Once upon a time in Long Beach, CA. The Golden-Boy-King was there. The date was: Thursday, June 7, 1956, 7:30 p.m. The place was: The Municipal Auditorium. Through press reviews of the time, as well as the memories of the people who attended this fabulous era.
In addition with photos that I have customized, resized, changed quality and writing on, i invite you for a trip back in time to relive these magical moments in the career of our unforgettable King. Less than a year later, on June 7, 1956, Elvis, Scotty, Bill and DJ made their only appearance together in Long Beach when they performed at the Municipal Auditorium.
Coincidentally, Elvis would years later be approached for a starring role in the second remake of A Star is Born. Though they had performed in San Diego the previous April and the night before, both times following appearances on the Milton Berle show, this was their first live appearance in the Los Angeles area. The show was reviewed and advertised in both the Long Beach Independent, a morning paper, and the Press-Telegram and also covered by the the Los Angeles Examiner reporters and photographers. Teenagers Will Hear Presley: Elvis Presley, youthful new singing sensation who has taken up where Johnny Ray left off, will bring his guitar and a stage show to Municipal Auditorium for one Long Beach appearance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Hailed as the greatest current rhythm and blues singer, Presley just turned 21 and is a favorite of the bobby-sox set. Now recording for RCA-Victor, he is one of the few singers who are played by disc jockeys specializing separately in country, popular and blues numbers. Two years ago he was an unknown amateur guitar “picker.” After making a demonstration record of his voice in his home town of Memphis, Tenn., he began to be noticed. Today his frantic shouting, acrobatic instrument playing and uninhibited country – style singing have earned him the title of “America’s Only Atomic – Powered Singer.
“Long Beach Independent – June 6, 1956. The show was opened by the same troupe that had been touring regularly with them since their return from Las Vegas in May where they had first met Liberace. The show consisted of The Jordanaires, Irish tenor Frank Connors, the Flaim Brothers Orchestra, female singer Jackie Little and magician/comedian Phil Maraquin. Backstage Elvis met with several fans. Tickets sold for $1.50 for general seating and $2.00 for reserved and were available at Humphrey’s Music Store on Pine Ave. Ann (Keller) Conway was in attendance that evening and recollected, Hearing Elvis Presley sing at the LB Municipal Auditorium in 1956 when I was a very innocent 16 marked the beginning of what would become a lifelong love affair with rock n’ roll and its power to move me—physically, emotionally, spiritually. I’d received a call out of the blue from my best friend. One of the guys she knew who had a car had three tickets–printed up with the name ”Alvis” Presley—to Elvis’ concert at the Municipal Auditorium, an icon in those days that spoke of glamour, mystery and elegance. I can still smell the huge, beckoning hall—–it had a saltiness about it, being close to the sea, and its spaciousness, height and cushiness were a big cut above the movie theaters we enjoyed at the time.
I was called backstage at intermission to pose with Elvis for photographs. They sent scouts out to scour the audience; each picked several girls and we followed them backstage. He put his arm around me and picked up my hand and kissed it. My knees almost gave out. I didn’t wash my hand for days!!!! I looked closely at this slender singer with his sensuous mouth and greased-up hair and I saw—–how could this be?—a cream-colored face pocked with acne scars. Suddenly, the perfection I’d conjured up about him as he sang switched to a disheartening reality. It would become a theme in my life: fantasies about men would always have their earthly price—-the inevitable imperfections. “Hold me close, hold me tight, make me thrill with delight, darling you’re all that I’m living for…….. I want you, I need you, I love you, more and more…….every time that you’re near, all my cares disappear………..I want you, I need you, I love you, with all my heart…….” When Elvis sang those words, I was suddenly catapulted into a thrilling, aching, stratosphere of longing that was brand new. Oh, I’d mooned over actors in movie magazines, but I’d never felt any thing like this. I could barely move. Or speak. From that day forward, I would never be the same—for I had this secret buried within me. Love isn’t only about the heart. It can be deep within the body. Let’s face it, Elvis and his caramel voice and undulating hips turned us all on——and for me, it was the very first time. Some of the girls called backstage at least, also appeared to have front row seats. The review the following day in the Independent read: Singing Sensation Causes Near Riot Here.
Writhing Singer Has L.B. Soxers Wailing, by Paul Wallace: Leaning backwards like an intoxicated seamen with a gale at his heels, Mrs. Presley’s boy Elvis swaggered onto the stage of Municipal Auditorium Thursday night and rocked 4,000 screaming teen-agers. After a few mumbled words into the microphone, the tall, husky 21-year-old began shouting the lyrics of “Heartbreak Hotel” – one of the biggest numbers in the country right now. The lyrics were virtually incomprehensible but the solid rhythm got through. So did the bumps and grinds the handsome Tupelo, Miss., boy uses as punctuation for his rock and roll singing. “Oh, rock me, Baby,” screamed a bobbysoxer. “Go, go, go, Honey,” cried another. “Love me, Baby. Sing for me,” whimpered a third, jumping in her seat. At intervals, usually coincident with Elvis’ more violent torso gyrations, the whole crowd screached and sometimes surged toward the stage where a platoon of private policeman tried to keep the peace. He went through half an hour of songs. The ones with a heavy beat sold better than the easy, ballad types. In between, the biggest sensation in the singing world today talked some. He discussed singing the song “Get Out of the Barn, Grandmother, You’re Too Old to Be Horsing Around.” His patter didn’t panic them. His singing very definitely did. “Blue Suede Shoes” was almost drowned out by the screams. “I’ve Got A Woman” inspired several assaults on the bandstand. The officers managed to hold the line and send the girls back to their seats. Nobody apparently swooned. Carrying his guitar, which he didn’t use at all, strapped over his shoulders, Elvis worked with the mike stand about eight feet high. He grabs the silver tube, violently pulls the microphone down to him and grimaces at it as he sings. Wearing a lavender checked sport coat, ruffled ivory shirt open at the neck and charcoal slacks that draped over his heels, Presley arrived in a new black Cadillac convertible, one of three he owns. He was accompanied by a statuesque blonde with watchful eyes. Another blonde, this one pale and in a tight black dress, waited silently backstage for the side-burned singer to appear. He was more than an hour late and she was very patient.
After the show, the perspiring teenager idol flopped into a chair in his dressing room. A sideboy guarded the entrance. The blondes stood by sympathetically. One young gal, who had eluded the guards, peeked through a crack in the door. “aw, let me in, Baby,” she implored. “I took a lot of trouble to sneak backstage.” The Mississippi boy favored her with his lopsided grin which looks almost like a sneer. “Shut the door,” he ordered. The Independent – Long Beach, CA June 8, 1956. Unlike for Liberace and Judy Garland, no star studded audience was reported to have been there, though several would turn out for one of their last appearances in L.A. the following year at the Pan Pacific Auditorium. The following night they performed in L.A. at the Shrine Auditorium.
By 1962 the lagoon and vicinity had been land filled and the new round shaped Long Beach Arena was constructed and opened that year. The Arena which connected to the Auditorium essentially replaced it as the venue for large concerts and now also sporting events. Judy Garland died at 47, in 1969, the same year Elvis returned to performing live. Elvis would later perform in the Arena with the TCB band on November 14 & 15, 1972 and two shows on April 25th, 1976. If you have any other memories to share, leave a comment on my post. Thanks for reading! See you next time and another Elvis story. Elvisly yours, Lanani. MMXXI. My fb.: https://www.facebook.com/memphis.memories1965. For more fun, i invite you to join my own group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lanani.remembers.elvis.
