When Elvis Presley came to Houston: Another cool article for Elvis' 36th anniversary - this time from 'The Texan'...
Today marks 36 years since Elvis Presley died at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn.. The rock idol was only 42 years old when he went to the great gig in the sky on August 16, 1977.
In honor of the anniversary of the King’s passing some great video and pictorial documents of Elvis’ visits to Houston that exist in our archives.
It was reported by Billboard that at an April 2, 1955, stop at City Auditorium for a "Louisiana Hayride" remote broadcast, 2,000 people were turned away. Presley was on the bill with Slim Whitman. The next day his pink Cadillac was stopped for speeding in Shreveport.
Elvis played two shows on October 13, 1956, at the long-gone Sam Houston Coliseum too, which we have a few pics from. Chronicle reviewer Dick De Pugh called Presley "the greasy, side-burned hillbilly," solidifying Presley’s rock and roll street cred for sure for the 8,000 fans there. The writer though, knew the titles to Presley’s songs.
He ended his review succinctly with "No one fainted. No one was injured."
After 1957, he dived into the U.S. Army, the movies, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, chicks, and other kingly pursuits before touring the U.S. again in 1970.
He kicked off that tour with six of those shows — two a day — opening the 1970 38th Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He would play in front of over 200,000 fans under the Dome, and stay at a $2,500 a night suite at the AstroWorld Hotel, which was claimed to be the most expensive in the world at the time.
Go HERE for the great article - lots of photos from 1970 as well as later visits in 1974 and 1976
source: The Texican and Elvis Information Network - http://www.elvisinfonet.com
Today marks 36 years since Elvis Presley died at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn.. The rock idol was only 42 years old when he went to the great gig in the sky on August 16, 1977.
In honor of the anniversary of the King’s passing some great video and pictorial documents of Elvis’ visits to Houston that exist in our archives.
It was reported by Billboard that at an April 2, 1955, stop at City Auditorium for a "Louisiana Hayride" remote broadcast, 2,000 people were turned away. Presley was on the bill with Slim Whitman. The next day his pink Cadillac was stopped for speeding in Shreveport.
Elvis played two shows on October 13, 1956, at the long-gone Sam Houston Coliseum too, which we have a few pics from. Chronicle reviewer Dick De Pugh called Presley "the greasy, side-burned hillbilly," solidifying Presley’s rock and roll street cred for sure for the 8,000 fans there. The writer though, knew the titles to Presley’s songs.
He ended his review succinctly with "No one fainted. No one was injured."
After 1957, he dived into the U.S. Army, the movies, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, chicks, and other kingly pursuits before touring the U.S. again in 1970.
He kicked off that tour with six of those shows — two a day — opening the 1970 38th Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He would play in front of over 200,000 fans under the Dome, and stay at a $2,500 a night suite at the AstroWorld Hotel, which was claimed to be the most expensive in the world at the time.
Go HERE for the great article - lots of photos from 1970 as well as later visits in 1974 and 1976
source: The Texican and Elvis Information Network - http://www.elvisinfonet.com
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