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Vacation Elvis Style - Part 13 / 13
with the state of Texas, we wrap up your guide to planning vacation
travel to places Elvis lived or visited:
TEXAS
After his army induction at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Elvis was sent
to Fort Hood, Texas near Killeen where he received his basic
training as well as advanced tank training. After basic training he
was allowed to live off base with his parents and grandmother, whom
he temporarily relocated from Memphis to Killeen.
They first lived in a mobile home and then in a rented house.
Elvis performed in Abilene, Texas at the Fiar Park Auditorium on
2/15/55 and 10/11/55. He had a concert on the Abilene Expo Center on
10/9/74 and the Taylor County Coliseum on 3/27/77. On 2/10/55 he was
at the Alpine High School doing a benefit for the Future Farmers of
America. In Amarillo there were shows the City Auditorium on
10/13/55 and 4/13/56. On 6/19/74 and 3/24/77 he performed at
Amarillo's Civic Center. In Austin he was at the Sports Center on
8/25/55. On 1/18/56 he performed at the Austin Coliseum and the
Municipal Auditorium on 3/28/77.
On 10/6/55 he performed at Warren Stark's Skyline Club in the
evening after having performed a show earlier at Southwest Texas
State University at San Marcos.
Beaumont City Auditorium was the site for five benefit shows
6/20-21/55. He returned to the same venue on 1/17/56. He performed
at Big Spring City Auditorium on 4/26/55. In Beckenridge he
performed at the High School on 4/13/55 and the American Legion Hall
on 6/10/55.
On 7/4/55 various music acts performed in two different cities -
Stephenville and nearby De Leon - in what was called the Battle of
Songs. They would perform in the first city then when there was a
break, the groups would change cities and perform again. It was a
mix of country and gospel singing. Elvis began in the morning at
Stephenville and did his regular rockabilly show. The rest of the
performers were gospel singers, The Blackwood Brothers and The
Statesmen. Over in De Leon was one country act and other gospel
groups such as The Stamps. Elvis was so touched by the tribute the
Blackwood Brothers gave for their members who had died in a plane
crash that he didn't sing his usual music in De Leon. He sang only
gospel, including "The Old Wooden Church," "Precious Memories,"
"Known Only To Him" and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee,"
disappointing the teenagers who had come to see him. That night
Elvis performed in Brownwood in a benefit show at the Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Hall, doing his regular show.It was a three-show
day for Elvis.
Brownwood and nearby Stephenville had all-day gospel singings where
the artists switched venues mid-way and citizens of each community
could hear them all perform. On this date some of the other
performers included The Stamps, The Blackwood Brothers and The
Statesmen quartets. Elvis performed two shows in each city - his
regular show at first and then an all-gospel set. Elvis's parents
Gladys and Vernon Presley attended these shows. The Brownwood
segments took place at the Soldiers and Sailor's Hall and benefited
the Brownwood Volunteer Fire Department. Elvis returned to that
venue for another benefit on 10/10/55.
Elvis performed at Texas A & M in College Station on 3/19/55 and
10/3/55. On 8/23/55 he was at Bryan's Saddle Club. He performed at
the grand opening of the Carthage Milling Company on 11/12/55 using
the PA system in the Sheriff's patrol car. Elvis tripped on the
flatbed trucks used for a stage at Conroe High School's football
field on 8/24/55, hitting his head, but he still was able to
perform. He did a show at the Hoedown Club in Corpus Christi on
7/3/55 but had to flee the unruly crowd on 4/16/56 at the Corpus
Christi Memorial Coliseum. In De Kalb's High School Gym he performed
on 3/4/55. In El Paso he was at the Coliseum on 4/11/56 and
11/10/72.
On 6/2/76 his show was at El Paso's Civic Center.
In Dallas he performed several times in 1955 at the Big D. Jamboree
at the Sportartorium, stopping afterwards to take the stage at the
Round-Up Club. On 10/11/56 he held a press conference and performed
for the State Fair of Texas and the Cotton Bowl. He performed
concerts at the Convention Center Auditorium on 11/13/71, 6/6/75 and
12/28/76. In Fort Worth he performed a matinee at the North Side
Coliseum
on 5/29/55 before his show in Dallas that night.
He also performed there on 1/20/56 and 4/20/56.His shows at the
Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth were on 6/18/72,
6/15-16/74, 6/3/76 and 7/3/76.
In Gainesville he was at the Owl Park Baseball Field on 4/14/55. On
1/28/55 he was at the Gaston High School Auditorium. In Gilmer on
1/26/55 he had a show at the Rural Electrification Administration
Building. Researchers vary on the date of an Elvis performance at
Gladewater's Mint Club. Some say 11/22/54 while others say 11/23/54.
He was definitely back again on 4/30/55, this time at the High
School Gym, for a "Louisiana Hayride" remote which benefited the
local Jaycees Little League program. Also on hand was a tiny
3-year-old Elvis imitator, Royce Hanson Jr., who joined Elvis on
stage. The show was so successful that the Jaycees sponsored another
"Hayride" remote from the High School on 11/19/55. Between these two
shows on 8/10/55, Elvis performed at Gladewater's Bear Stadium, home
to the city's semi-pro baseball team. He had a show at the Gonzales,
Texas baseball park on 8/26/55.
In Greenville he performed at the City Auditorium on 10/5/55.
On 1/24/55 he was at the Recreation Hall of the Humble Oil Camp hear
Hawkins.
He did a show at the Rodeo Arena in Henderson on 8/9/55.
Elvis performed many times in Houston in 1954 and 1955. Often after
a Saturday night "Hayride" show in Shreveport, on Sunday afternoon
one could find Elvis at Houston's Magnolia Gardens for the what
became known as the Texas Hayride. It was a wooded area in Magnolia
Park across from the Port of Houston where in good weather families
would gather to hear live music. In the evenings of those same
Sundays you might find him at Cook's Hoedown Club. He headlined a
show at Cook's on 12/28/54 to benefit the Volunteer Fire Department.
Another venue he played in Houston was the Pladium Club. The
Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall was the venue for concerts on 1/1/55
and 3/19/55. There were "Louisiana Hayride" remote broadcasts from
Houston's City Auditorium on 4/2/55 and 10/8/55. He gave two more
shows there on 4/21/56 and he had a show at the Sam Houston Coliseum
on 10/13/56. From 2/27/70 - 3/1/70 Elvis performed six shows at the
famous Houston Astrodome as part of the Texas Livestock Show.
Following the engagement at a press conference and banquet in his
honor, Elvis received five gold record awards, a Stetson hat, a
Sheriff's badge and a limited-edition Rolex gold watch.
When Elvis returned to perform again at the Astrodome on 3/3/74,
he broke the attendance record he had set in 1970.
Elvis also performed concerts at Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion on
11/12/71, 6/4-5/75 and 8/28/76.
Elvis performed at the baseball field in Kilgore on 8/12/55. He
performed at the Reo Palm Isle Club near Longview on 1/27/55,
3/31/55, 8/11/55 and 11/18/55. Elvis performed several times at the
Cotton Club in Lubbock in early 1955 where he met Buddy Holly, who
was then performing as Buddy and Bob with a partner.
Elvis had shows at Lubbock's Fair Park Coliseum on 2/13/55, 6/3/55,
10/15/55 and 4/10/56.
He made a brief appearance at the Johnson-Connelley Pontiac Showroom
on 6/3/55 to promote his show
later that night. He was at the Municipal Coliseum on 11/8/72 and
5/31/76.
Elvis performed at Midland High School Auditorium on 1/7/55. He
performed at Odessa High School on 2/16/55 in a show sponsored by
the Voting Home Owners Club. On 5/31/55 he returned to Midland High
School for a show and returned to Odessa High School for another
show sponsored by the Voting Home Owners. He played Midland High
School again on 10/12/55. He came back to the area on 5/30/76 to
have a concert at the Ector County Coliseum.
The Paris, Texas Optimist Club sponsored a show at the Boy Club Gym
on 10/4/55. Elvis was at the Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in
Port Arthur on 11/25/55. San Angelo's City Auditorium was the venue
for shows on 1/5/55 and 2/17/55. Tyler's Mayfair Building at the
fairgrounds was where Elvis had shows on 1/25/55 and 8/8/55. Elvis
performed at the Heart O' Texas Coliseum in Waco on 4/23/55, 4/17/56
and 10/12/56. In Wichita Falls Elvis performed at the M-B Corral
Club on 4/25/55 early in the evening before racing to Seymour to do
a benefit show.
He performed in Wichita Falls again on 8/22/55 at Spudder Park
baseball field and again on 1/19/56 and 4/9/56
at the Municipal Auditorium.
Elvis's performances on the "Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport,
Louisiana led him to perform many shows in small towns especially in
Texas - sometimes performing in more than one city and more than one
venue a day, literally racing from one stage to another. Some shows
and venues may have been overlooked by accident for this Elvis Fact
of the Week series. Painstaking research has been done by many
writers including Peter Guralinick and Ernst Jorgensen for the book
"Elvis Day By Day" and by Lee Cotton for his books "All Shook Up,"
"Did Elvis Sing In Your Hometown?" and "Did Elvis Sing In Your
Hometown, Too?" Two very interesting books by Stanley Oberst -
"Elvis In Texas" and "Elvis Presley Rockin' Across Texas" - focus on
the Texas barnstorming days for Elvis and the Blue Moon Boys.
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