennings, C.R. (1968, Feb. 18). Elvis Lives! Los Angeles Times<\/em>, p. M28.<\/p>\n

Johns, P. (2016, May 26). Elvis Comes to The Ozarks. Bolivar Herald-Free Press<\/em> MO [online].<\/p>\n

Kilgallen, D. (1956, June 4). Elvis Keeps Brain Trust Rocking. Washington Post<\/em>, p. 32.<\/p>\n

Kindrick, S. (1972, March 16). Offbeat: It\u2019ll Be a Madhouse When Presley Appears. San Antonio Express<\/em> TX, p. 22.<\/p>\n

Lloyd, J. (1977, June 5). Elvis Presley: The Once and Past King. Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram<\/em> CA, p. 40.<\/p>\n

May 13, 1955\u2014Jax Fans Chase Elvis After Show, Tear Off His Clothes. (Access 2017, Aug. 24). www.FloridaHistoryNetwork.com.<\/p>\n

Million Sellers Launch Legend of a Heartbreaker. (1977, Aug. 20). San Antonio Express<\/em> TX, p. 4.<\/p>\n

Moore, B. (1956, May 22). Cool, Man, Especially Minus Shirt: To Keep Teen-Agers From Ripping Them Off, Singer Elvis Presley Just goes Without. Kansas City Times<\/em> MO, pp. 1, 2.<\/p>\n

Moore, B. (1956, May 25). Rolls When They Rock: Elvis Presley Flees to Car After 20 Minutes On Stage. Kansas City Time<\/em>s MO, pp. 1A, 2A.<\/p>\n

Presley Says He\u2019s Scared. (1956, May 14). Monroe County News<\/em> IA, p. 8.<\/p>\n

Robertson, H. (1957, Oct. 23). Presley Families Shudder When Telephone Rings. Harrisburg Daily Register<\/em> IL, p. 7.<\/p>\n

Ross, D. (1956, Nov. 11). Long-Haired Idol of Bobby-Soxers. New York Herald Tribune<\/em>, p. D1.<\/p>\n

Teenagers Mob, Break Up Show of Elvis Presley. (1956, May 25). Monroe News-Star<\/em> LA, p. 10.<\/p>\n

Wilson, E. (1958, Jan. 14). It Happened Last Night. Newsday<\/em>, p. 4C.<\/p>\n

Wood, D. (1956, April 19). Presley Leaves\u2019Em Limp\u20148,000 Squeal at 1st<\/sup> Show. Tulsa World<\/em>, pp. B1, B7.<\/p>\n

Matt Chaney is a writer and consultant in Missouri, USA. For more information visit\u00a0<\/em>www.fourwallspublishing.com.\u00a0Email:\u00a0<\/em>mattchaney@fourwallspublishing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eighth in A Series By Matt Chaney, for ChaneysBlog.com Posted Thursday, August 24, 2017 Copyright \u00a92017 for historical arrangement by Matthew L. Chaney Screaming girls confronted Elvis Presley in the South by early 1955, signaling his popularity. In southwest Texas his name wasn\u2019t yet electric, \u201cbut his star was already destined to rise heavenward,\u201d reporter … Continue reading 1956: Girls Mob Elvis from Missouri to New York<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[283,374],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ywFp-y3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2111"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2155,"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111\/revisions\/2155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fourwallspublishing.com\/BlogMChaney\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}