{"id":239171,"date":"2026-04-20T17:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239171\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:29:08","slug":"orlando-got-all-shook-up-for-elvis-in-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239171\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando got all shook up for Elvis in 1956"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elvis Presley was rocking and rolling down the path to dominating the nation\u2019s music culture when he appeared for two shows in Orlando in August 1956.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old\u2019s sold-out performances at the Orlando Municipal Auditorium \u2013 complete with many, many screaming teenaged girls \u2013 came just a few weeks before he made his debut on CBS\u2019 \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show\u201d and launched into an even higher level of popularity.<\/p>\n

His visit, of course, was front-page news for the Orlando Sentinel and the Evening Star.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Sentinel reporter Jean Yothers\u2019 account of Elvis in Orlando from August 9, 1956. The headline was \u201cPresley makes \u2019em shriek, yell, jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big-shouldered youth with sideburns and a full-lipped face wandered slowly on stage and thousands of adoring teenage girls went wild.<\/p>\n

They shrieked. They screamed. They jumped up in their seats. And they gazed at their idol as though transported into a state of ecstatic bliss.<\/p>\n

Subject of this mass hysteria was Elvis Aaron Presley, 21-year-old singer and hero of the nation\u2019s teenagers who purely fractured two full houses at Municipal Auditorium last night with his unique actions and sensational style.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wearing a bright green coat, black trousers and white shoes, the heavy-lidded, tousel-haired Elvis surveyed his audience with a half-smile on his lips and then cut loose with a three-piece band backing him up.<\/p>\n

When he moaned out \u201cHeartbreak Hotel,\u201d his first number, the auditorium was filled with piercing, ear-splitting screams. When he jumped around the stage to \u201cLong, Tall Sally,\u201d fans rushed up to the rail to snap pictures, and as he twisted his hips suggestively to the rhythm, they yelled like dying cats, \u201cOh, Elvis.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOUR POLICEMEN were posted at both stage entrances to hold back the crowds, but still they milled about the auditorium taking photographs of the gyrating Elvis at all angles.<\/p>\n

When he removed his green coat to throw himself into \u201cHound Dog,\u201d his current hit record, a delighted squeal erupted from the house that could\u2019ve blown the top from Vesuvius. He then wiggled and switched his hips passionately, dragging the microphone across the stage in the process. He was gone, man, gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think of this guy?\u201d a mother-spectator was asked. \u201cI just came \u2019cause the kids wanted to,\u201d she said. \u201cI was curious. Now I know. Look at him. He looks just like a hound dog in heat and sounds like a sick cat.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-row sitter Pat Hix, a teenage girl, had a different slant. She adores Elvis. \u201cI like his style of singing and his flashy clothes best about him,\u201d she said with reverence.<\/p>\n

\"ElvisElvis Presley performing in Orlando<\/p>\n

Backstage in The Pelvis\u2019 dressing room, he was a different person. Relaxed and friendly, he answered in his slow, southern drawl.<\/p>\n

Q. How long do you think you\u2019ll stay on top in show business?<\/p>\n

A. \u201cAh wish ah knew, ma\u2019am. . People change a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q. Do you consider your gyrations vulgar?<\/p>\n

A. \u201cNo ma\u2019am. Ah don\u2019t. Ah don\u2019t feel sexy when Ah\u2019m on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q. What kind of girl do you want to marry?<\/p>\n

A. [with a sigh] \u201cAh\u2019ve never thought much about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q. Do you sleep in pajamas?<\/p>\n

A. \u201cNo ma\u2019am. Ah sleep in my shorts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q. Do you kiss all those girls you read about in the papers?<\/p>\n

A. \u201cOnly upon special request.\u201d<\/p>\n

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