Early live performances and signing with RCA

The trio played publicly for the first time on July 17 at the Bon Air club!resley still sporting his
child"si#e guitar$%&'( At the end of the month) they appeared at the *verton !ar+ ,hell) with ,lim
-hitman headlining$ A combination of his strong response to rhythm and nervousness at playing
before a large crowd led !resley to sha+e his legs as he performed. his wide"cut pants
emphasi#ed his movements) causing young women in the audience to start screaming$%&/(
0oore recalled) 12uring the instrumental parts he would bac+ off from the mi+e and be playing
and sha+ing) and the crowd would 3ust go wild1$%&4( Blac+) a natural showman) whooped and rode
his bass) hitting double lic+s that !resley would later remember as 1really a wild sound) li+e a
3ungle drum or something1$%&4( ,oon after) 0oore and Blac+ 5uit their old band to play with
!resley regularly) and 2J and promoter Bob 6eal became the trio7s manager$ 8rom August
through *ctober) they played fre5uently at the Eagle7s 6est club and returned to ,un ,tudio for
more recording sessions)%&9( and !resley 5uic+ly grew more confident on stage$ According to
0oore) 1:is movement was a natural thing) but he was also very conscious of what got a
reaction$ :e7d do something one time and then he would e;pand on it real 5uic+$1%&&( !resley
made what would be his only appearance on 6ashville7s <rand *le *pry on *ctober '= after a
polite audience response) *pry manager Jim 2enny told !hillips that his singer was 1not bad1 but
did not suit the program$%&7( Two wee+s later) !resley was boo+ed on >ouisiana :ayride) the
*pry7s chief) and more adventurous) rival$ The ,hreveport"based show was broadcast to 1?@
radio stations in '@ states$ !resley had another attac+ of nerves during the first set) which drew a
muted reaction$ A more composed and energetic second set inspired an enthusiastic response$
%&@( :ouse drummer 2$J$ 8ontana brought a new element) complementing !resley7s movements
with accented beats that he had mastered playing in strip clubs$%&?( ,oon after the show) the
:ayride engaged !resley for a year7s worth of ,aturday"night appearances$ Trading in his old
guitar for A@ Band seeing it promptly dispatched to the garbageC) he purchased a 0artin
instrument for A179) and his trio began playing in new locales including :ouston) Te;as) and
Te;ar+ana) Ar+ansas$%7D(
By early 1?99) !resley7s regular :ayride appearances) constant touring) and well"received record
releases had made him a substantial regional star) from Tennessee to -est Te;as$ En January)
6eal signed a formal management contract with !resley and brought the singer to the attention of
Colonel Tom !ar+er) whom he considered the best promoter in the music business$ :aving
successfully managed top country star Eddy Arnold) !ar+er was now wor+ing with the new
number"one country singer) :an+ ,now$ !ar+er boo+ed !resley on ,now7s 8ebruary tour$%71(%7'(
-hen the tour reached *dessa) Te;as) a 1?"year"old Roy *rbison saw !resley for the first time.
1:is energy was incredible) his instinct was 3ust ama#ing$ $$$ E 3ust didn7t +now what to ma+e of it$
There was 3ust no reference point in the culture to compare it$1%/&( !resley made his television
debut on 0arch / on the F,>A"TG broadcast of >ouisiana :ayride$ ,oon after) he failed an
audition for Arthur <odfrey7s Talent ,couts on the CB, television networ+$ By August) ,un had
released ten sides credited to 1Elvis !resley) ,cotty and Bill1= on the latest recordings) the trio
were 3oined by a drummer$ ,ome of the songs) li+e 1That7s All Right1) were in what one 0emphis
3ournalist described as the 1RHB idiom of negro field 3a##1= others) li+e 1Blue 0oon of Fentuc+y1)
were 1more in the country field1) 1but there was a curious blending of the two different musics in
both1$%7/( This blend of styles made it difficult for !resley7s music to find radio airplay$ According
to 6eal) many country"music disc 3oc+eys would not play it because he sounded too much li+e a
blac+ artist and none of the rhythm"and"blues stations would touch him because 1he sounded too
much li+e a hillbilly$1%74( The blend came to be +nown as roc+abilly$ At the time) !resley was
variously billed as 1The Fing of -estern Bop1) 1The :illbilly Cat1) and 1The 0emphis 8lash1$%79(
!resley renewed 6eal7s management contract in August 1?99) simultaneously appointing !ar+er
as his special adviser$%7&( The group maintained an e;tensive touring schedule throughout the
second half of the year$%77( 6eal recalled) 1Et was almost frightening) the reaction that came to
Elvis from the teenaged boys$ ,o many of them) through some sort of 3ealousy) would practically
hate him$ There were occasions in some towns in Te;as when we7d have to be sure to have a
police guard because somebody7d always try to ta+e a crac+ at him$ They7d get a gang and try to
waylay him or something$1%7@( The trio became a 5uartet when :ayride drummer 8ontana 3oined
as a full member$ En mid"*ctober) they played a few shows in support of Bill :aley) whose 1Roc+
Around the Cloc+1 had been a number"one hit the previous year$ :aley observed that !resley had
a natural feel for rhythm) and advised him to sing fewer ballads$%7?(
At the Country 2isc Joc+ey Convention in early 6ovember) !resley was voted the year7s most
promising male artist$%@D( ,everal record companies had by now shown interest in signing him$
After three ma3or labels made offers of up to A'9)DDD) !ar+er and !hillips struc+ a deal with RCA
Gictor on 6ovember '1 to ac5uire !resley7s ,un contract for an unprecedented A4D)DDD$%@1(%c(
!resley) at 'D) was still a minor) so his father signed the contract$%@'( !ar+er arranged with the
owners of :ill and Range !ublishing) Jean and Julian Aberbach) to create two entities) Elvis
!resley 0usic and <ladys 0usic) to handle all of the new material recorded by !resley$
,ongwriters were obliged to forgo one third of their customary royalties in e;change for having
him perform their compositions$%@/(%d( By 2ecember) RCA had begun to heavily promote its new
singer) and before month7s end had reissued many of his ,un recordings$%@&(