Elvis Blog – Post #5

DATELINE: Amelia Island (near Jacksonville, Florida)
Remembering Tuesday 31 July 2012

ELVIS QUOTE:
“Mama could never do enough for me. She took me to all those church meetings every Sunday to make sure I didn’t ever go wrong.”

ELVIS TRIVIA:
In which movie did Elvis first appear with dyed black hair?

ELVIS HISTORY:
Saturday 31 July 1954
Elvis plays the Bon Air in Memphis, not for the first time. He was dating Dixie Locke who had never seen the clubs where he performed—until he forgot his coat. She got a look at the place when they went back to get it.

At this time Elvis was not proficient on the guitar. He had an ear for music, however, and Sam Phillips taught him some chord changes. He got better as time went on…

The story of the store where Gladys bought Elvis’s first guitar is well known. I visited the Tupelo Hardware Co. in June 2011. The store had a duct tape X on the floor where he stood. There was a skit with a really cute boy in overalls and a woman wearing a house dress carrying a little purse over her arm.
They discussed the purchase for Elvis’s tenth birthday.
Her line: “You can’t have a gun, Elvis. I’m sorry.”
His line: “That’s all right, Mama.”
Not a dry eye in the house.

I was reminded that to get to that hardware store they had to walk a long way from East Tupelo…The store was founded in 1926 and owned and managed by the fourth generation of the Booth family. It doesn’t look as if the working hardware store has changed much since that time…I asked for a wide-mouth funnel and the clerk went right to it, among the floor-to-ceiling shelves…A guitar is prominently displayed by the cash register…I went over and stood on the X. It was thrilling. Elvis had stood there.

The Tupelo Elvis Festival is held the first weekend in June each year. There is a wonderful dog show where every dog is a winner in some category or other. Every dog goes home with a trophy. I think they make up some categories on the spot. Tickets for the festival go on sale in January. It sells out almost immediately.

The winning Elvis Tribute Artist there goes on to Memphis to compete in the Ultimate ETA competition. The fabulous Cody Slaughter won in 2011. I was fortunate enough to watch him win again in Memphis. He returned to Tupelo again in 2012 and was incredible, of course. He is coming to Orlando in October staring in the stage play, The Million Dollar Quartet. I can’t wait.

TRIVIA ANSWER:
“Loving You.”