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Elvis Presley and B.B. King : December 7, 1956, Radio Station WDIA Goodwill Revue Ellis Auditorium

Firstly, in June 1956, 'The Memphis World' newspaper reported, 'the rock 'n' roll phenomenon cracked Memphis's segregation laws' by attending the Memphis Fairgrounds amusement park 'during what is designated as 'colored night'. On December 7, 1956 Elvis also attended the otherwise segregated WDIA black radio station's annual fund-raiser for 'needy Negro children' at Memphis' Ellis Auditorium.

On this December night, Elvis performed alongside some of his own heroes, Ray Charles, B.B King & Rufus Thomas. There was no doubt that Elvis was seen as a champion in the black Memphis community and his concert audiences were certainly not all white as is often believed. Although Elvis' recording contract did not permit him to perform at the fund-raiser for radio station WDIA, he set off a sensation. The Pittsburgh Courier described the reaction that night as, 'A thousand black, brown and beige teen-age girls in the audience blended their alto and soprano voices in one wild crescendo of sound that rent the rafters ... and took off like scalded cats in the direction of Elvis Presley'. (All from just a brief emergence from behind the curtain!!).

The radio station called itself the 'Mother Station of the Negroes'. In the aftermath of the event, a number of Negro newspapers printed photographs of Elvis with both Rufus Thomas and B.B. King ('Thanks, man, for all the early lessons you gave me', were the words The Tri-State Defender reported he said to Mr. King).

When he returned to the revue the following December (December 6, 1957), a stylish shot of him 'talking shop' with Little Junior Parker and Bobby 'Blue' Bland appeared in Memphis's mainstream afternoon paper, 'The Press-Scimitar', accompanied by a short feature that made Elvis' feelings abundantly clear. 'It was the real thing', he said, summing up both performance and audience response. 'Right from the heart'.

Elvis Presley and B.B. King backstage at the WDIA Goodwill Revue.
Ellis Auditorium on December 7, 1956. Elvis attends with George Klein. Photos by Ernest Withers .

Elvis backstage at WDIA Goodwill Revue, Memphis, December 7, 1956.

Little Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Bobby Blue Bland at the WDIA Goodwill Revue December 6, 1957

January 1956

= Elvis on TV : 1956 : One incredible year !!!

Elvis Presley : RCA's McGavock St Studio : January 10 and 11, April 14, 1956
1956 business contract signed by Colonel Parker and Elvis for The Elvis Presley Show
Elvis Presley : The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show : January 28, 1956

February

Elvis Presley : The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show : February 4, 1956
Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore and Bill Black : February 9, 1956
Elvis Presley : Backstage February 10, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show : February 11, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show : February 18, 1956

March

Elvis Presley 1956 : March : June : July
Elvis Presley's 1956 Home : 1034 Audubon Drive, Memphis, TN

Elvis Presley : The Lousinana Hayride : March 10, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show : March 17, 1956
Elvis Presley singing and playing gospel music : March 17, 1956
Jimmy Dean and Elvis Presley on the Jimmy Dean WMAL-TV Show, March 23, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show : March 24, 1956

April

Elvis Presley : The Milton Berle Show : April 3, 1956
Elvis Presley : Arena : San Diego : April 4, 1956
Elvis Presley : Arena : San Diego : April 4, 1956
Elvis Presley : Wichita Falls, Texas : April 9, 1956
Elvis Presley : Fair Park Coliseum, Lubbock, TX : April 10, 1956
Elvis Presley- RCA's McGavock St Studio : January 10 and 11, April 14, 1956
Elvis Presley : San Antonio : April 15, 1956
Elvis Presley : Oklahoma City : April 19, 1956
Elvis Presley : April 20, 1956 : North Side Coliseum, Forth Worth
Elvis Presley at The New Frontier Hotel : From April 23, 1956

May

Elvis Presley : Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota : May 13, 1956
Elvis Presley : May 14, 1956 : LaCrosse Wisconsin
Elvis Presley : May 15, 1956 : Ellis Auditorium
Elvis Presley Detroit, MI. Fox Theater May 25, 1956
Elvis Presley : Columbus, Ohio : May 26, 1956
Elvis, Scotty, Bill and DJ performed two shows at the UD Fieldhouse in Dayton : May 27, 1956
Elvis Presley Dayton, Oh., as Elvis left for Memphis : May 28, 1956
Elvis greeting fans at Los Angeles Airport, 1956

June

Elvis Presley 1956 : March : June : July
Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley swap autographs, Memphis : June 1, 1956
Elvis Presley : Arriving in Oakland : June 3, 1956
Elvis Presley : In Concert : Oakland California : June 3, 1956
The Milton Berle Show : Los Angeles : June 5, 1956
Elvis Presley : June 7, 1956 : Long Beach Municipal Auditorium
Elvis Presley : June 8, 1956
June 16, 1956 : Wink Martindale TV Show
Elvis Presley and Red West at Elvis' 1034 Audubon Drive House : June 14, 1956
The Wink Martindale Show : June 16, 1956
Vernon, Gladys and Elvis Presley sing at the piano : 1034 Audubon Drive House : June 17, 1956
Elvis Presley and Barbara Hearn : June 19, 1956 : Fairgrounds Amusement Park, Memphis
Elvis Presley and Barbara Hearn at Elvis' 1034 Audubon Drive House : June 19, 1956
Elvis Presley : Mosque Theater, Richmond, Va : June 30, 1956

July

Elvis Presley 1956 : March : June : July
Elvis Presley : Hudson Theater : New York City : Steve Allen Show : July 1, 1956
Elvis Presley : RCA Studio One, Memphis, Tennessee : July 2, 1956
Elvis Presley : On The Train to, Memphis, Tennessee : July 3, 1956
Elvis Presley : Russwood Park, Memphis, Tennessee : July 4, 1956
Elvis Presley : St. Joseph's Hospital Memphis Tennessee : July 5, 1956
Elvis Presley : Ocean Springs, MS. : Thursday, July 12, 1956
Elvis performs with The Statesman Quartet at Ellis Auditorium : July 27, 1956
Elvis Presley : Water Skiing : Biloxi : July 31, 1956

August

Elvis Presley Love Me Tender Movie Set Photos

Elvis Presley : Olympia Theater, Miami, Florida : August 3, 1956
Elvis Presley : August 5, 1956 : Tampa Florida
Elvis Presley : Florida Theatre St. Petersburg : August 7, 1956
Elvis Presley : Jacksonville, FL. Florida Theater (3 shows per day) : August 10-11, 1956
Elvis Presley at the Knickerbocker Hotel, Hollywood : August 18, 1956
Elvis Presley : Love Me Tender Recording Sessions : August 24, 1956
Elvis Presley : August 29, 1956 : Hollywood, California (The Truth About Me) + Out Takes [Audio only]
Elvis Presley : August 31, 1956 : On the set of Love Me Tender

September

Elvis Presley : The Ed Sullivan Show : 1956-1957
Elvis Presley : September 1-3, 1956 Recording Sessions
Elvis Presley : First Appearance : The Ed Sullivan Show : September 9, 1956
Elvis Presley: Asleep In Flight : Back To Memphis September 23, 1956
Elvis Presley : September 26, 1956 : Tupelo, MS. Mississippi-Alabama Fairgrounds
Elvis Presley at the Mid-South Fair : Memphis September 29, 1956

October

Elvis Presley : October 5, 1956
Elvis Presley : Cotton Bowl, Dallas : October 11, 1956
Elvis Presley : October 18, 1956
Elvis Presley : October 19, 1956 : Assault Charge
Elvis Presley : The Ed Sullivan Show Rehearsals : October 26-28, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Ed Sullivan Show : Dress Rehearsals : October 28, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Ed Sullivan Show : Press Conference : October 28, 1956
Elvis Presley gets his Polio Shot : October 28, 1956
Elvis Presley : The Ed Sullivan Show : October 28, 1956
Natalie Wood and Elvis Presley outside the Hotel Chisca : October 31, 1956

November

Elvis : Toledo : November 22, 1956
Elvis Presley : Cleveland Arena, Ohio : November 23, 1956
Elvis Presley : E.H. Crump Memorial Football Game : November 30, 1956

December

Elvis Presley : December 11, 1956 : Mobbed by fans in Memphis after running out of gas
Elvis Presley's Last Louisiana Hayride Performance : December 15, 1956
Elvis Presley Touch Football : Dave Wells Community Center : December 27, 1956

1957

Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Show : His third and final Appearance : January 6, 1957

The Movies In Photos

Love Me Tender

DVDs

Elvis : The Ed Sullivan Show : The Classic Performances DVD
The Milton Berle Show DVD
Elvis : The King Of Rock n Roll 30 Hit Performances And More DVD

CDs

The Complete Louisiana Hayride Archives 1954-1956
Elvis At SUN
Elvis Presley
Elvis
Elvis' Golden Records CD
The Million Dollar Quartet
Tupelo Welcomes Home Elvis Presley : Deluxe CD / 40 page hardback book

Books

A Moment In Time : 4 Days in '56 : Hardcover book from FTD
Rock, Sex, and Roll : Elvis Presley Hardcover Book [JAT]
The Rock 'N Roll Years : My Wish Came True : 1954-56
Elvis : The Hottest Thing That's Cool The '50s inc, Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen Shows
Flashback Book + 2 CDs
Elvis : The Hottest Thing That's Cool - Elvis Book
Tupelo Welcomes Home Elvis Presley : Deluxe CD / 40 page hardback book
Elvis Presley: The Family Album Book

The Movies Of 1956

1956, Love Me Tender, Twentieth Century Fox

Stop, look and listen baby that's our philosophy .... First thing in the morning, last thing at night ... look, stare everywhere and see everything inside .... Stop, look and listen!

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