[GuitarMan66]

Elvis 1956 - A Month in the Life

Much has been written about Elvis's meteoric rise to fame; however, not much has been said about just how fast the pace was after his career exploded in early 1956 and how hard Elvis worked.

On February 23, 1956 Elvis was hospitalized for several hours in Jacksonville, Florida for exhaustion and told by doctors that he'd have to slow down. He was on the road promoting his new single "Heartbreak Hotel," which had been part of his first RCA recording session the month before. For some time now, no matter where he was on tour around the country, he had to make a mad dash back to Shreveport, Louisiana each week to honor his contractual commitment to perform each Saturday night on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio program. (When that commitment was made, it was a career boost. Now, that Elvis was becoming a big star, it was a hindrance.) In addition to touring and making his weekly "Hayride" appearances, Elvis was in the middle of fulfilling an engagement to make six appearances on "Stage Show," a weekly variety program on network TV, hosted by the Dorsey Brothers.

The following is Elvis's work schedule for the month of February 1956:

1/2/56
Radio interview WAAT in Trenton, New Jersey.

3/2/56
Elvis records at RCA's New York studios.

4/2/56
"Stage Show" appearance in New York. Press reception follows.

5/2/56
2 shows in Richmond, Virginia.

6/2/56
4 shows in Greensboro, North Carolina.

7/2/56
4 shows in High Point, North Carolina.

8/2/56
4 shows in Raleigh, North Carolina.

9/2/56
4 shows in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

10/2/56
4 shows in Charlotte, North Carolina.

11/2/56
By special permission, Elvis is excused from this week's "Louisiana Hayride" performance in order to make his third appearance on "Stage Show" in New York.

12/2/56
3 shows in Norfolk, Virginia.

13/2/56
4 shows in Newport News, Virginia.

14/2/56
3 shows in Wilson, North Carolina.

15/2/56
1 show in Burlington, North Carolina.

16/2/56
3 shows in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

18/2/56
By special permission, Elvis is excused from this week's "Louisiana Hayride" performance in order to make his fourth appearance on "Stage Show" in New York.

19/2/56
3 shows in Tampa, Florida.

20/2/56
4 shows in West Palm Beach, Florida.

21/2/56
4 shows in Sarasota, Florida.

22/2/56
2 shows in Waycross, Georgia.

23/2/56
1 show Jacksonville, Florida. Elvis collapses in the parking lot after the show.

24/2/56
1 show in Jacksonville, Florida.

25/2/56
"Louisiana Hayride" performance in Shreveport, Louisiana.

26/2/56
3 shows in Pensacola, Florida.

28/2/56
Back in Memphis for a four-day rest, Elvis's Cadillac convertible is hit by a lady in a downtown parking garage and he will go to court about the accident the next day. So much for relaxation. Then, back to work at breakneck speed.

[GuitarMan66]

NOVEMBER NOVEMER

November was often a busy month in Elvis's life and career.

His family moved to Memphis from Tupelo in November 1948 and he then began going to Humes High School.

In November 1954 Elvis signed his contract to perform weekly on the Louisiana Hayride radio program.

It was in November 1955 that Elvis received from Mae Axton the demo for the song "Heartbreak Hotel" she penned with Tommy Durden. Later that month, leaving Sun Records, he signed his first contract with RCA Records. "Heartbreak Hotel" became the first of his many gold record award winners with RCA. By November 1956 Elvis was a movie star and was riding around Memphis with Natalie Wood on his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

In November 1957 he sailed to Hawaii and performed his last two live concerts prior to being inducted into the Army. He spent November 1958 on maneuvers in Germany and in 1959 he was still serving in Germany and dating his future wife Priscilla.

Elvis finished shooting a number of his films in the month of November. Many of his films also were released nationwide in November. "Love Me Tender" - 1956, "Jailhouse Rock" - 1957, "G.I. Blues" - 1960, "Blue Hawaii" - 1961, "Girls! Girls! Girls!" - 1962, "Fun In Acapulco" - 1963, "Roustabout" - 1964, "Harum Scarum" - 1965, "Spinout" - 1966, "Clambake" - 1967, "Change of Habit" - 1969. His concert documentary "Elvis, That's The Way It Is" opened in November 1970 and his other concert film "Elvis On Tour" opened in November 1972.

Graceland was always home base from 1957 on, but Elvis did maintain a home in California at various addresses over the years. In 1961 he moved to his home on Bellagio Road in Bel Air, then in 1967 he purchased his home on Hillcrest Road in Trousdale Estates. In November 1970, he bought a house on Monovale Drive in the Holmby Hills areas.

Elvis Graceland Mansion in Memphis was always home base from 1957 on, but Elvis did maintain a home in California at various addresses over the years. In 1961 he moved to his home on Bellagio Road in Bel Air, then in 1967 he purchased his home on Hillcrest Road in Trousdale Estates. In November 1970, he bought a house on Monovale Drive in the Holmby Hills areas.

Elvis was often finishing up one of his movies in November. In 1960 he was working on "Wild In The Country" and in 1961 he was filming "Kid Galahad." In November 1962 he finished making the movie "It Happened at The World's Fair." His father Vernon and Memphis' Mayor Loeb visited him on the set so he could make his annual donation to Memphis charities. In November 1963 he was working on the film "Kissin' Cousins" when he learned of the death of President John F. Kennedy. He finished "Tickle Me" in Nov 1964 and "Easy Come, Easy Go" in Nov 1966. He finished "Stay Away Joe" in November 1967 and was working on "The Trouble With Girls" in November 1968.

In the 1970s Elvis was often touring with his concert shows in November.

The largest of the personal jets he owned over the years, a newly refurbished Convair 880 he named the "Lisa Marie" in honor of his daughter, was delivered to him in November 1975.

Indeed a busy month for Elvis no matter the year.

[Scatter]

Great post Pacer!!!!

I for one could not imagine enduring that grueling pace for an entire month........let alone for the next 20 or so years.

Anyone looking for a root cause for Elvis' demise need look no further. The physical demands of such a schedule are enormous and corrosive to anyone's health.

The psychological effects may have been even more damaging. The constant and incessant pace insulated him from day-to-day life. The touring and acting schedule, along with the security problems attendant with his unprecedented popularity, also forced him into an increasingly insular world.

This removal from "normalcy", and the natural growth processes that accompany life as most of us live it, stunted the emotional development that he would have experienced in a more routine setting.

The normal course of human development to maturity was largely bypassed due to his unique situation. He never had to learn restraint, since he never had to pay the consequences for his indulgences.

If we overspend........we learn the painful lesson of self restraint and responsibility. He just went out and made millions more.

If we treat the "significant others" in our lives in a disrespectful way, with little concern as to their feelings or personal desires, forcing them to subject themselves entirely to our personal whims and desires...........we lose them and learn the painful lesson such behavior brings. Elvis always had someone else in the wings, awaiting his call.

If we treat our friends as subordinates, rather than as equals.......if we create an atmosphere that discourages honest criticism and the free expression of others' thoughts if they conflict with our own........we learn the painful lesson that we need to treat others as we would be treated. Or else we wind up alone.Elvis just fired them and replaced them, since the line between employer/friend became so blurred that even Elvis himself was unable to know where one relationship ended and the other began.

All these painful lessons that we learn so early lead to character development and maturity. Growth is PAIN.Elvis was able to forestall that pain due to who he was........but he also forestalled his maturation.To the end of his life he was an emotional teenager. And ultimately, that fact was as pivotal to his demise as anything that he did to his physical body.

In fact.......had circumstances allowed him to mature as he should have........it is likely that he never would have gotten to the point with the drugs that he did. A mature person has learned through experience how to deal with pain and adversity. Elvis never learned that. As he said himself, "I'd rather be unconscious than miserable". He saw those as the only two options.

Now, I don't blame Elvis at all for the path he walked. It was an outgrowth of unprecedented adoration and fame. No one could have known the end of that road......least of all Elvis himself. It was a situation that simply evolved out of the necessity of dealing with who he was.

Frankly, I doubt many could have handled it better. He remained a decent and kind person to the very end.....a Herculean task given the situation thrust upon him and the temptation he faced. He never allowed his basic goodness, his HUMANITY, to be overcome by the pressures exerted upon him. That speaks volumes about him as a person.........all of it good.

But it is the very definition of "Too much,Too soon".

[Guest_The Batman_*]

It seems that Elvis's life from when his career first kicked was just one big rollercoaster right that never stopped to let him off, would like to see some of the so called modern day artist do as much as Elvis did in one year for the whole of their career, they seem to spend more time spending their money and showing off than they do working on how to make the next million. Elvis worked hard to give his fans so much

[One Night]

well said batty...

your right...........they couldnt even try to keep up with that pace nowadays [img]style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif[/img]

they would be frazzled [img]style_emoticons/default/rubberface.gif[/img]

[elvisfan57]

that was a ver grueling schedule. thank's to all who shared some of this info with us [img]style_emoticons/default/dance.gif[/img]