Rare Elvis Presley footage found in television archives
Written by admin on January 4, 2014 – 1:46 pm -The Oklahoma Historical Society has uncovered some cool vintage footage of Elvis Presley on and off stage in 1956.
The silent footage sees Elvis performing at Oklahoma’s Municipal Auditorium on April 19, 1956, posing with fans backstage, and being escorted out of the building by police. On stage with Elvis are Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (bass) and D.J. Fontana (drums).
In his review of the show for The Daily Oklahoman (April 20, 1956), reporter Jack Jones said:
“You’d have to see Elvis Presley to believe it. Not since the swooning craze of the Frank Sinatra days have Oklahoma City teen-agers given an entertainer the reception they gave Presley in Municipal Auditorium Thursday night…
The moment the young rock ‘n’ roll singer leaped onto the stage and grasped the microphone, the youngsters started screaming. And they kept screaming until two shows were over.”
Jones also referred to Elvis as a “sort of cross between Marlon Brando and a Johnny Ray” and remarked that he had his hair cut “cat style”.
The footage is silent and fairly brief, but it’s not often that unseen footage of Elvis in the 1950s is uncovered, so this was a great find. It forms part of the Oklahoma History Society’s WKY, KTVY and KFOR film collection, which covers the years 1953 to 1979. New films will be added as the Society continues to digitize the reels. Let’s hope there are more interesting discoveries for music fans.
Tags: Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley Oklahoma 1956, Elvis Presley rare footage
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