Elvis Presley, Russwood Park, Memphis. July 4, 1956
On the evening of July 4, 1956, Elvis, Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana were tasked with headlining a charity concert at Russwood Park in Memphis in front of an estimated 14,000 fans (although the actual attendance is believed to have been around 10,000) who had waited since early morning to get as close to the stage as possible.
It was a benefit concert for the Cynthia Milk Fund of The Memphis Press-Scimitar and the Variety Club Home for Convalescent Children.
It featured more than 100 artists, who were backed by the Aaron Bluestein and Bob Morris bands, who volunteered to perform at the event, which lasted more than three hours, although the band closed the last half hour. The Jordanaires also flew to Memphis and appeared as surprise guests.
The concert took place two days after the RCA recording sessions and three days after Elvis’ performance on the Steve Allen Show on TV in New York, where he had to accept the sad fact of performing in a way that was humiliating for him, in order to show himself to the puritanical and conservative society of the time as someone he was not.
Elvis felt very humiliated by the treatment he received in New York, so he decided to perform this concert without any impositions or censorship and to present himself to his audience as he really was.
Dewey Phillips hosted the show while local police, firefighters and the Coast Guard provided security. Elvis was taken to the park in a patrol car, but when fans learned of his arrival, they mobbed the vehicle.
When he finally made it on stage, Elvis appeared imposingly dressed all in black, except for his tie and socks, which were red. Madness broke out as fans rose from their seats and piled up chaotically at the foot of the stage. As an entrance fee, he gave them a $600 gold ring with his initials encrusted with 14 diamonds. At one point during the concert, when Elvis acted with absolute joy and self-assurance after the humiliation he had suffered in New York, he turned to the crowd and said: “You know those people in New York are not going to change me at all. I’m going to show them what the real Elvis is like tonight.”
Elvis put on an impressive show and thrilled and drove his audience crazy, singing and moving as he had always done.
The concert repertoire was as follows: “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Mystery Train”, “I Got a Woman”, “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” and “I Was the One”, “Long Tall Sally”, “Blue Suede Shoes” and would end the concert with the song that had created a scandal in society: “Hound Dog”. His performance lasted about half an hour.
At the end of the show, Elvis left, escorted by heavy security measures, including police and coastal patrols, but still, the fans attacked the car again…but Elvis smiled as the car made its way through the crowd. He was happy, he was with his people, with his family, who accompanied him to the concert, he was at home, and he had obtained a triumph and an acknowledgement that he would never forget. A glorious night in his career.
The concert raised around $13,500 for charities. From Memphis to eternity.
Article written and provided by Rosa García Mora. https://www.facebook.com/rosa.garciamora.12
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