Television Meets Elvis - "Stage Show" at 59

Fifty-nine years ago today Elvis Presley made is first national television appearance on Stage Show, which began an incredible year that took him from near-obscurity to national celebrity.  Over the next twelve months, Elvis would make a dozen TV appearances that stunned his audiences, infuriated some critics, made “Elvis” a household word, and established him as a superstar.

It all began on the struggling, low-rated Stage Show, hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, onetime icons of the Big Band swing era, but now clearly aging and out of touch with the rising tide of post-war teenage music fans.  The following excerpt from Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll (http://tinyurl.com/mhyaouz) recaptures the event and how it looked to Americans during the Eisenhower Era. 

“Elvis Presley was the first performer without nationwide recognition who used television to establish himself on the national stage, and he did it in a matter of weeks. When he first set foot on Stage Show in January 1956, he was still touring with country and western package shows, playing gigs in high school auditoriums, and appearing on the country-oriented Louisiana Hayride radio show. By the time he bid Stage Show farewell two months later, he was headed for Hollywood and boasted hit records on all three Billboard charts.

“The young singer also transformed television by demonstrating its promotional potential through access to a huge national audience. Television producers learned that they need not rely on older, more familiar acts to draw audiences, but could promote new talent and appeal to the country’s postwar teenagers, who were tuning in to a new kind of music. Television was still finding its niche. Many shows had simply been lifted directly from radio, along with their stars, and many variety show guests were old vaudeville hands. Although Elvis’ recordings had sounded a revolutionary note, only television captured his unique physical appearance and exciting performing style, and presented him in stark contrast to the fading acts from an earlier era.

“Elvis is introduced by Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle, who sensed Elvis’ potential when he twice saw him perform in Cleveland. During his second visit, Elvis was one of several performers, including Pat Boone and Bill Haley, who were filmed for a short produced by Randle known alternately as The Pied Piper of Cleveland, Top Jock, and A Day in the Life of a Famous DJ.   

“’We’d like at this time,’ Randle begins, ‘to introduce to you a young fellow who, like many performers, Johnny Ray among them, came out of nowhere to be an overnight big star. This young fellow we saw for the first time while making a movie short. We think tonight that he’s going to make television history for you. We’d like you to meet him now—Elvis Presley.’

“Elvis struts from the wings, wearing a black shirt, white tie, dark pants with satin stripes down the side, and a dark tweed jacket that literally sparkles in the television lights. He is isolated in a spotlight that leaves everything else in darkness. Even black and white television accents his offbeat clothing, and the high-contrast lighting exaggerates the brightness of Elvis’ teeth, which look a bit like glow-in-the-dark dentures. After exchanging a quick word with Scotty [Moore], he jerks his head, strums a chord, shoots his right arm out to the side, emits a prolonged, ‘Weeell,’ and launches into Big Joe Turner’s ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll.’ The camera slowly closes in on him as he throws his entire body into the song, his shoulders, arms, head, and face moving in time with the music. He shouts, ‘Play it!’ to his combo as he steps back to join them in a tightly packed formation for an instrumental break, shaking his legs uncontrollably and strumming during Moore’s solo.

“As the audience responds enthusiastically, Elvis rolls his guitar in a circular motion, unable to stand still, his eyes darting from place to place, his mouth twitching convulsively. There’s another break and more gyrations. Toward the end of the number, Elvis switches briefly to Turner’s ‘Flip, Flop and Fly’ and, after taking his bow, says ‘Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. And now we’d like to do a song called “I’ve Got a Woman, Way Across Town.”’ His sly demeanor makes it pretty clear which end of town he’s referring to.

“He instinctively knows how to reach a peak that incites enthusiastic applause and then how to slow things down before overdoing it. He slows the final verse to a half-time ending that gives the number a sudden bluesy feel. At the end, eyes closed, pulling away from the mike, he takes his bows and leaves Stage Show’s viewing audience wondering what the hell they’ve just seen, but in little doubt that they have found it new and exciting.”

Allen J. Wiener's books can be found on Amazon.com at this link:  http://tinyurl.com/po638bd