sábado, 14 de diciembre de 2024

September 1956—A Record Month for Presley Records


September 1956—A Record Month for Presley Records
 
In his 23-year recording career, Elvis Presley released a steady stream of single, EP, and LP records. Along the way he accumulated a record number of record sales, gold records, and #1 records. When it came to releasing and selling records, however, September 1956 was a record month for Elvis.
He entered that month as the hottest entertainment personality in the world. He already had three million-selling singles in "Heartbreak Hotel," "Hound Dog," and "Don't Be Cruel." His personal appearances were drawing record crowds around the country, and he was about to make his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. But the best indication of his phenomenal success came in the record business that month.
Early in the month RCA released seven more single records available before only on Elvis LPs. They included some of his early Sun Records recordings, like "Tryin' to Get to You" and "Just Because," and recent RCA album cuts, such as "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy." By September 5 these reissue singles were all selling at the rate of 12,000 a day. By the end of the month, all six singles had gone over 100,000 in sales.
And then, after Elvis sang "Love Me Tender" on the September 9 Sullivan show, dealers all over the country were swamped with orders for the single the next day. Despite already having eight Presley singles on the market, RCA rushed to get Elvis's new song out. An RCA ad in Billboard on September 29, 1956, proclaimed, "856,327 orders on 'Love Me Tender' a week before release." A footnote added, "by the time you read this, orders will be well over 1,000,000."
An article in Variety on September 5, 1956, reported that Elvis was due to sell around 10,000,000 records during his first year with RCA Victor. From those sales he earned about $400,000 in royalties, a record payoff for any recording artist at that time. September 1956 was indeed a special month for Elvis Presley.


Question on Elvis a hot potato for Minnesota governor in 1956

Question on Elvis a hot potato for Minnesota governor in 1956
 
 On December 11, 1956, Elvis's first movie, Love Me Tender, was in its third week in Minneapolis theaters. That morning the Minneapolis Morning Tribune ran a front-page story on how the state's governor, O. A. Freeman, answered a question posed by 11-year-old Linda Johnson. "I would like to have your personal opinion of Elvis Presley," Linda wrote the governor. "I love him."
 According to the Tribune, Freeman "straddled the fence on a burning national issue." His return letter to Linda read, in part, "I've been so busy with my duties here and my reelection campaign (a successful one) that I had never seen Mr. Presley until his recent appearance on the Ed Sullivan program. He is certainly a very unusual showman and apparently appeals to many people."
Tribune reporter Ed Goodpaster, who wrote the paper's story about the correspondence between the young girl and the governor, closed his article with the following observation.
"Freeman, no stranger to political differences of mind, realized that this, however, was a different situation. As one of his assistants put it: 'Political infighting hath no fury like a Presley fan whose blue suedes have been stepped on.'"

Elvis Beer Cans: In 2004, Miller Brewing Co. released a set of eight commemorative beer cans celebrating 50 years of rock music. Doing the math, that would mark the start of rock and roll in 1954, and we all know what happened then – Elvis’ first reco

 
Elvis Beer Cans: 
 
In 2004, Miller Brewing Co. released a set of eight commemorative beer cans celebrating 50 years of rock music.  Doing the math, that would mark the start of rock and roll in 1954, and we all know what happened then – Elvis' first recording, "That's All Right."  So, of course Elvis was on one of the cans.
You might be surprised who the other seven rockers were:  Eric Clapton, Blondie, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Joe Walsh, and Willie Nelson.  The pictures of each artist were reproductions of Rolling Stone magazine covers with their faces on them.  The one for Elvis was dated September 22, 1977, the first Rolling Stone cover issued after his death.



In 1956 Vernon and Gladys Talked About Raising Young Elvis

In 1956 Vernon and Gladys Talked About Raising Young Elvis

Young Elvis Presley had become a phenomenon, and in the fall of 1956, the New York Daily Mirror decided it was time to give him a serious look. And so in early September, columnist Sidney Fields headed down to Memphis to gather material for a series of articles in the Mirror. He didn't get a chance to talk with Elvis, who was in Hollywood shooting Love Me Tender at the time, but Fields was able to get an extensive interview with Elvis's parents, who invited him into the Presley home. That interview with Gladys and Vernon Presley was the basis for a five-part expose entitled "The Real Story of Elvis Presley," which ran in the Daily Mirror from September 23-27, 1956. What follows is a brief summary of the series' first three parts, in which the Presleys revealed much about how they raised their son.

Sidney Fields had gone to Memphis hoping to discover "WHAT is Elvis Presley?" Visiting his parents seemed like a logical first step in looking for the answer. On first meeting Vernon and Gladys Presley, he was impressed with their closeness and honesty. "They do have a deep bond between them," he observed, "which is nice to watch, and they express it in a quiet kindness." He described Gladys as "39, plump, placid, and pious" and Vernon as "40, a gentle, graying, handsome man, as tall as his son."
Mrs. Presley showed Fields their son's room, the predominant feature of which was stuffed animals—teddy bears, pandas, elephants, monkeys, dogs—everywhere. "I took him to carnivals when he was a kid," explained Vernon, "and taught him how to pitch baseballs at wooden bottles and win stuffed animals. He still does it. Last week he won a toy dump truck. It's in the living room."
They sat down to talk in the living room, which Fields described as "mixed modern and traditional with a touch of gaudiness." Gladys pointed out that "Elvis picked out everything with me to furnish the house, and he's always sending new things home. He sent so many lamps home I had to store most of them away."
 
Young Elvis always kept in touch with parents
Whether their son was in Hollywood or on the road, he always keeps in touch with them, said Mrs. Presley. "He phones us every other night, no matter where he is. 'How's my babies?' he asks us. We've always been very close. Why, to this day he gets frightened when his father dives into the pool for fear he won't come up. He was always that way about us."
Gladys recalled another incident that demonstrated young Elvis's concern for his father. When Elvis was 5, his father and some other men were helping a neighbor put out a fire inside his house. Elvis screamed when he saw his father and the other men run inside the house to save some of the family's belongings. "He was afraid his father wouldn't ever come out," said Gladys. "I just told him, 'Daddy will be all right, now. You stop that, hear!' And he did."
Fields asked about their own upbringing and how that shaped their goals for their only son. Gladys, one of eight children, explained, "We didn't get to go to school. Vernon didn't graduate either. We can only read and write enough to get by. That's why I always wanted my son to have an education."
"We were poor," Vernon added. "When I was sick my wife walked to work many times because she had no carfare. And many times we hardly had any lunch money to give Elvis. But we did eat and had clothes and a roof over our heads. Maybe we got them all on credit, but we had them. We never had much until three years ago, but Elvis never wanted for anything even when we were troubled. And we always taught him right from wrong as far as we knew, though we didn't have hardly any education."
Mrs. Presley was pleased with how they taught their son. "He was raised well," she said. "He never lies. He doesn't swear. I never heard him call anyone anything except 'Mister' and 'Sir.' And we taught him if he can't help a man out of a ditch the least he can do is say a prayer for him, and the Lord will never let him fall."
 
When young Elvis was disciplined when needed
His mother spanked the young Elvis when needed, and his father remembers hitting his son just once. "He was 5 then," Gladys explained. "He took two empty Coke bottles from a neighbor's porch. He told me the neighbor let him take 'em, but that was stealin' and he had to be corrected. I got Vernon to take the switch to him and give him one or two licks." Vernon added with a wince, "It hurt me more'n it did him."
His parents recalled that when Elvis started at L.C. Humes High School at age 13, he didn't go in the first day because he was so scared. He was afraid the other kids would laugh at him. He had a desperate need to be liked. "And when he isn't, he worries about it," said his father.
The Presleys admitted they were always protective of their only son. As an example, Vernon explained how they tried to stop Elvis from playing football after he fell in love with the game at age 15. "After school the white boys would team up against the colored boys," he recalled. "They'd come home with their clothes torn and their hides, too. Elvis being all we had, we didn't want him to get hurt. But he wouldn't stop. Gladys was workin' in the hospital then and one day a boy was brought in from a football game, and he died of a blood clot. That scared both of us and we made Elvis quit." Mrs. Presley added, "Know what he told me? He said: 'I'll stop because I don't want to worry you.'"
 
All of young Elvis's girls were nice
Of course, Elvis had discovered girls about that time too. In fact, the first time young Elvis could remember really being out of his mother's sight was when he started dating at age 16. "He didn't have real dates till then," said his father, "but he had girl friends since he was 11. Once, when he was 16, I seen him sittin' real close to a little girl and I spoke to him about what he should know. He listened. He always does. We've been lucky. All the girls he's known have been nice kids."
Fields asked how they felt about the charges that Elvis's obscene stage movements were debasing the morals of America's youth. "Those things hurt," admitted Mrs. Presley. "He's never sassed us, and he's never been uppity. Big people are still the same as little people to him, and he's considerate of both the same way. We're country folk. He's a country boy, and always will be. How can any boy brought up like mine be indecent or vulgar? Especially when he's so good to us and his friends. Why, he always wants to do what's right."
Elvis's father denied other rumors that his son drinks and takes dope. "He never touch a drop of liquor in his life, and he wouldn't know dope if he saw it."
"He's a sympathetic boy, and tender-hearted," Vernon continued. "It hurts him when someone thinks bad of him. Maybe this will tell you what he's like. He was usherin' at the movies this time, and on his night off he was downtown with his friends and he sees this Salvation Army lady takin' up the Christmas collection. But the box was empty. Elvis put his last $5 bill in it, and started drummin' up a noise to get that box filled. It was filled."
 
To parents, young Elvis's temper was his only fault
Does Elvis have any faults his parents can see? A bit of a temper, said his mother. "To be plain with you, he's the easiest goin' guy you ever saw until he gets pushed or shoved. Then he gets mad, and he's a little too high tempered. But lots of people are."
The family always talked things out. "We've always been able to calm him, to talk to him about everything," said Vernon. "Except maybe his dates, and then we could talk to him if they were the wrong girls and he'd listen. He'll say something about a car he'd like to buy and I'll say, I wouldn't son, and he'll listen. Even now he obeys."
And the Presleys see nothing wrong with their son's "twitching and twisting" on stage. "Even when he was a tiny kid and we sang at church and camp meetin's, Elvis moved around and acted out his songs," Mrs. Presley said. "He's always had a lot of energy and he's big now and gets rid of it in his music. When he sings he's bein' himself and that's not bad or wrong."
Vernon recalled more about young Elvis's singing. "At 9 he was picked to sing alone in church," he said. "At home we sang as a trio, when Gladys wasn't playin' the harmonica. Elvis always had a natural talent. He can't read a note even now. But you don't have to teach a fish to swim."
 
Young Elvis: "I can sing better than that"
And Gladys remembered a time when she took her son to the fair in Tupelo. After listening to a guitarist sing a song, Elvis told his mother, "I can sing better than that." According to Vernon, "he just walked right up on that platform, his legs shakin' a little, and sang that song without any accompaniment." "With a real powerful voice," added Gladys, "and he did sing it better than that guitarist."
The Presleys recollect that from early on young Elvis dreamed of what he would do for his parents someday. "When he was hardly four," his mother recalled, "he'd tell me: 'Don't worry, baby. When I'm grown up I'll buy you a big home and two cars. One for you and Daddy and one for me.' All his life he'd say out loud what he was going to do for us, and he'd say it in front of other people. And you know, I believed him."
While in high school, Elvis took jobs in the afternoon to help his parents make ends meet. "And even when he was in school he'd go around and pay the grocery bill, $25, $30," said Mrs. Presley. "We didn't ask him to. He'd just do it himself." Once Elvis got his father to buy him a lawn mower and used it to make himself $8 a week. "But he stopped when the girls watched him," remembered Vernon.
 
Elvis: "You've taken care of me … Now it's my turn
"And when he got 19 and started making money," Gladys said, "he told us: 'You've taken care of me for 19 years. Now it's my turn."
Even with their son about to turn 22, the Presleys expected their close family ties would last forever. "This is Elvis's home," declared his father. "He's never had no other home except with us."
"And even when he gets married," said his mother, "part of him will always be here."
When Sidney Fields left Memphis and returned to the big city up north, he took with him a good feeling about Elvis Presley's parents. "I like these people," he wrote in one of his Daily Mirror articles a few weeks later. "They're simple, neighborly, unaffected by the fame and fortune of their son, or the furor he has created."
 
Alan Hanson

April 21, 1956 - Municipal Auditorium, Houston, Texas

 
April 21, 1956 - Municipal Auditorium, Houston, Texas
Text and photographs by John D. Greensmith:

"The date was April 21st 1956 and as a news photographer for The Chronicle in Houston, Texas, I had been assigned to photograph a concert featuring the then controversial young singer, Elvis Presley. He was to appear at the old Texas Municipal Auditorium for one performance. There was more than a little concern in Houston that Presley's stage antics might excite the audience too much and cause a riot. So extra police protection was planned. Church leaders were urging their young members to stay away from the Elvis concert because his style of singing was "lewd" and "suggestive". There was no doubt that Elvis did play to the females in his audiences with his bumps and grinds and moaning and groaning...but was it lewd? Frankly, a lot of of us at the time thought he was rather amusing to watch, but that maybe he did excite the young ladies with his writhing body action and slicked back hair. But a threat to the morals of the young generation? Hardly!
So it was with more than the usual detached attitude of a news photographer that I walked the short distance across the street from the newspaper office to the auditorium where Elvis was to perform. And I had to admit I was anxious to meet this young performer.
Inside a small, very ordinary room, Elvis sat in front of a smudgy mirror combing his hair. It seemed a natural way to remember my introduction to Elvis. I hesitate to say it, but I recall thinking how greasy his hair was and wondering if he used crankcase oil to slick it down. Elvis stood up and I was introduced to him. I was at first taken by how quiet he seemed and what a soft voice he had when speaking compared to the booming vibes he had when he sang. After explaining who I was and what I would like in the way of photos for the newspaper,
Elvis assured me he could give me all the time I wanted since the show didn't start for 30 minutes. He seemed surprised and maybe a little disappointed that I was the only member of the press on hand. Elvis and I went to the stage where he was to perform. The curtains were closed and you could hear the buzz of the crowd as it gathered. Band instruments stood on stage awaiting the
musicians. Several large speakers were propped up on folding chairs to provide the sound system. It was a very plain setting for a concert to say the least. I recall asking Elvis to put his right foot up on one of the folding chairs and to look as though he were tuning his guitar. He obliged. l recall him asking how big the crowd was and going over to the curtain to look out at the audience. Counting the crowd was soon to become the least of his concerns!
As a news photographer using large format film, i had been trained to capture the action in one or two photos - three at the most. So i only took a few shots of Elvis backstage...what a pity! Today i probably would have taken several rolls of 35mm using a motorized camera. I don't recall any words said between Elvis and myself. I do recall thinking that he had oily skin, greasy hair and was not a very friendly person. But on the other hand, he was polite to me and also most co-operative at a time when he could have been otherwise. And he did have a rather untrained and genuine charm about him.
After maybe 8 to 10 minutes alone with Elvis, the local P.R. person reappeared to say that he felt Elvis should be excused to get ready for the show. We all shook hands and I went down into the auditorium to await the Presley performance. Elvis came on stage and the crowd in Houston went wild! And that's the way it went for the whole of his show. He sang softly, loudly, confidently and played his guitar gently or boldly as the song or mood dictated. The audience, particularly the young Houston belles, at times sat in awe and then screamed and hollered with delight. Flashbulbs popped all over the place and a few young ladies seemed to faint with excitement. But there was no riot or close to what police and public worry warts felt might take place. No one tried to climb on stage and no articles of clothing were tossed on stage. All in all, it was a noisy but pretty tame afternoon...much to everyone's surprise.
When the concert was over, Elvis came to the front of the stage and sat down at the edge to sign autographs on glossy black and white portraits of himself that were held up to him by probably about 100 admiring young women. No one tried to tear off a piece of his clothing or plant a kiss on him. It was all very civilized!
And, by the way, Elvis was one heck of a fine singer! He did it his way.

source: "The Man and His Music" - no. 11, june 1991


The Killer and The King… Jerry Lee Lewis vs. Elvis Presley

   The Killer and The King…  Jerry Lee Lewis vs. Elvis Presley


Elvis Presley wasn't anointed the "King of Rock 'n' roll" by unanimous consent. In the fifties, other contenders vied for the title. Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis were two other frontrunners. All three contenders had their personal demons. In the end, Elvis ascended to the throne, in no small part because he had the sense to conceal his demons from rock 'n' roll's young citizens.
Chuck Berry was different. He was black, older, and recorded in Chicago. Elvis and Jerry Lee, however, were of a shared age and upbringing, which led them both to Sam Phillips's doorstep in Memphis.

Jerry Lee Lewis Ferriday was Jerry Lee's Tupelo. He was born in that Louisiana town on September 29, 1935, just about 10 months after Elvis's birth a couple of hundred miles to the northeast in Mississippi. Both were born into poverty, raised in the tenets of Christianity, and embraced music at an early age.
During his school years, a nickname attached itself Jerry Lee—the Killer. "That's what all my friends called me," he explained years later. "I hated that damn name ever since I was a kid, but I been stuck with it. I don't think they mean it killer like I'd kill people. I think they meant it music'ly speakin'." (Unless otherwise stated, all Jerry Lee Lewis statements herein come from Hellfire, Nick Toches's acclaimed 1982 Lewis biography.)
The two future rock 'n' rollers experienced similar musical influences in their teenage years. In 1954 Jerry Lee played piano nightly in a band at the Wagon Wheel, a club on the banks of the Mississippi. "We played everything, man," recalled band leader Johnny Littlejohn. "We played everything from 'The Wild Side of Life' and 'Slippin' Around' to 'Big Legged Woman' and 'Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee.' Hell, we did 'Stardust.' Whatever we did, we did it honky-tonk style, hard-core barroom style." That same year, Elvis started his career at Sun Records, melding together the multiple musical styles to which he too had been exposed.

Jerry Lee moves to Memphis
In an interview included in the DVD issue of Elvis: The Great Performances, Jerry Lee explained the life-changing decision he made in November 1956:
"I was reading a lot of magazines about Sam Phillips and Sun Records … so I told my dad, this is the man we need to go see. And we did. We drove down from Ferriday into Memphis and pulled up in front of Sun Records. I came in and auditioned for Jack Clement, who said I could never make it playing the piano. He said rock 'n' roll was out, cause Elvis had it all tied up. He said I could forget that. Well, I said, 'I don't think so.' I said, 'I'm a hit.' He said, 'They all say that, son.' I said, 'I'm not all. I'm different.'"
Sam Phillips was out of town, so Clement, then an engineer at Sun, taped Jerry Lee playing the piano and singing a few songs. One of them was Ray Price's recent hit, "Crazy Arms." According to Tosches, when Sam returned to the studio, Clement played that recording for him. "I can sell that," Phillips declared, and Jerry Lee Lewis was about to hit the big time.
Million Dollar Quartet Just a month after Jerry Lee first walked through the door at Sun Records, a legendary gathering occurred there. On December 4, 1956, Sam asked Jerry Lee to play piano at a Carl Perkins recording session. Johnny Cash came to the session at Carl's request. When Elvis unexpectedly showed up, the players for what became known as "The Million Dollar Quartet" were all in the studio. At the time Jerry Lee was generally unknown outside of the local area, while Elvis had become a national phenomenon in the year since Sam had sold his contract to RCA.
During the recorded jam session that followed, Jerry Lee and Elvis took turns singing. When Lewis sang bit of "Crazy Arms," Elvis said, "The wrong man's been settin' here at this piano." Jerry Lee responded, "Well, I been wantin' to tell you that. Scoot over!" In Robert Johnson's newspaper article the next day, Elvis praised Jerry Lee. "That boy can go," he said. "I think he has a great future ahead of him. He has a different style, and the way he plays piano just gets inside me."
 
"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
Memphis booking agent Bob Neal, who had been Elvis's manager when Presley was at Sun in 1954-1955, began booking Jerry Lee as a separate act at venues throughout the South. Soon, though, a Lewis Sun recording propelled him onto the national stage. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" did for Jerry Lee Lewis what "Heartbreak Hotel" had done for Elvis Presley. Released in April 1957, "Shakin'" reached the top of the C&W and R&B charts. It then spent 29 weeks in Billboard's "Top 100" pop chart, peaking at #3. Jerry Lee performed it on The Steve Allen Show on July 28, 1957, a year after Elvis's controversial appearance on the same show.
Other hits on the Sun label followed for Lewis. "Great Balls of Fire" reached #2 on Billboard's singles chart in early 1958. It led to another appearance on The Steve Allen Show and one on American Bandstand. Best of all, from Jerry Lee's point of view, Elvis had been drafted into the army, leaving rock 'n' roll's throne open for Jerry Lee to occupy. "Breathless," Lewis's fourth single for Sun, was another top 10 record in 1958. It was written by Otis Blackwell, who had penned Elvis's two biggest hits, "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up." May 17, 1958, was declared "Jerry Lee Lewis Day" in Ferriday. The town's favorite son was on hand to receive the key to the city, as Elvis had on "Elvis Presley Day" in Tupelo on September 26, 1956.
Hellfire Book Cover At the very moment that he stood on rock 'n' roll's summit, however, Jerry Lee's career suddenly collapsed. On May 22, 1958, Jerry Lee arrived at Heathrow Airport in London to begin a concert tour. When reporters asked about the little girl accompanying him, Jerry Lee told them she was his wife. He gave her age as 15. It turned out that Myra Gale Lewis was actually 13 and was Jerry Lee's second cousin. To make matters worse, he had married her five months before his divorce from his second wife was final. The press in both England and the U.S. turned both nasty and comical toward the singer. Columnist Hy Gardner, who had conducted a high profile interview of Elvis in 1956, announced, "The Jerry Lee Lewises are going to have an addition to the family. He bought her a new doll." Dick Clark even banned Jerry Lee from American Bandstand.
During an interview at the Brooklyn Army Terminal before his departure for Germany, Elvis was asked his opinion on the controversy. "He's a great artist," Elvis asserted. "I'd rather not talk about his marriage, except that if he really loves her, I guess it's all right."
• Fall from Grace brought bitterness toward Elvis
Elvis's sympathy could not help revive Jerry Lee's career. There were no more hit records, no more TV appearances, no more big paydays. As he traveled around the country over the next few years, he played for hundreds of dollars a night instead of thousands. When he returned to Memphis from a tour of England in 1963, a reporter asked if the British compared him with Elvis. The question brought to the surface a bitterness toward his old rival. "I really wish people would stop tryin' to compare me with Elvis," Jerry Lee said. "We are entirely different performers. 'Bout the only thing we got in common is that we're from Tennessee."
In the mid-sixties, Jerry Lee began to build a new, successful career in country music. The hits in that market kept coming, and by 1970 his concert price had risen to $10,000 a night. He bought an airplane, and in May 1970, flew to Las Vegas to record a live album at the International Hotel, where Elvis had returned to live performances the year before.
With both men having revived their careers, the old competition between them revived as well, at least in Jerry Lee Lewis's mind. In 1975, when they ran into each other in Las Vegas, Jerry Lee told Elvis, "You don't know what you're doin'. You're just Colonel Parker's puppet." Elvis responded, "Well, if I'm so dumb and you're so smart, how is it that I'm playing the main room and you're playin' the lounge?"
Back in Memphis the following year, a drunken Jerry Lee pulled his car up against the front gates of Graceland at 3 in the morning. "I want to see Elvis," Jerry Lee shouted. "You tell him the Killer's here." When word came back to the security guard that Elvis didn't want to be disturbed, Jerry Lee exploded, "Git on that damn house phone and call him! Who the hell does that sonofabitch think he is? Doesn't wanna be disturbed! He ain't no damn better'n anybody else." As Jerry Lee yelled and waved his gun toward the house, Elvis had his gate guard call the police. They came, pulled the Killer from his car, cuffed him, and took him away.
 
Jerry Lee Lewis is now 76 years old. Hopefully, he has learned to control his demons since he made the preceding comments 30 years ago. I'd like to believe that Sam Phillips properly judged how the two rock 'n' roll icons felt about each other. "For two monumental people, you know you're gonna have a little jealousy," Sam once said, "which is really good if it doesn't go beyond the bounds of reasonable taste. Elvis Presley, everytime he had a chance to listen to Jerry Lee, he did. Every time Jerry [had a chance to listen to Elvis], he did. It wasn't just camaraderie. Total respect for each other. Great musicians."
 
Alan Hanson
_

Colonel Parker Answers Criticism About Elvis Movies in 1964 Interview



Colonel Parker Answers Criticism
About Elvis Movies in 1964 Interview

Colonel Parker is the devil to many Elvis Presley fans. They hurl a litany of accusations at Presley's former manager—he took too much of Elvis's money, he mismanaged Elvis's movie career, he pressured Elvis to work when he was in poor health, he even tried to capitalize on Elvis's name after he died.
To what extent Parker was guilty of such sins against Elvis, I'm not qualified to say. I do know that while researching for my book, I became increasingly impressed with how the Colonel managed Elvis during the 1956-57 period. In fact, in my book I included a chapter entitled, "The Parker Propaganda Machine." It outlines how Parker promoted, marketed, and booked Elvis in ways that undeniably made possible Presley's meteoric rise in show business. In their rush to denounce him for failing his client in later years, many Elvis fans forget that there may not have been an Elvis Presley were it not for Tom Parker's work in those early days.
Colonel Parker protects Elvis in Ottawa, 1957 The purpose here is not to recap the relationship between Parker and Presley. That can be found in detail in two Parker biographies published in recent years—Colonel Tom Parker by James Dickerson (2001) and The Colonel by Alanna Nash (2003).

Colonel Parker stands stage front in Ottawa on April 3, 1957. That year Parker often used his body as the final line of defense should police lines fail to hold back teenage girls rushing the stage.

Instead, the focus here will be on sharing some interesting information about Colonel Parker that appeared in a rather obscure source. I offer this information without prejudice or comment, leaving it to the reader to judge whether it reflects good or ill on Colonel Parker.
 
• Colonel Parker tells how the money was split
The article in question appeared in Variety on January 15, 1964. The piece by Michael Fessier, Jr., carried the headline, "Elvis Hits $20,000,000 Gross Jackpot". The article's first three paragraphs broke down the various amounts and sources of Presley's income since 1956, with the total having reached the $20 million mark by the end of 1963.
The article then turned to a lengthy interview with Colonel Parker, who Fessier called the "commander-in-chief of the Presley forces." Parker started out by explaining how Elvis's earnings were divided in those movie-making days. Cash was split down-the-line of 75% to Elvis, 25% to the Colonel, with the William Morris Agency taking 10% off of the top of film revenues. According to the Colonel, "We make no picture deals without the great potentate—Abe Lastfogel." (Lastfogel was the long-time president of the Morris agency.)
Parker admitted he was a bit troubled by the public perception that he was profiting too much from Presley's work. He claimed that at least 50% of his share went right back into the business of promoting Elvis—"office expenses, advertising and exploitation, etc." Elvis's cut, said Parker, "goes straight to the Memphis accountants."
 
• "Look—you got a product, you sell it."
The Colonel just shrugged at the perception around Hollywood that Elvis was falling off at the box office due to over exposure. "Look—you got a product, you sell it," explained Parker. "As long as the studios come up with the loot we'll make the deal. Those guys complaining—some of them are not working too good. Me—I'm happy being able to buy the groceries."
As for the reports of declining returns on Elvis's movies, Parker didn't believe them. "They keep asking us to do more," he said. "Somebody must be making a buck. A producer was complaining that an Elvis picture of his didn't do so well. All I can say is that he must like losing money. Now he's after us for two more."
The Colonel went on to tell a story about a producer who wanted to trim down Elvis's film fee. Less cash to Elvis, claimed the producer, would allow the use of a "great script" to get Presley's film career back on the right track. "I told him that if we're doing so badly maybe next year he wouldn't want us at all," said the Colonel, "and we better get all we can while we can—and I hiked the price.
"Another guy says he has a script which would cinch an Oscar for Elvis and wouldn't we do it for less money. I told him pay us our regular fee and if Elvis gets the Oscar we'll give him his money back. We never saw him again.
 
• No Oscar for Elvis, but lots of money
"So maybe we never win an Oscar—but we're going to win a few boxoffice awards. Check the list of the 10 top boxoffice stars—Elvis is right there. And here's a guy who carries his pictures by himself—the rest of the guys on the list have three or four stars to back them up."
Fessier pointed out that the Presley-Parker partnership was one of the few in Hollywood that confined its demands to money. The writer explained, "Once a deal is made, the studio takes complete control of a film, the Presley camp having no say—so on cast, script or production costs."
Colonel Parker confirmed that Elvis had no creative say in his films. "We don't have approval on scripts—only money. Anyway, what's Elvis need? A couple of songs, a little story and some nice people with him.
"We start telling people what to do and they blame us if the picture doesn't go. As it is, we both take bows and if it doesn't hit maybe they get more blame that us. Anyway, what do I know about production?—nothing."
According to Parker, production costs for the average Presley film ran between $1.5 and $2 million, "and if the studio lets it—maybe a little more."
 
• Elvis could always go back on the road
The Colonel didn't seem too concerned that Elvis's film popularity would dry up someday. Presley had other ways of making money that they could fall back on. "For one," Parker said, "we can do some of the personal appearances we haven't been able to. Anytime we want—$75-100,000 a week."
In the meantime, Colonel Parker had nixed all offers for Elvis to appear on stage, as he had for Presley to appear on TV. One of the offers he turned down was for Elvis to appear on the small screen for $150,000. Presley's schedule didn't allow it anyway, according to Parker.
Over the next four years, Elvis's movie career would indeed play out. Only then did the Presley-Parker partnership make a triumphant return to television and, soon after that, to the concert stage. But in 1964 both men seemed content with the steady and dependable flow of money provided them by the Hollywood studios.
— Alan Hanson

Elvis on Tour 1954-1977: By the Numbers

Elvis on Tour 1954-1977:
By the Numbers

Alan Hanson
 
In putting up big numbers, no performer in the history of show business can compare with Elvis Presley. Indeed, the "King" was larger than life itself, and his numbers—the chart records, the #1 hits, the Gold Records, the Hollywood movies, the sold out concerts—all sustain that image. Breaking down the figures in the various entertainment fields he dominated in the twentieth century make his accomplishments seem even more amazing. This is certainly the case when considering the statistics associated with Presley's stage shows during his career. Below are some impressive numbers that Elvis compiled during his touring years from 1954-1957 and 1969-1977, along with a brief stage foray in 1961.
Elvis Presley Los Angeles 1957

Los Angeles | 1957

First, though, a limited disclaimer concerning the numbers is required. It's impossible to nail down with complete accuracy all the data about Presley's personal appearances, especially in the early years. He was hardly a household name at that time, and detailed records of his shows were not kept as faithfully as they would be in later years. So, I can't testify under oath that all of the numbers below are completely accurate. However, I'm convinced they are within a small margin of error.
For the record, I compiled and cross checked the following numbers using three sources: elvisconcerts.com web site, Fred Worth and Steve Tamerius' book Elvis: His Life From A to Z, and the Peter Guralnick and Ernst Jorgensen chronology Elvis: Day by Day.
 
• 240 | The number of U.S. communities, towns, and cities in which Elvis performed on stage
The first town Elvis played was his hometown of Memphis on July 17, 1954, and the last was Indianapolis nearly 23 years later on June 26, 1977. Between those two, the citizens of 238 other U.S. municipalities welcomed Elvis to town.
Of course, Elvis performed in many of those cities multiple times. Shreveport, Louisiana, was the city in which Elvis appeared the most times—46 times, all but 2 of them for appearances on the weeklyThe Louisiana Hayride radio program during the 1954-56 period. With 33 stage shows, Memphis, not surprisingly, was the city in which Elvis appeared second most often. All but 5 of them were in 1954 and 1955. He also played his hometown in 1956, 1961, 1974, 1975, and 1976. Third on the list of most Presley-visited cities is Houston, with 16 appearances also spread out between 1954 and 1976. The rest of the top 10 cities most visited by Elvis include Las Vegas (15 appearances), Atlanta (9), Richmond (9), Cleveland (8), Jacksonville (8), Lubbock (8), and Dallas (8). Since Elvis also appeared in Ft. Worth 7 times through the years, he actually came to the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area 15 times.
Elvis Presley Memphis 1961

Memphis | 1961

Finally on the city level, in addition to 240 U.S. communities, Elvis played three cities in Canada—Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver—all in 1957. That brings to 243 the number of towns, cities, and communities in North America that hosted Elvis's stage show.
 
• 41 | The number of U.S. states in which Elvis appeared in concert
Texas was by far the most favored state for Elvis appearances. During his career he played a whopping 48 different communities in the Lone Star state. Many of them were small communities in 1954-55 when Elvis first began taking his show to environs within driving distance of Memphis. That also accounts for Arkansas being second on the list with 17 communities, most of which Elvis visited during his early years on the road. The rest of Elvis's top 10 most state towns visited include Mississippi (14), Florida (13), North Carolina (12), Alabama (10), Louisiana (9), California (8), Tennessee (8), Missouri (7), and New York (7). Unlike the others on that list, New York was almost totally ignored by Elvis in the 1950s. Discounting his network TV appearances, Buffalo was the only Empire State city to see Elvis on stage in fifties.
Although Elvis crisscrossed the U.S. numerous times on his concert tours through the years, there were 9 states in which he never appeared. They were Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. Citizens of Delaware and New Jersey still had the opportunity to see Elvis, as he appeared in nearby cities in neighboring states multiple times.
On the other hand, the most Elvis-deprived states were Alaska and Wyoming. Elvis fans in Alaska's largest city of Anchorage would have had to travel over 2,000 miles to see the nearest Presley concerts in Vancouver, B.C., or Seattle. Montana was almost as isolated from Elvis. Surrounded as they were by other Elvis-deprived states of Idaho, Wyoming, and North Dakota, the few Montanans who had the best chance to see Elvis in concert were those in the northwest corner of the state, who were within 200 miles of Spokane, where Elvis appeared three times, and those in the state's southeast corner, who would have been able to make the drive to see Elvis in Rapid City, South Dakota, in June 1977.
 
• 651 | The number of times Elvis "came to town" with his stage show
As noted, Elvis played many towns more than once, so the number of times he "came to town" is considerably larger than the number of towns he played. Take Houston, for instance. Elvis came to the city 16 different times over 8 different years—1954, 1955, 1956, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, and 1976. So, during Presley's 24-year career, there were 651 times somewhere in North America when his fans could excitedly say to each other, "Did you hear? Elvis is coming to town!"
Elvis Presley Spokane 1976

Spokane | 1976

(I'll never forget the first time I heard those words. I couldn't believe it when one of my fraternity brothers said them to me in October 1970. I knew Elvis had started performing in Las Vegas, but it never occurred to me that he would actually start touring again. Hearing he was coming to Seattle was just as exciting as actually seeing him there.)
Of the 243 towns Elvis played, 93 were one-night stands. Most of them were small communities Elvis visited in the 1950s. The obscure hamlets Elvis played in those early years included Prichard, Bono, Leachville, Marianna, Waycross, Bastrop, Bruce, Guymon, DeLeon, Seymour, and Kilgore.
Obviously, once Elvis hit the big time in 1956, only communities with venues that could accommodate thousands could hope to book him. In the seventies, though, if a town could fill its arena the first time Elvis came through, there was a high probability that he would return again. For example, when Elvis fans in my hometown of Spokane packed the local Coliseum for Presley's show in 1973, they were rewarded with a return engagement in 1976.
Strangely, though, there were several large U.S. cities that Elvis played once, and only once, during his career. The country's largest metropolis was one of them. Presley's legendary three-day run at Madison Square Garden in 1972 was his one stage show stop in New York City. Washington D.C. in 1956 and Boston in 1971 were two other major American cities that only hosted the King once. And what was the largest U.S. city that Elvis never played? It was Newark, New Jersey.
 
• 1,684 | The number of stage shows Elvis performed during his lifetime
As Elvis made multiple tour stops in many American cities, he also performed multiple shows in many cities. Trying to determine the exact number of concerts he performed over his career is nearly impossible. That said, the sources I used put that number at an incredible 1,684.
His one-city, one-engagement record was 63 shows at the Las Vegas Hilton between August 4 and September 4, 1972. In fact, of Elvis 1,684 shows, 767 were performed in Nevada showrooms, either in Las Vegas or Stateline. That still leaves 917 Presley performances that took place in other communities all over the U.S. and Canada.
Houston was one road stop where Elvis often settled in for several days to perform multiple shows. During his 16 tour stops in Houston through the years, Elvis put on 31 shows, most for any city outside of Nevada and Memphis. Atlanta follows close behind with 30 Presley shows in 9 tour stops there.
Elvis Presley's startling tour numbers demonstrate how seemingly endless crowds of people were drawn to him as a live entertainer. His most active year on the road was 1955, when he gave 295 shows in 117 communities. He followed that up during his breakout year of 1956 with 187 shows in 77 towns.
There was a dark side, though, to Elvis's addiction to live audiences. In 1976, at the age of 41, he worked tirelessly on the road—122 concerts in 74 cities. In the first six months of 1977, he kept up the tempo with 54 shows in 49 cities. That frenetic pace fueled his drug habit and certainly contributed to his early death. It's sad that both Elvis and his fans didn't seem to realize that he needed some time away from the stage lights to renew his spirit.

Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show … A View Out of the Ordinary

Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show …
A View Out of the Ordinary

Alan Hanson
Over the past half century, no other episode in Elvis's life has been examined so thoroughly as his appearances on the Sullivan show in late 1956 and early 1957. What could possibly be added to the subject that would be original and interesting? Nothing, perhaps, but there's no harm, at least, in viewing again those classic performances with an eye for something out of the ordinary.
Ed Sullivan and Elvis Presley As I was only seven years old in 1956, I missed the experience of watching those Sullivan shows live on Sunday nights. Like most Elvis fans these days, I first saw his Sullivan performances many years later. Occasionally, one or two snippets appeared on public TV Sullivan retrospectives. It wasn't recently, actually, that I watched Presley's complete three-show Sullivan run in a single sitting. (Image Entertainment issued a quality DVD package of the three programs in 2006.)
As I watched, I tried to interpret what appeared on the screen as those who saw it live in the fifties might have. Also, I tried to pry my eyes off of Elvis from time to time and take in what was happening around him. The experience was fascinating and much more complex than the way it is often portrayed by Presley biographers.
 
• First Presley appearance drew 82.6% of nation's TV audience
Elvis's first appearance on September 9, 1956, was far and away the most significant of his three guest shots on the Sullivan show. Fans and critics alike tuned in to see what Presley would do on the small screen after being pigeonholed on The Steve Allen Show two months earlier.
With the Jordanaires standing close behind him, Elvis opened his portion of the show with "Don't Be Cruel," his recording of which was about to begin a seven-week reign at the top of Billboard's singles chart. According to Jordanaire Gordon Stoker, Elvis believed the Sullivan appearance could make or break his career. "He was nervous and didn't want to feel alone on stage," Stoker explained. "He had us stand just as close to him as we could stand. We were so close that when he would move back, he would step on our toes."
Indeed, the Jordanaires received extraordinary camera coverage in all of Presley's appearances on the show. Elvis sang all or segments of 15 songs in the three shows, and the Jordanaires stood behind or next to him for every one of them. Presley introduced them to his nationwide audience as "the very wonderful Jordanaires." His band, however, was far less visible. Scotty, Bill, and D.J. were seen on camera only three times, once in each show. The rest of the time they played their parts live on stage but off camera.
Elvis Presley on Ed Sullivan Show The highlight of the September 9 opener was "Ready Teddy." During parts of the number, the camera showed Presley's full torso in motion. He performed a few twists and wiggles but certainly none of the "gyrations" that had drawn fervent criticism in the press after his June 6 appearance on The Milton Berle Show.
 
• "Ready Teddy" most significant Presley performance
The "Ready Teddy" number also spotlighted two other features of Presley's act in the fifties. First, the presence of the band and the Jordanaires on stage showed how comfortable Elvis was as part of an ensemble. The interplay between Elvis and those seven other entertainers helped generate the energy and excitement that is associated with Presley in the fifties. Just how much credit Scotty, Bill, D.J., and the Jordanaires deserve for Elvis's early success is debatable, but that they made a significant contribution to his act is undeniable.
Another Presley trait evident in the "Ready Teddy" Sullivan performance is how much fun Elvis had on stage. The facial contortions, the momentary standstill, and the ever-present smile revealed a performer who found great joy on the stage. Elvis never took himself seriously in front of an audience, unlike many other rockers who acted like they were suffering physical pain during their acts.
 
• Elvis "from the waist up" more often than not
Even half a century later, "from the waist up" is a pop culture idiom associated with Elvis Presley's appearance on the Sullivan show in the fifties. On the surface, it suggests that Ed Sullivan refused to allow cameras to film Presley below the belt. As noted with "Ready Teddy," that was not completely true. In addition to that number, Elvis could be viewed from head to foot when he performed "Love Me" and "Hound Dog" on the October 28 show and while singing "Peace in the Valley" on January 6, 1957.
On the other hand, it has been reported often through the years that Presley was filmed from the waist up only once on the Sullivan shows, that being when he performed "Hound Dog" on the initial show in September. That assertion is also inaccurate. On the September show, cameras never ventured below Elvis's belt on "Don't Be Cruel" and "Love Me Tender." And in the January show, it was all belly button and above during Presley renditions of "Hound Dog," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," and "Too Much." Overall, then, the "from the waist up" Elvis controversy on the Sullivan shows was much ado about nothing.
An embarrassing moment for Elvis, which occurred in the October 28 show, rarely seems to arise in discussions of the Sullivan appearances. Half way through "Love Me," Elvis froze momentarily on the lyrics. The line was to have been, "I would beg and steal." Instead, Presley stumbled, "I—, I—, I—, Somebody— beg and steal." It's unclear whether one of the Jordanaires provided a prompt to get Elvis back on track or whether he recovered on his own, but it must have been a frightening moment for Presley, knowing that a huge national TV audience was watching him draw a blank.
 
• Elvis overshadowed Sullivan's on-camera role
Finally, Ed Sullivan himself played a significant role on camera during Presley's three appearances. Of course, he was recovering from injuries suffered in an automobile accident and was not in the studio for Presley's initial appearance on September 9. Still, Elvis twice paid to homage his absent host. Before launching into his first number, Elvis declared that his appearance on Sullivan's show was "probably the greatest honor I have had ever had in his life." At the end of show, Presley wished Sullivan a quick recovery and said he looked forward to seeing him on the October 28 show. On that second Presley show, Sullivan reminded the girls in the studio audience of the promise he had extracted from them to keep quiet while Elvis was singing.
As Presley's final appearance came to a close on January 6, Sullivan made a couple of unexpected comments on the air. He announced prior to Elvis's final number, "Peace in the Valley," that the young singer would be heading out to Hollywood soon to film his new movie, Running Wild, for Hal Wallis. (The title was later changed to Loving You.)
Then Sullivan added that since Elvis felt "so keenly about Hungarian relief," he was going to do a benefit for the relief fund while in Los Angeles. While Sullivan was making his announcement, Elvis stood by staring at the floor. There's a good chance he was thinking to himself, "What the hell is 'Hungarian relief'?" Presley had already demonstrated at a press conference earlier that year that he neither knew nor cared much about world affairs. It's doubtful he even realized why the Hungarians needed relief. (Russian tanks crushed an anti-communist revolt in Hungary in 1956.)
However, Elvis clearly understood and appreciated Sullivan's comments about him just before Elvis left the stage on January 6. "This is a fine, decent boy," Sullivan told to nation. Elvis, so used to vicious criticism from the press, was clearly humbled to hear one of the country's most respected men voice such praise of him. Elvis was paid $50,000 for his three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, but surely he valued those six words spoken by his host more than his record TV payout that evening

Elvis's #2 Recordings Help Make Him #1 on the Charts

Elvis's #2 Recordings
Help Make Him #1 on the Charts

Alan Hanson
 
Americans are obsessed with being #1 in everything. Our fixation with being the best extends into our politics, our economy, our sports, even our pop culture. We deify Academy Award winners; the other nominees are labeled "losers." Elvis fans aren't immune. They have always felt the need to have their boy recognized as the greatest entertainer of all time. He was the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Ruler of the Music Charts, the Savior of Las Vegas, and so on.
Of course, it takes numbers, big numbers, to backup such claims. In the recording industry, the two big standards of measure have always been #1 records and gold records.
 
Elvis Presley Fool Such As I picture sleeve Let's start by looking at his recordings that just missed reaching #1 on the Hot 100. Normally, little recognition is given to records that stalled out at #2 on the Hot 100. In Elvis's case, however, several of his most memorable recordings did just that. They were bridesmaids on the charts, reaching #2 but not #1. To go with his 14 #1s, he had 7 #2s. Let's take a second look at the Elvis records that came in second.
Instead of giving Elvis's #2 records chronologically, I going to list them in reverse order of chart performance. That is, the tunes that spent the fewest number of weeks at #2 will be listed first, and the ones that spent the greatest number of weeks at #2 will come last.
As it turns out, 4 of Elvis's 7 #2s only spent one week at that position. I've ranked these 4 records according to how long each one spent in the top 10 on the Hot 100.
 
#7: "A Fool Such as I" entered the Hot 100 at #64 on March 23, 1959. Elvis was halfway through his army stint at the time. By mid-April the song was in the top 10, and on April 27 it reached #2. It was kept out of top spot by the Fleetwoods' "Come Softly to Me." Elvis's recording dropped to #6 the very next week. Overall, it spent 5 weeks in the top 10 and a total of 15 weeks in the Hot 100.
 
#6: "Burning Love" was Elvis's last "hit" record. It also spent 15 weeks in the Hot 100, starting with its entry at #90 on August 19, 1972. On September 30 it entered the top 10 at #9. It then slowly crawled upward, one or two spots per week, until it reached #2 on October 28. Ironically, Elvis was upstaged at #1 that week by another "aging" rock 'n' roll star, Chuck Berry, with his "My Ding-A-Ling." "Burning Love" dropped to #5 the next week, and precipitously fell completely off the Hot 100 just 3 weeks later.

Elvis Presley Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel sleeve #5: "Hard-Headed Woman" is often listed among Elvis's #1 records, but it fell one spot short of that position. At first, it certainly looked like it was headed for the top. It debuted in the Hot 100 at #15 on June 30, 1958. The very next week it was at #3. Two weeks later, on July 21, it moved up to #2, just behind "Yakety Yak" by The Coasters. But then, the next week Elvis's recording dropped back to #3 and began to slowly head back down the chart. "Hard-Headed Woman" finally dropped off the Hot 100 at the end of September after a 13-week ride on the list.
 
#4: "Can't Help Falling in Love" remains one of Elvis's most recognized recordings. It's hard to believe it didn't reach #1, but that's the case. The signature tune from the "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack, entered the Hot 100 at #57 on December 4, 1961. A month later, on January 6, 1962, it entered the top 10, where it would remain for 6 weeks. It could get no higher than #2, however, that being for one week on February 3rd. It was denied the top spot by "The Peppermint Twist" by Joey Dee and the Starliters. After 14 weeks on the Hot 100, "Can't Help Falling in Love" dropped off the chart in the middle of March.
 
#3: "Hound Dog" is an iconic recording forever associated with Elvis in the pop culture of the fifties. Most people think it was a #1 record, but a set of unusual circumstances conspired to keep it out of the top spot. The song entered the Hot 100 at #24 on August 4, 1956. On September 1 and 8 it was at #2 behind "My Prayer" by The Platters. Then, on September 15, the flip side of Elvis's record, "Don't Be Cruel," jumped over "Hound Dog" and took over the #1 spot. "Hound Dog" dropped to #3 for 3 weeks, before moving back to #2 again. However, "Don't Be Cruel" had a 7-week stranglehold on the top spot that "Hound Dog" could not break. In the end, "Hound Dog" spent 28 weeks in the Hot 100, second only among Elvis's recordings to "All Shook Up," which rode the chart for 30 weeks in 1957. "Hound Dog" spent 11 weeks in the top 10, including 3 weeks at #2.
 
#2: "Too Much," Elvis's first single release in 1957, entered the Hot 100 at #30 on January 26. Within 3 weeks it was in the top 10, and on March 2 it settled into the #2 position. But there it sat for 4 consecutive weeks, unable to displace Tab Hunter's ghastly rendition of "Young Love." Finally, in late March, "Too Much" began to give ground on the chart, exiting in early May after 15 weeks on the Hot 100, 8 of them in the top 10. An interesting footnote to "Too Much" is that, after two full months off the chart, it inexplicably (to me, anyway) reentered the Hot 100 for 2 more weeks in July 1957.

 
Elvis Presley Return to Sender picture sleeve #1: "Return to Sender" has the distinction of being #1 among all of Elvis's #2 recordings. It spent 5 consecutive weeks in the runner-up spot in 1962. The catchy rhythm tune entered the Hot 100 on October 20 and reached #2 on November 17. It had the misfortune, however, of being released almost simultaneously with The Four Seasons' mega hit, "Big Girls Don't Cry." The Jersey Boys rode the top of the chart for 5 weeks, with "Return to Sender" right behind them the whole time. Never able to reach the tantalizingly close #1 spot, Elvis's song began its journey down the chart, exiting the Hot 100 in early February 1963. "Return to Sender" had spent 16 weeks on the chart, 9 of them in the top 10. Elvis would not have a bigger hit until "Suspicious Minds" over 6 years later.
 
To summarize, in the Hot 100, Elvis had 7 recordings that spent a cumulative 16 weeks at #2 without reaching #1. The Beatles, on the other hand, only had 3 recordings that stalled out at #2. So, when you combine #1s and #2s it narrows the gap. Elvis had a total of 21 and The Beatles 23. As the search field expands, the advantage swings more and more toward Elvis. For example, Elvis placed 32 recordings in the top 5 of the Hot 100, while The Beatles put 28 titles in the top 5. Elvis had 38 top 10 records to The Beatles' 31. Finally, overall The Beatles charted a total of 62 recordings in the Hot 100; Elvis had over twice as many with 134.
So, there you have it. Once the preoccupation with #1s is set aside, Elvis emerges as the undisputed King of the Charts. Numbers don't lie, but sometimes you do have to convince them to look in your direction.