Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sports Arena
Friday April 5th 1957 7.00pm and 9.00 pm
Saturday April 6th 1957 2.30 pm and 8.00 pm
The Press conference takes place in the Sports Arena Interview room, April 5th around 6.00pm. Elvis sits on a table (and ignores the prepared chair for him) He wears a black velvet shirt, black suit with white shoes and socks. George Klien can be seen far left of the image.
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Elvis: “I haven't got to the point where I'm completely at ease with this sort of thing"
Reporter: "How long can you stay atop the music world?"
Elvis: “I don't know whether I am going to last, my future is uncertain, but I simply take one day at a time, and take whatever comes with each".
Reporter: “Do you think people will come to see you in five years from now?"
Elvis: "I won't predict the future, they may not, people get tired of you, you don't stay hot forever"
Reporter: "Do you believe yours, or any kind of music could cause juvenile delinquency?"
Elvis: "The kids might dance and yell a bit, but they aren't robbing anybody"
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel**
Reporter: "Is there a special girl in your life Elvis?"
Elvis: “There is none-period, I wouldn't object to getting married,"
Reporter: "How about to one of your fans?"
Elvis: "Yeh, I would just to have to fall in love with somebody"
Reporter: "What quality would you look for?"
Elvis: "Female"
Elvis lent forward, whilst sat on the desk, and a large medallion was dangling from his neck, which fell out of his open shirt "That? It was given to me last Thursday night in Ottawa, what its significance is I wouldn't know". Elvis also mentioned that a girl had given him the medallion.
(The medallion was almost certainly given to Elvis, by a fan at the afternoon Press conference on Wednesday 3rd, Ottawa)
At this point, the interview stopped while Jeanne Mount, fourteen year old from Philadelphia presented Elvis with a small brown and white teddy bear.
"Thank you" replied Elvis as he then went on to explain that he had a collection of over two hundred stuffed animals.
The Elvis Presley Game was manufactured under license from Elvis Presley Enterprises by 'Teen-Age Games Inc. based in West Springfield Massachusetts. It looks like an executive from the games company has travelled the relatively short journey to present Elvis with the new 1957 release.
A screen grab from a short 16mm film segment from April 5th 1957 has surfaced, in which Elvis can be seen with and without his guitar, laughing to the camera in the same room as the press conference, and is supposedly some kind of 'Screen Test for the movie Jailhouse Rock'. I have doubts about this because a screen test done by a company like MGM would have more than likely been shot on 35mm. The chap who Elvis hands his guitar is unknown, but is not Director Richard Thorpe. It can be seen on 'Elvis The Great Performances Centre Stage' and 'Elvis Presley - Hot Shots & Cool Clips Vol. 3' trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g-pSA78flU
A group of high school newspaper reporters interview Elvis, April 5th 1957 (TUL, Urban Archives, Philadelphia/Elvis 57 Alan Hanson)
Questions were: "Is it true you can't get married before you're twenty three-that it's in your contract?", "What are your most memorable high school experiences? (no answer from Elvis) well didn't you have any?
Question: What do you think of your first movie?
Elvis: "It was pretty horrible; acting’s not something you learn overnight. I knew that picture was bad when it was completed. I'm my own worst critic, but my next picture is different, I know I done better job in it"
Question from Rochelle: What about the future?
Elvis: "I just take every day as it comes, I don't plan too far ahead, there’ll be record albums of course and movies too, don’t know any more, maybe I'll go back to driving a truck"
From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, April 6th 1957,'Press Conference: High School Reporters Keep their Poise Interviewing Elvis'
Elvis and Jimmy Velvet backstage, April 5th 1957, Philadelphia Sports Arena.
Jimmy Velvet: After meeting Elvis again in 1956, I wound up joining the Air Force. Sometime after basic training, I was stationed at Mitchell Air Force Base on Long Island. When Elvis was playing in Philadelphia at the arena. I took the train over, and I wore a jacket he had given me-a plaid jacket. I was trying real hard to get backstage, and they wouldn't let me, even though I had a backstage pass Elvis had signed. It said: 'This will admit bearer backstage at any time, Elvis Presley Show’, signed by Elvis. I think the message was rubber-stamped or something. It wasn't very official looking. They wouldn't let me in, but I kept trying, finally I got a guy to take back to Elvis some pictures of him and me together and the pass he had given me. Elvis sent for me, and I went back.
I took pictures that night with Elvis, I don't know whatever happened to those pictures, but I do have some of Elvis' band members- Bill Black, D.J. Fontana, Scotty Moore.
D.J. Fontana, Scotty Moore, Jimmy Velvet holding the guitar that Elvis would use on stage and Bill Black lost in thought backstage on the evening of 5th April 1957, Philadelphia Sports Arena.
Details of the guitar that Elvis used on this tour here:
http://scottymoore.net/56J200.html
The Jordanaires entertain the crowd, before the main attraction arrives 'ELVIS PRESLEY'. The Orchestra was integrated by 6 lead musicians who were travelling with the show, the Musical Director of the shows was Al Dvorin, who was also part of the touring group and can be seen on the right of the image.
Jerry Gaghan Daily News: "What this audience may have lacked in size and maturity it more than made up in noise and sustained frenzy, Anticipating Elvis' arrival, the crowd rose and cheered wildly with each introduction in the series of opening acts.
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Elvis about to enter the stage, 5th April 1957 Philadelphia Sports Arena / Photo Jimmy Velvet
James Smart from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin “Elvis hung a guitar over his neck. Then there followed a half hour of rubber legged gyrations as he poured rock 'n' roll lyrics into a microphone, thrusting arms and knees at the audience. Every new gesture and wiggle brought a variance in pitch from the howl of the audience, mostly young girls. It was rare that a word could be discerned even those standing only a few feet from the stage."
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel**
LINDA DEUTSCH 2002 "When I was just a kid, a voice on the radio changed my life and American music forever. It was Elvis Presley singing "Heartbreak Hotel." I started a fan club, the official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Asbury Park and dreamed of going to Memphis to see The King. "I never met Elvis but I did see him in person once, which was a powerful experience. In 1957 we heard that Elvis was performing in Philadelphia and we persuaded Carol's mother to take us on a bus to see the concert.
It was a scene of incredible pandemonium with kids fainting and screaming. When Elvis came onstage, the building shook with screams as if an earthquake (news - web sites) had struck. It had. It was Elvis in black leather singing songs that could barely be heard above the roar.
We were the fan club and we thought we'd have great seats. But, alas, we wound up in nosebleed heaven. Elvis was a remote, wiggling figure far, far away from us. But when I looked at my friend Carol, tears were streaming down her face.
"Carol, what's wrong?" I asked. “HE LOOKED AT ME!" she exclaimed. I would always cite that as an example of the Elvis magic. Everyone thought he looked at them"
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel*
LINDA DEUTSCH tells the same story 'Kingman Daily Minor August 19 1977 'I was an Elvis Presley Fan'
(Linda Deutsch later became a legal correspondent for the Associated Press in L.A.)
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel*
Fifty policeman and fifteen female officers were on duty inside the Arena for the four shows under the guidance of Captain Harry Fox, whilst Sixty five highway patrolmen and foot officers worked the area around the arena directed by Inspector Maurice Pilner.
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel**
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel**
Ben Weisman went to the Saturday evening 8.00pm performance: Elvis gave a concert in Philadelphia and I went to see it I just watched the crowd, the place was mobbed, girls with their feet dangling down from the balconies-everybody going crazy. I sat there and said "Look at this! This is a phenomenon! As a matter of fact while I was sitting there, a tomato went hurling through the air-Elvis was on stage, and it hit and broke the strap on his guitar. He was furious! He stopped his show and said "Hey, wait a minute! If somebody's got a problem up there, why don't you just come down here and we'll work it out" Elvis was going to take the guy on, but whoever threw it, wouldn’t come down from the balcony. He sure got booed.
The Sunday Bulletin reported: "Elvis' face darkened into a frown, but he managed to finish his song 'All Shook Up’, then with his eyes flashing, he pointed to Scotty Moore and addressed the crowd. He got egg on his guitar; whoever threw that will never make the Yankees. After a moment's pause, which did not cool his ire, the singer again faced the crowd "Most of you people came here to enjoy the show, the guy who threw the egg will never make it. I mean it, Jack; we're just trying to put on a nice show,"
The guilty were William Quinn, 20 New York City who said "We don't like Elvis, but we went to see what he is like”, William B Oates, 21 of Brooklyn, James Stark, 20 of Greenport, New York and John Eidt, 20 of New York City-who spent the night in jail"
Photo Robert Coldwell /Ger J. Rijff Jan Van Gestel*
Jimmy Velvet: Elvis' show was unbelievable, I had never seen anything like it, I mean Jacksonville wasn't anything like this. There were so many kids there climbing over each other it was amazing. The screaming you never heard anything, the screaming never stopped, but he didn't have to hear very much, he felt it. I remember it well, before I left for the concert, everybody at the base was kidding me, “No you're not going to go over there, you’re not going to get in". I went back with some fresh pictures, and everybody went crazy over them, it was fun.
George Klein: When we got home, Gladys said, 'Elvis, what happened in Philadelphia? What happened in Cleveland, What happened in Chicago? Elvis said, “Mama, I can't remember anything, it's all a blur, all these places look alike to me, George knows everything about every show in every city, ask him"
James Smart from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin “There were a few breaks when Elvis sang something more sentimental, clutching the microphone close to his lips and staggering around the stage. Even when he recited tenderly a few lines of 'That's When Your Heartaches Begin’, he was drowned out by the crowd. ‘As he sang 'Love Me' girls throughout the arena stood up and stretched out their arms toward the stage, Elvis grinned and kept singing.
James Smart from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin “Some held their hands to their sides of their heads as though the ecstasy of seeing Elvis was sweetly painful. One girl stopped screaming, sat down and wept quietly as Elvis concluded his concert with 'You Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog"
Jerry Gagham from the Daily News "When he went into an arm-flailing, hip-wiggling, floor-crawling finale with 'Hound Dog' the hysterical mob broke out of its seats. Fortunately, there were enough cops and plainclothesmen guarding every aisle to get them all back again"
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Photo United Press. Philadelphia teen Penny Taylor witnessed the Saturday show from her front-row seat. At the start of Presley's show, Penny constrained her passion by chewing on her Elvis fan club hat. Later she could be seen crying into the hat, and as her idol finished his act and made his gateway, she slipped off her chair to the floor in a state of exhaustion
Photo by HARRIS RADIN
Saturday April 6th 1957, 2.30pm/8.00pm. To my knowledge the only image to come from either of Saturday’s performances, which one is unclear. Alan Hanson's book says "Saturday afternoon and evening shows were more of the same. Presley was back wearing his gold jacket and shoes, along with a white satin shirt (black shirt above) and black pants. Elvis In Gold book by Joseph A. Tunzi JAT states on page 107 that Elvis wore the gold jacket on April 5 evening, April 6 afternoon and April 6 evening. Nothing conclusive
Santo: My first "concert" was when Elvis first came to Philadelphia in the 50's. He wore his gold suit* for the evening show. It looked like a lightning storm with all the flashes going off. My dad and mom came and I was trying to film the show with his 16mm camera. The only thing that came out on the film was snap shots of Elvis whenever there was enough light from the flashbulbs. I clipped those pieces of film years later and took them to a photo shop but the fellow said they would not come out.^
Joseph P. Barrett Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin : The final Saturday evening performance drew a seemingly older crowd than had Elvis' three previous shows, there were more couples on dates and more parents with children, there was hundreds of teen-age girls, too, and they accompanied Presley with their customary ear-piercing shrieks. The show finished around 10.15pm with Elvis making a quick exit in front of the 5,329 crowd ( the largest crowd of the two day four show run)
Davide
Clean up before and after
Any contributions or corrections would be great
* These images appear in the out of print book 'Fire In The Sun ' Ger J. Rijff/Jan Van Gestel Tutti Frutti productions, and images ** are uncropped in the book.
With thanks to Elvis 57 The Final Fifties Tours by Alan Hanson
^http://www.ibiblio.org/elvis/frameright.html
+thanks to the fool
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